Always had a hard on for the Monster's. Any info on a 1995 M900? Looking at one locally but I don't know much about them.
18,000 Miles
Clips ons, exhaust, new brake pads and just had the timing belt replaced.
Gonna go test ride it tonight, anything I should look for?

 

Get a Buell

JK, my brother used to have one and it was a nice bike. He sold it because it was due for maintenance and was going to cost more than he paid for the bike.

 

find out the last time it had a full service completed.

Ducatis are race bikes, plain and simple. They have race engines. Those engines generally need a complete teardown and rebuild once every so many miles. I will look up the maintenance schedule.

 

Ducati Monster List FAQ

 

+1 fooger - I wasn't joking when I recommended a Buell. It's hard to beat a push rod v-twin in reliability, plus.. dat torque. As long as you get an 07+ XB you can go 40k+ easily before needing a top end rebuild. No valves to adjust, belt doesn't need to be maintained, and you can squeeze near 100whp out of them with bolt ons and tuning.

You guys know this, but damn I love my XB

 

I've read that the 2 valves are fairly more reliable and durable. I'm pretty mechanically inclined and would be willing to tackle pretty much any job. Its old man owned. I'll report back after I test ride it.

 

2V air cooleds are the least maintenance intensive Ducs. Which is not to say that they aren't maintenance intensive. Be prepared to spend lots of money if you aren't going to wrench on it yourself.

I've owned somewhere north of 20 bikes in the last 30 years. I always wanted a Duc, and eventually bought a 2004 ST4S. I owned it for a little over 2 years and around 12k miles, and will never own another Duc. Chassis was mediocre, brakes were ****, and it was the first bike in 20 years that left me stranded. When I was tracking bikes regularly, the guys who tried Ducs all went back to Japan, Inc, 'cause the Ducs didn't hold up on the track.

 

Monsters are awesome, but if the service prices scare you, you might consider an FZ1, SV, or Versys.

Not all of those are killer race bike looks, but they're great naked bikes.

 

This will be ridden very softly and only in town and brief mountain stints on the weekend. No racing or overly aggressive riding.
Maybe 1000 miles a year. If it's in good shape I'll probably bite the bullet just so I can fall in love, or hate it, and learn the hardway.

I'll keep you guys posted.

 

I've owned a 1999 monster 750, and a 1997 916 mono. The 2 valve air cooled like the one you're looking at is a great choice as far as simplicity and reliability.
My 916 was a hassle, but man did it rip.

 

owned a 750ss, cagiva elephant, 900ss, 748 and an 888 in my time. Top end service is frequent and expensive. That being said... I'm a fanboi and wouldn't own anything else.

 

I had an 851 with exhaust and a tune (~110hp), it was ridiculous.

Im not sure I would want a 90s monster. That 2v aircooled motor was not very powerful and there are plenty of faster and more reliable Japanese bikes around.
The Ducatis do sound amazing though.

 

I actually want a monster again...but I want a mid 2000's S2R. 2 valve air cooled of the old style, but with the beauty of a single swingarm. The s4r has the 4 valve fuel injected 6 speed liquid cooled setup from the 916, but on the naked monster.

 

FTFY,

But seriously, I actually FTFY, no joke. The SV650 / SV1000 is like a practical, reliable, everyday-rider version of everything that Duck / Buell have ever attempted to manufacture.

 

Absolute truth.

 

Gosh I miss my SV650... Currently have an 88' Kawi 600r and wish I could afford to get back into an 03'+ SV.

 

She came home tonight, cleaner than in the pictures, and appears to be very well maintained.

I completely understand where you guys are coming from. Every bike I've owned(street/dirt) has been a Japanese bike except one KTM I had for 4-5 years.
Something about the L twin sound (it has a K&N and Yoshi's) and the carbueration and aircooled simplicity really gives me a hard on.
This is also my first carb'd street legal bike; on that note it came with a BNIB set of Keihin Flat-CR race carbs.
So checked it out, rode it, and fell in love. It's not fast like a normal liter bike(RR, GSXR, ZX10R, etc), but man, it has torque everywhere(+I only weigh 140lbs with gear).

 

Awesome!!!
My '99 m750 was bone stock when I bought it. If this is also stock, I could tell you how to make it feel like you bolted on another cylinder for under $200.

 

Go on..

It just has a k&n drop in and slip on Yoshi's. I have a set of Keihin flat side carbs for it as well.

 

While I agree that the sv is a GREAT bike, especially for beginners - I challenge you to show me what is not "everyday ride-able", "practical" or "reliable" about the XB series of Buells (sans the 03-04 bikes).