Hey new to the board, possible future monster owner, cuz I rode one today.

1231 Views 10 Replies 7 Participants Last post by ItsaDuc, Dec 3, 2006

nox23

Discussion Starter · Dec 2, 2006

So I have a Ninja 250 right now. Rode a 05 monster 620 today and fell in love. Fit me like a glove, very comfortable. It's spotless, asking price is $5200, haven't tried haggling with him yet, says he's firm, I say it's not the bike buying season. Is this is a good price? Especially with the 695 out now. Should I just wait for the 695? Bike has 3200 miles on it, so the first maintenance has not been done yet. Other possible bike is the SV60, I'm more into handling and fluid riding than outright speed. Would stick to the Ninja but I'm practically gettin run down on the highways out here, suspension doesn't help neither. So I'm trying to upgrade to something I can commit to for a long while. Just wondering on some advise. Yeah I'm addicted to the Ducatis. I've also found that the mainenance cost's on these tend to be exaggarated too, but they are more than the Japanese bikes.

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ItsaDuc

· #2 · Dec 2, 2006

03' 620 here. You would regret not getting it if you went with something else other than the Duc. Once I rode one, it was in the blood. As one person wrote, and forgive me if I get the wording wrong..."You start other bikes, but you bring a Ducati to life." Anyway, maintenance wont be too bad if you can do some yourself. Once you do get a monster, you will find that you will want to change out some parts anyway which will turn into an even bigger "bug". As far as I'm concerned, the Monster is very forgiving to ride, especially the 620, and is just a hoot to have.

Good luck on your quest, and if you do go with the Ducati, pics are a must or you will be flogged.

Erik

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lam695

· #3 · Dec 2, 2006

I myself went from the 250 to the 695. I didn't even have to test ride one, I just went and sat on one. The moment I did that I knew it was the bike for me. I'm still getting used to the power of the 695, comming off the 250 it's a heck of allot. But I am very happy with this bike and I do not want any other. We are still trying to decide what to do with the 250. Good luck and have fun.

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manny

· #4 · Dec 2, 2006

nox23 said:
So I have a Ninja 250 right now. Rode a 05 monster 620 today and fell in love. Fit me like a glove, very comfortable. It's spotless, asking price is $5200, haven't tried haggling with him yet, says he's firm, I say it's not the bike buying season. Is this is a good price? Especially with the 695 out now. Should I just wait for the 695? Bike has 3200 miles on it, so the first maintenance has not been done yet. Other possible bike is the SV60, I'm more into handling and fluid riding than outright speed. Would stick to the Ninja but I'm practically gettin run down on the highways out here, suspension doesn't help neither. So I'm trying to upgrade to something I can commit to for a long while. Just wondering on some advise. Yeah I'm addicted to the Ducatis. I've also found that the mainenance cost's on these tend to be exaggarated too, but they are more than the Japanese bikes.

If suspension is a major issue for you, then you should look a little deeper before putting down the cash. Correct me if I'm wrong here - the 620 has a pre-load adjustable only rear and a non-adjustable fork. At least that's the way my '03 620 is, the newer ones may have more adjustment on the rear. I have no clue how the Suzuki is spec'ed.

I'm about 5'9" and 140# and I've been quite comfortable on mine for commuting and some pretty quick canyon rides, however I know that fully adjustable suspension would greatly improve the bike's performance for me. After you own it awhile you may want to do a hard track day or something and be disappointed in the suspension.

I'm not saying not to get it, 'cause they are great bikes and I love mine, but look a little deeper into what you want and what options (s2r, 695, etc.) are out there. Read around on here a bit and see what folks have to say about 620 suspensions and what it takes to tune/upgrade them. That price sounds fair to me, but not a screamin' deal (unless it's got a bunch o' mods). I think that if he sells it to someone else while you are thinking about it that you could find a comparable bike pretty soon.

Good luck.

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nox23

Discussion Starter · #5 · Dec 3, 2006

yeah, i didn't think it the price was great, but it sounds fair. I am starting to find that I'm not a full on sportsbike guy, nor a cruiser, this seems to be inbetween the two, I think I'm more in love with the beauty more than anything, and it was so comfortable, postition was just right for me, not upright, but not hunche d over neither. Felt like I found my wife or something, was just right - comfortable to be on and great to look at(no pun intended..) It pulls hard too, never really got it out of 3rd, rode pretty conservatively. would prob. do a longer ride before I laid down the cash just to be sure. I wanna have fun from 0-90, maybe 100 occasionally, no more. I'm a new rider too, so I won't be outriding anything, which is why I'm sort of hesitant to jump up so soon. But I get slammed on the highway onn the 250, the average speed here is like 80mph too.

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manny

· #6 · Dec 3, 2006

Sounds like the 620 might be right up your alley, then. It is comfortable, looks good and has the spunk to move you around on the highway (and good brakes, too). If it's in your price range, congrats on your new baby. Make sure you post pics!

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s4girl

· #7 · Dec 3, 2006

you'll never regret it and never look back! if you fell the suspension is an issue on the ninja maybe you should look around for some of theother duc options out there that have adjustable suspension. you can go to the www.ducati.com website and go down the lower left side of the webpage and there will be a link to previous year models and you can review the specs on all the bikes back to 2001. good luck!

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T. J. Fejka

· #8 · Dec 3, 2006

I think he's asking too much for it. Is it a Dark or regular paint model? The darks are less expensive so they should also be less expensive used.

I checked Motorcycle Consumer News used bike guide http://www.mcnews.com/mcn/usedbike/NovUsedBikeGuide.pdf and they list $5590 "metalic" (which means a non-dark model) and $5270 for the Dark model. So according to them it is close to the "average" asking price, retail.

If you are not in a hurry, I'd keep looking.

What is your budget? Can you afford more than what this bike is going for?

I agree with the guys who say you maybe more happy with a Duck w/adjustable suspension.

The worst thing to be when shopping for anything is "in a hurry." Been there too many times.

Good luck with your quest.

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nox23

Discussion Starter · #9 · Dec 3, 2006

I want to keep at around that price range, I'm also factoring insurance too. Bigger bike means bigger insurance rate. Thought about a Gixxer 600, but the insurance on it was ridiculous - Twice as much as the Ducati. The Duc was much more reasonable in the insurance end of it. So it's like higher maintenance costs vs. higher insurance costs. If it evens out, I'd rather go with the Ducati, cuz I'm pretty sure I won't get tired of it, cuz looks and vibe tend to hold my interest. I'm thinking long term too so I'd have to commit to this for a while. I'm not in a big hurry, but the time to buy bikes is now cuz it's not the riding season so I figure prices tend to be a little better. But yeah I could wait. Oh yeah, it's a dark I think, black gas tank on a red frame. I don't think the bike is going anywhere cuz I've been watching it and it's been on the market for at least a month maybe more.

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wakaba

· #10 · Dec 3, 2006

remember that a fairing bike will cost more in insurance then a "sport standard" give your insurance company a call.

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ItsaDuc

· #11 · Dec 3, 2006

If memory serves, Darks did not have the red frame, unless the owner painted one or the other. However, if it is a dark, you should be able to get the price down a bit. As far as insurance goes, call around as well, you will find many different quotes too. I found that some companies are/have reclassified monsters into a different category making them most expensive to insure but will surely be less than any faired bike as stated above^^^^.

Erik

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