Learn me Ducati Monster 620

I’m looking at replacing my FZ6 with a monster. The FZ has been bulletproof in my time with it and it’s really a fantastic bike but I’m getting a little bored and I’m realizing it’s not to my taste as much as I thought it would be. Sport bikes are a little too much bike for me, at least the 100hp in this one is. I want something with a little more character and style and less outright performance. I would rather have more fun at slower speeds. 

What should I know about a Monster 620? They look great and I think the power would be plenty for me. I’m also not afraid to turn a wrench so as long as maintenance is within reason I’m not too worried. 

Are they comfortable? Any weird issues to watch out for? 

Thanks all

I think they are beautiful bikes.

I have a buddy that had one for about two years and also loved looking at it in the garage.  Because it seldom ran well enough to ride--constant electrical issues as I recall.   He got a Ninja 500 instead.

I might suggest a Suzuki SV650 for a similar vibe that should also prove to be consistantly reliable.

It's gonna be slower but I guess you're ok with that. It'll barely hit 100.
 it's fuel injected so that's a big improvement right there. My 99 750 monster is carbed and makes the same power but there's all the warm up and cold blooded crap you won't have to deal with. 

great bike. I think they're comfortable enough.  I have done 1000 mile weekends on the stock seat and thought it was fine. Handlebars are easy to change - I have simple MSR dirt bike bars on mine after a wreck.  I'd prefer higher ride height but short ppl would disagree.  If the clutch is wonky, get a replacement slave cyl from Yoyodyne.  Hopefully nobody cut up your airbox (sounds cool- can be problematic if they were hacks.) it'll probably need a $100 battery  - go AGM so it doesn't leak. My original batt lasted 3yr and the replacement Odyssey AGM 13+Yr

Make sure it's been maintained. Timing belt, valve adjustment, clutch slave cyl. These are all things to ask about. 
don't pay more than maybe 2500 for a perfect example. I saw a rough but running one for $800 last week. My neighbor got a free 96 m900 with a stuck clutch.  Ppl get nervous about these bikes but they're very simple  - just a little different  

The only 2 electrical issues i had were some dummy screwed the starter button module too tight to the bars and the start button would stick. Other one was part of the wiring harness was ziptied to the frame in an area that got very hot during a slow crawl.  I believe both of these issues to be owner-inflicted and wasn't a big deal to fix  
 I have six bikes and the Monster is my favorite. If you have any q's ask away

WWW.advrider.com in the 'road warriors' section should have a thread on it.

I'd recommend looking at the Triumph triples also.

Great info guys thank you! 

Ive looked at the street triples, they’re beautiful bikes but a bit more expensive around here. 

The hope is to make a lateral move with little money out of pocket. I could be way off but I’m hoping for $2-2.5k for my FZ6 and then put that right back in to the next bike. 

I ask about the Monster because there are currently two local to me that look really nice. A 620 dark edition and a ‘93 900. Both look well maintained and are around $2500. It’s kind of a thought exercise at this point but I’ll probably throw up my bike and see if anyone bites. 

620 darks Gonna have lower spec gear than the 900, but newer and with fuel injection. That 93 has probably seen some stuff. I'd price them in the same ballpark and go on condition of the bikes. In the same shape my gut would go with the 620 since you're not looking to burn up the road. It'll be more reliable and less finicky in a wider range of environments. My carb'd 750 will stall out after long freeway runs along the coast because it runs so cool in those conditions. My father in law with an m900 had same issue and he would block off the oil cooler  in an attempt to make it warm up   

As far as 'lower spec' I mean it may have one front brake vs 2 (it'll stoppie with one so..) and less prestigious named forks and shock. At this point all that stuff is probably worn anyway and easily upgraded. 

You have about $2.5k to spend (in theory) and you're not already shopping SV650's like they're going out of style?  Why not?  Serious question.  An M900 sounds cool but I would only do it if I liked projects and had at least a grand to put it right after I purchased it. 

At that end of the market I would be shopping really hard for the most common sporty bikes available, like a CBR600, Ninja 650, etc.  SV650 is right in there and might be the best of the three.

The SV is tempting on paper but I rode one and I didn’t care for it. It didn’t stir my soul so to speak. I want something that speaks to me. I suspect the Ducati will

EG: I sold my perfectly good Mazdaspeed3 for an older Boxster because it spoke to me. Not a single regret. 

If I were you, I’d buy a more vintage bike. Old bikes have character/soul which modern ones lack. Carbs vs fuel injection! Just my opinion, but tinkering, upgrading and modifying is much more satisfying than just putting gas in a modern bike. My “newest” bike was a 2000 SV650 which I felt was a throw-back to simpler days of motorcycling. No frills, but even at that, not much soul. Before that was a Monster 900. Fun bike when it ran, but for what it was, it was slow and didn’t handle very well at all. It was fun to customize/modify as there was lots of aftermarket parts sources to choose from.

My 0.02¢

In reply to lotusseven7 :

The way you feel about the SV is what I’m trying to avoid. 

We bought my wife a ‘72 CB175 this weekend. I enjoyed riding it home quite a bit, it’s just simple, fun motorcycling. I liked that kind of feeling but I’m hoping to find it in something a little more to my taste aesthetically. 

Also, I’m mechanically inclined so maintenance on an older bike isn’t a problem but currently I do commute on my bike so reliability is important. 

Get the Monster already. I've commuted equal distances on my M750 and cbr600f4i - about 30k each. I'd toss the cbr in a hot minute because it's boring. Yes, it'll rip my face off all day, any day. But the Monster feels alive. People shout questions at you,  gawk, and relate stories.  
You're already risking your life by riding a bike, may as well make it memorable. 

edit: I bought a beat Porsche 928 vs a fresh Miata back In the 90s.  Once I got a garage, a Miata joined us too, but I regret nothing  

(yep, we have old Honda's in the shed too. Cb550 and c70. It's Always the dang carbs)

It’s not a priority at the moment, I’m still in the homework stage but it sounds like I’m looking the right direction. 

ha! Her bike is currently running like crap because of a carb tuning issue (I suspect).  I don’t know anything about carbs so it’s a learning experience for both of us. 

If you have any pointers: it starts cold with no choke and idles great. Once it’s warmed up the idle creeps to about 2k and stays there. It sputters between 3k and 5k so bad that to get going to have to rev it to 5k and slip the clutch like I hate it. Then it dies at 8k. Quick search tells me it’s running too rich. I’m guessing the timing could be off too. I’ll need to go through everything. 

Rebuild the carb. You never know what you'll find in there. 

Get the Monster. I would take the 900 vs the 620.

I had a 1999 M750 Monster, a 2001 Monster S4 and currently have a 2007 Monster S4Rs. I could have most any bike I wanted and I couldn't think of a bike I would rather have then a 1st gen Monster.

I had a 1999 SV650 - turned to a track bike. Not the same on the street and nowhere near as pretty. 

I have had Japanese 600cc & liter bikes, Aprilia super bikes, my wife has a Ducati superbike. I still love the Monster over any of them. I was tempted by a Speed Triple R, but the Monsters are my fav ever since I saw this pic in a magazine way back when....

I have vintage bikes, and they are fun, but the 1st gen monster is technically a vintage bike having come out in 1993

Knowing what jets are "supposed" to be in the carb, and then checking all of them to make sure someone else hasn't messed them up, is probably a good idea as well.

spandak said:

It’s not a priority at the moment, I’m still in the homework stage but it sounds like I’m looking the right direction. 

ha! Her bike is currently running like crap because of a carb tuning issue (I suspect).  I don’t know anything about carbs so it’s a learning experience for both of us. 

If you have any pointers: it starts cold with no choke and idles great. Once it’s warmed up the idle creeps to about 2k and stays there. It sputters between 3k and 5k so bad that to get going to have to rev it to 5k and slip the clutch like I hate it. Then it dies at 8k. Quick search tells me it’s running too rich. I’m guessing the timing could be off too. I’ll need to go through everything. 

look for air leaks. Sometimes things let air in warm that would hod a vaccum when cold. try spraying something like brake cleaner or starting fluid around the carbs and intake mainifold to see if the revs increase. Could be a rubber manifold cracking. 

Great info guys thank you! It’s pouring rain here but when it slows I’ll give be able to make some progress.