Monster owner in waiting

Originally Posted by utopia

A few random points on the S4R ....
You're committing to a single sided swingarm, which has implications re special tools and massive assembly torques needed.
The 4v water-cooled motor is more complicated to service and generally less clean looking than the 2 valve motors.
Both of these make it less suitable for home maintenance as well as making dealer maintenance more expensive. (which has even more relevance for a high mileage bike.)
It will have more power than you will probably need, as a beginner.
Its probably not the lightest of monsters.

All of the above may or may not matter .. its a personal thing.

That one is nice in that its clearly been well cared for but being a high miler its a good price.
The blue looks particularly nice, especially with the black wheels .. though I may be biased.
But for me, the S4R is too complex.

For background, I run an aircooled 750.
Blue, with black wheels.

Thank you also......the more info I have the more informed choice I can make......lots to consider but I do have time....well a little time anyway. ........Cheers.

[Darren69]

Jeffs right of course, the S4's are more expensive to maintain and have way more power than most mere mortals need. Service costs are a bit higher than the 2v, not sure what a 2V service would cost but a 4V 916/996 is around 400-500 for a full monty, every 2 years or 6k or so miles. But if you're prepared to live with that then IMHO the rewards are worth it.

I started my Ducati ownership with a 750SS, having ridden and been underwhelmed by the 600, the 750SS was a great bike then when that got stolen, a 900SS was even more so, a proper Ducati. Both have bags of charm which I imagine is the case for the Monster versions too.

I borrowed a modified 944 Monster that had thousands spent on expensive exotic parts, which was fun and that bike was run in the BOTT race series eventually, so it was no slouch but after that I went and bought a 748, which I still have and is still awesome.

You do need to keep on top of things service wise, with any Ducati irrespective of engine type and any top end issues are not cheap to fix. The rocker arms are around £100 each and there are 16 in a 4v, so it is imperative that they are looked after by someone who knows what they are doing in order to avoid very expenisve repair bills.

Generally though the S4s are more reliable than the 748/916s having benefited from development of those earlier bikes, have more robust electric/electronics and engines so are free of a lot of the problems that plagued the 916. But they still need TLC, things like clutches wear quickly, so I would give that a good look at esp. on a high mileage bike.

Mines been fairly trouble free, I had a coil stick fail and had to replace the crankcase sensor too when that started acting up, which cost around £200 for the parts, neither of which are Italian! Go figure, but we are talking about a 15 year old bike! I have been fairly proactive with maintenance and upgrades on mine so a lot of the potential issues have been sorted.

If I were looking at one of those blue S4R's, I'd consider the one that's £1000 more with the lower mileage and some sort of warranty over the high miler. The 44k bike could be a good buy at that price, but you could spend easily over a £1000 replacing worn out parts Forks and shock will most likely be tired and need to be replaced. A decent rear shock will cost you upwards of £500. I suppose it depends on what kind of feel you get from the owner, the service history if its been well maintained with no expense spared is really what I'd be looking for. Even down to what kind of oil he's been running in it. It has been on ebay quite a while, I think I saw it listed last year.

If I were looking at a 2V monster then I'd be looking at an S2R (800/1000) or 800/1000ie, The air cooled lumps run much better with the fuel injection over the carb ones.

[Mr Gazza]

Originally Posted by Darren69

not sure what a 2V service would cost

Just to give you a ball park.. I had my valve clearances done this week ( By Carl Harrison)
That cost me £113 and included all new half rings (which my bike seems to eat!).
Clearances need to be checked, and adjusted if necessary at 6000 mile intervals.

That's the only maintenance operation that I'm not happy doing myself, So I don't mind a bill like that too much, every couple of years or so.

It is possible to extend the valve service intervals to a claimed 20,000 miles by using MBP collets (about £100 for a 2V), but Carl keeps telling me that it's better to keep replacing the half rings, than risk the MBP collets bedding into the stems and creating big problems... Sorry that's a bit of a distraction, but something you can check on if a seller is boasting an MBP collet conversion.

I think pretty much along the same lines as Utopia, and am also besotted with my Monster. In my case an M900Sie... But you can study form all you like.. You will know when you see it her, if she's the one or not...

[Darren69]

So if you add oil/filter and belts onto that its probably about £300 with labour?

[Darren69]

" went and bought a 748, which I still have and is still awesome."

That's when the obsession really started and running cost got a lot higher, sometimes silly money. No regrets really though, you just have to ride it to realise its all worth it.

[Mr Gazza]

Originally Posted by Darren69

So if you add oil/filter and belts onto that its probably about £300 with labour?

Probably not far out if you want to pay someone to watch your oil dribble out!

Bear in mind that belts, oil and valves won't always necessarily coincide at the same service interval.
My belts and valves are staggered by a year. Last belts for mine were £66 if I remember correctly. I bought a pair before they went up again. They store okay if kept out of the light, I always take them out of the cardboard sleeve too, so they store in the round, rather than squashed.
Oil and filter is a 6000 mile interval according to my book, but I get a couple of changes in that period.

My Monster is the first of the injection ones... I get 68mpg on a run, not sparing the horses..

[Darren69]

68mpg! That's good. I doubt I'm getting much more than 40 maybe mid 30's. I seem to recall when I sat and worked it out it was around 36mpg

[Dirty]

I get 43.2 from my 600

[Darren69]

It must be that Norfolk air is far more combustible that doesn't need so much fuel? Well I suppose there aren't so many hills in that neck of the woods too.

[Mr Gazza]

68 is normal for a trip out of the County, when I can keep it in 6th for most of the time.
It's in the 50s' when I hoon round the Norfolk lanes... Only a few little hills in Norfolk, but plenty of bumps..

[Darren69]

Thought it might be that fine country air? I just checked mine to see if I was way out, couldn't find the S4 but it says the S4R 996 returns 42mpg so mines not far off that considering I've lightened a few bits and remapped to bung a load more fuel in!

[Flip]

I completely echo the thoughts of Utopia and Darren that the 4v motors are both more complicated and therefore more expensive to keep sweet along with the single sider requiring some unique tools, although on a plus side you don't have to worry about wheel alignment when adjusting the chain.

The blue S4R in Worthing is just down the road from me and I'd be happy to take a look if you wanted- although wouldn't want you parting with money on my say alone.

Before making the trip down yourself you could ask him if he'd be prepared to run it down to Alf's motorcycles for Alf to take a look over it (at your cost obviously). Alf's looked after their own 888 and 748 race bikes along with many others and has always got some kind of Ducati motor stripped down in his private workshop out the back of the main dealership.