[tony sanchez]

Hi all,

So I have made the decision to buy my first Ducati and I must admit high levels of child-like excitement. I have more or less committed to buy a 1999 M900. It has 8900 miles, carbon exhaust, and a few other smaller mods. I previously owned a 2004 Honda VFR800 which was a great bike but I had to sell it when I went back to school. I'm still in school but got tired of people riding by me on their bikes so here I am!

Basically, I'm looking to pick your brains to find out a few things. These are the things that come to mind...please feel free to add your own two cents.

Tail chop: Is this difficult/expensive, and are there downsides?

Carbs: I've never owned a carb'd bike so I'm wondering what types of special challenges or gremlins (if any) I should be expecting.

Maintenance: In my experience, everything is expensive to fix, especially when you're paying someone else to do it. As far as scheduled maintenance (carbs, valves, the sort of things I probably shouldn't do) how much/often and how ridiculous do these things run?

For those of you still reading, thank you. And for those of you intending to respond, thank you so much more. I look forward to a tidal wave of insightful responses.

OH! I'm located in Burlington VT and would love to know about any group rides.

Thanks!

Jeremy

 

[rmm]

Hey man... good look on the monster.

I had a '99 carbed 750. Maybe it was good luck, but the carbs never gave me a minute of trouble. Even in the new england winter (im in new haven ct). reliable though they were, they're not the worlds most amazing/precise carbs. If you find yourself needing to work on them or itching for more power/response, you might consider upgrading to Keihin FCR 41's which go for about $850 all in. It often said to be the single best mod you can make to a carb'd monster. As far as maintenance... i say buy the haynes manual and do it yourself. I did a full 12k service to mine and it was no prob.

good luck with it.

 

[OConnor]

Do you have metric tools and a laptop with an internet connection? You're good to go. When were the timing belts changed? That is major. Don't neglect them, 2 years or 12,000 miles whichever comes first. You MAY get by for three years but it's up to you. The VFR had gear driven cams so you were spoiled, that's over now.

Welcome aboard!