The blinking light is a theft deterent warning light. Its normal for the bike to stay hot after a ride and yes your legs get toasty at long lights. Enjoy your new DUC!

O and the light will stop blinking after a couple of days of non riding to reserve batt power.

 

The lights stop blinking after a few hours.

Heat is perfectly normal. Honestly, the 2009 Monster 1100 I test rode was worse.

Did your dealer install a battery tender lead? Mine did as part of the prep on the bike. I plug it in about once a month to make sure the battery is fully charged and it usually takes less than 15 minutes to top it off. I ride mine fairly regularly though. I bought it in June 2011 and I have almost 5800 miles on it now.

 

Thanks ... nope, no battery tender lead.

One more question - I haven't filled up the tank yet, but my local gas station only sells 91 and 95 Gasahol. The dealer told me that 95 gasoline would be better, but that Gasahol was "okay". Is it worth looking for pure, ethanol-free gas?

 

If you can find ethanol free gas, I'd say that's the way to go.

Read up on the posts related to some people with gas tanks swelling over time and believe this has to do the plastic tank absorbing water over time and largely due to ethanol based gas. The last chain I saw talked the issues were up thru 2010 so the latest monsters may not have issues, but if you can help avoid the issue by using pure gas, I'd go that route. (Can't find it around here)

http://www.ducatimonster.org/forums...org/forums/general-monster-forum/206270-new-ducati-actions-tank-exspansion.html

 

...and the install for the battery lead is a pain in the arse.
You have to dismantle the tank cover, disconnect the tank practically to get at the battery underneath it. I'd say get that installed by the dealer unless you feel like doing a "project". It was a much bigger fiasco than any bike I've installed a lead on before.... (my 0.02)

 

That's why my dealer installed it when they did the prep. I guess they figured it is a small added price to them for a happy customer. At first I assumed that Ducati installed it but later I found out that it was the dealer and that not all dealers do this.

 

Hey Kostik,

I installed a titanium wrap (@US$60) on my exhaust which makes a difference to the toasty legs...it's not a huge difference but definitely noticeable. Obviously weather temp. and stop go traffic contributes significantly to engine heat.

I also prefer the look of the wrap for personal reasons but it is a pain to apply due to the 2-1-2 style exhaust.

Here's a close up pic of mine.

Cheers- Chris

 

Well, I discovered that Esso and Shell stations only sell 95 Gasohol, but Caltex stations sell 95 pure gasoline. So I topped up there and will continue to do so.

One more question: how many bars do you usually display on the engine temperature graphic? After an hour or so riding in today's heat, it showed five bars, which is somewhere in the upper half of the range. That's "Status 6" according to page 26 of the owners manual. No reason to worry, I hope?

 

Typically 4 for me but I have seen 5 on the hottest days (my bike has 7 bars total). On the cool days it takes forever just to get up to 4 bars if it gets there at all. It seems to run better in hot weather.