Greetings from Hong Kong and...

...here's my Monster story.

Years back I used to be a motoring journalist, writing for car mags in the fabled EMAP Towers in Peterborough. I won't say which; you'll hate me.

However, downstairs from my office were some awesome magazines like Performance Bikes, RIDE and BIKE. The MCN boys would pop in regularly. Out of all the bikes the two-wheeled hacks used to rock up on, the Ducati Monster was the one I remember from back in the day, when it first came out.

I remember clearly that the Monster looked right and sounded right, even to a four-wheeled chap like myself.

A few years later I took my direct access and vowed to buy one. Then things got busy at home, I stared working overseas and now I'm in Hong Kong.

These days, I chop about HK on a Vespa ET8; clearly, that can't continue so I'm shopping for my first Monster after all these years of craving one. They are popular here as sports bikes tend to be a bit useless on the everso tight roads with not many straights, but a Monster is at home.

Problem one; they fetch serious money; you can get a decent R1 for much less than a Monster. Hornets are almost half the cost of a similarly aged Monster and a 600RR is a handful of cash cheaper.

Problem two; where to start? Which Monster is value for money and gives oodles of smiles for miles? Old school is cool for me, an air cooled Monster it has to be. M400 models are few and far between, but useful in HK. But should i just go straight to a 600? Or fish about for a 750?

Problem three; I've scoured a lot of sites already, but where can I find a decent Monster buying guide? I'm pretty mechanically savvy, but what are the bits to look out for and which should I walk away from?

Any advice for a noob that has seen the two-wheeled Monster light would be very gratefully appreciated.


Thanks!!!