Ducati Monster Forum

If you had to choose between these three which one would it be? All 2008 models.

Honda CBR600RR

Yamaha R6

Triumph Daytona 675

(Ben -- your vote don't make the beast with two backsing count!  [cheeky])

The '08 CBR-RR is supposed to be the best of the best this year.  There's only the Graffiti color, though at SS.  Last one until the '09s.

(I checked.)

????

I guess you are at wits end with the immobilizer issues?

Nope. Not at all. Just keeping my mind busy with useless pondering.

Gotcha.  So what was the "two backsing count" thing all about?

Maybe I should say nevermind.  ;)

the daytone didn't sit so bad.... but that new yammie is certainly hard to ignore...

I am sure that they would all make really good additions to any stable.  One thing though, and something that you mentioned on Sunday, was that even though Honda makes a wonderful machine they just seem a little over-engineered (i.e. dead).  I have to wonder if the R6 might feel similar.  Hard to say without being able to take them for a spin.  Shame we/you didn't get to take that one girl's (that we saw the first time I took the Daytona out) new 600RR for a quick ride when she stopped to chat that day. 

One thing about the 675 is that it still has a bit of hooligan to it, and it seems to actually want to be ridden by a mad man.  I kind of like that.  ;)

I would love a Honda VFR if I were stateside and wanted to ride endlessly and trouble-free with some baggage anywhere at any time.  That said, Passion is not part of the experience.

I have always been a bit of a freak for Yamaha, and the new R6 is a keen little offering.  Yellow and Black is a can't lose combo.  Shame about the flames though.

That said, taking Ben and his bike out of the equation, the Triumph is the winner.  Sorry Ben-jo.

Dude, you are going to take me out?  I hope you know that I am not a cheap date.  You gotta take me to a classy place in order for me to put out.  ;)


You know, there are two REALLY pretty blue 675s down there at the moment.  ;)  And also a green Street Triple, along with a really tasty looking white Speed Triple.

Sorry to break this to ya, but two forties and a pound of bacon does, in fact, make you a cheap date.   ;)

fowdy's n'bacon? sigm me up!

lol you do know what benjo means in japanese right?

 [laugh] [laugh] [laugh] [laugh] [laugh] [laugh]

ah-yup.  no offense meant to ol' ben, but it has a cute ring to it.

Pa!  Das kommt mir Spaniesch...

Yep, and that is exactly why it still gets 1st place in my book for that class. The test riders over at MCN said they'd love the the 675 engine in the Honda chassis. While they ranked the Honda 1st, the Yamaha 2nd and the Daytona 3rd it was also noted that the 675 would have ranked higher if not for the notchy gearbox.  What's up with that? Yours wasn't a bit "notchy" as I recall.

I'm taking the 999 down to the dealer on Saturday to get it fixed. I've had a few people tell me not to get rid of it no matter what. We'll see........

I haven't noticed it being notchy at all either.  But I guess anything could be considered that way when it is compared to a pad of butter sliding on a sheen of oil.  ;)

what about spanish?

It's a saying in German, that doesn't really have a literal translation into english.  Kind of like saying "dude, that shit is whacked!".  ;)

wiggidty wack?

Very much so.

All of a sudden the R6's don't look that bad to me anymore.  It's way too sad that Michael sprayed the tire gloss all over the tires  :o !  I almost stopped at a car parts store to buy a couple cans of brake cleaner so we could clean that crap off.  Of course what an ingenious way to scare people off from asking for a test drive.  [thumbsup]  Only thing is that's it's slick for you too and that must have been a bit unsettling (pun intended).

Jeez, not even 50 posts yet.  I've got to do a little whorin' to catch up with you guys.

Yea, he and I came back to my place after the ride and had a few beers.  He said that it felt a little skittish at first, but was a bit more unnerved at how everyone else seemed to expect him to bite it. 

He said that he had a good time out, but felt a little out of place because everyone else was fully geared up.  I told him that he should just buy my old jacket from me and be done with it.  ;)

I never expected him to bite it but having tire sheen all over the outer edges of both front and rear tires wouldn't  exactly be confidence inspiring. One of the whole reasons for going over Tantalus first was to set him up with bunches of low speed corners where he would have the opportunity to scrub some of that stuff off.  Just thought it might help make the rest of the ride a bit more fun. That's all.

:o  :o
I got oil on my CBR tire, hand scrubbed it off with Fast Orange (with pumice). Rubbed that baby really hard, got the juice out.
It was in the center of the tread though, not near the edges.

I've been listening to a bunch of R6 and CBR exhausts on YouTube.  None of them come close to the raspiness of  the D675.

Even the D675 is still a far cry from the T9 or 1098.   Spoiled to the max.   [cheeky]

Yea, the 675 is completely different to the Duc's.  No where near as deep, but I have grown to love that little supercharged sound it has.  ;)

fixed.  :-*

Hey, don't hate!  You only wish that you could whistle in such a seductive fashion.   ;)

actually, no.  ;D

By the way, there is rumor of a 675R coming out in 2009.  It is reported to come from the factory with full Ohlins suspenders among other goodies...

keen!

Yea, should be pretty neat.  I am hoping that Mac sees this and forgets about his idea of getting my bike's twin on the island.  ;)

That would be cool indeed.  There's still a fair way to go before doing anything about that just yet.  Time has a way of healing economic wounds and the sound, the feel of those big twin guns is pretty addicting. The irony here, of course, is that the better Ben's D675 sounds and runs plays a huge factor in any decision.  It has to appeal to me as strong, or nearly as strong, as the Ducati does because none of those other bikes do it for me.

Ok then.  So I shall pamper it until you have committed yourself on a new CBR.  ;)

Maybe a RC-51?

Or a tasty Aprilia.  ;)

Possibly. But that would require extra dough above and beyond what the T9 would bring which would be tough because the T9 is eating up what little extra dough I had stashed and then some.  Those are harsh negative numbers. Can't do that. I have to maintain or come out ahead in any kind of bike exchange should one, in fact, occur.

I want my Triple 9 back.  :'(

Soon good sir, soon.  And just think, you will feel the benefits of an even greater power to weight ratio with all the money you spent on it.  ;)

Yep. My back pocket will be so light that it'll throw my CG off and I'll be falling on my face.  [laugh]

The fates are having their way with me.  Last night my significant other, the loyal opposition, was hammering me a bit.  "Why do you need two bikes, why don't you sell one?" 

Because one is more for utility, Saturday errand running and some good all around fun. The other is a full on rocks off blast around  piece of high end fussy race bike that's weird but cool and makes me feel things that no other bike does. 

And I think about selling it quite a few times every day, so there. In fact , it's a burning issue in my age and beer addled brain.

"Well, if you're thinking about selling it why don't you, Hey, why don't you sell both of them and go back to riding the bicycles more again?

I might ride the bicycles more often. I have even decided to put up with the pain and suffering but I'm having at least one motorcycle. I might even get a Triumph.

"You can't do that. You've got too much Ducati shit around here and you've got two Ducati jackets. Don't tell me you're going to wear those jackets on a Triumph, or are you going to buy a Triumph jacket?"

Hey, I haven't even bought a Triumph yet -- I'll cross that bridge if and when it comes up.

Fast forward to this morning --- she's walking past me while I'm on the computer and notices the picture of the 999 on the screen background of the desktop.

"Oh, that's such a pretty bike -- you should keep that one! I like it!"


GRRRR.     GRRRR.    GRRRRR.   MUMBLE.   MUMBLE.

On the way to the bike shops this morning I pass a guy at Norfolk on a Daytona 675, black with 2 Bros can on the back (How I'd personally set one up) --- he catches me on Kalanianaole so I watch and listen.  Meehh,  It ain't makin' my heart go as pitter patter as I thought it might. Still......

Go to Cycle City --- The Aprilia Factory Mille was gone. Nothing else even remotely interesting to me.
Guy talking to a salesman and looking at a brand new Sportster 1200.  Salesman asks "Is this going to be your first bike?  "Yep" "You got a license yet?" "Nope, but I'm getting that handled this week." "Do you know how to ride?" "Yep, I've been borrowing my friends bike." "Great, let's go over to my desk and talk some numbers"

Oh yeah.

South Seas. Saw the 696.  The R6 and the CBR1000RR look pretty interesting.

Went out to South Seas Waipahu --- The 675 SE is gone, in fact the one remaining blue 675 Daytona also had a sold tag on it.

The stars are cutting my options short.  Oh well........................

TBR can on a jet black eh?  How did it sound opened up? 

From what I have heard, on youtube, I am still a bit partial to the LeoVince full system myself.  I am still trying to get a time when Jeff, the guy in my building with the red 675, can come out with us.  He also has a TBR can on his...

And this bit was on the other thread, but I figured it was more applicable here...

Well, all things being said and done...  I have to say that after riding your bike, even as short of a ride as it was, there aren't all that many things that I would consider trading it for.  Of course the call of the 1098 song is strong, but even though it is starting to become a money pit, you already have a REALLY nice Ducati SBK.  None of the Japanese bikes really do it for you, can't say that I blame you on that call, and you don't fancy the other Daytona that is left, if it is left.  One way of the other it seems like the T9 and you are meant to be together, and that is FAR from a bad thing!!

Oof.  I get feedback like that from the wiff all the time.  She doesn't see it as frustrating.  :P

And I just happened to stumble upon this while trying to find the times for today's MotoGP race, which doesn't seem to be happening.  :(  Good thing that WSBK is at the Green Hell this week.   ;D

http://motorcycling.speedtv.com/article/2008-triumph-speed-triple/

And just to cloud your waters even further, they had a white one down in Waipahu the last time I was down there.  ;)

Actually I do fancy the other Daytona SE. Of course I am the Ducati fan first and foremost but I would get a Daytona SE in a heartbeat over the Japanese offerings. Yesterday I was ready to put money on the darn thing to have them hold it, or whatever.

BUT IT HAS BEEN SOLD!  Rats!

So I am forced to keep my Ducati options open for a while yet. That is far from a bad thing. Yep.  [beer]

No no, what I meant was that you did not fancy the blue one that was still down there.  There are no more SEs coming to Hawaii!!  ;)

Although I think that guy still has his jet black one for sale...

The big "If and When" assumption here is that the 999 will someday be sold.  Then what?

The very smartest thing to do would be simply to keep the Monster, shut up and be happy. OK, shut up have a beer or two or three and be happy.

But noooo.............

Unless anybody else has some good suggestions these bikes are at the top of my list but not in any particular order with maybe one exception.

KTM Super Duke, KTM 690 Duke, Suzuki GSX-R750, Suzuki SV1000S (this one sort of being the runt, dark horse of the litter)

The KTM's are kind of unique, lots of fun and run pretty darn good too, once you get past the same light throttle fueling problems that Ducati's have. The SuperDuke doesn't have the power of the 999 but it's still got plenty of scoot and handles great. The 690 Duke might actually be the one that I could have the most fun on. Great handling and great power to weight ratio. The problem with these bikes is that they are even rarer than Ducatis and as such have even poorer factory/dealer/aftermarket support. The dealer hasn't worked on them yet and they don't even have all the tools they need but on the other hand the bikes should be relatively trouble free. The basic engines and frames have been around for years in dirt bikes or adventure riding machines. The SuperDuke has the same size radiator as the 999 (pretty sucking small if you ask me) with only 1 fan and no oil cooler. I reckon it'll run hot over here in traffic. Same deal with the 690 Duke except it might be a little cooler as there is only heat from 1 cylinder to deal with.

The GSXR has a massive radiator. The bike is practically at the apogee of it's evolution and has dealer/parts/service/aftermarket support up the ying-yang. Even though I would still feel like I have no where to run it, just like the 999, at least I wouldn't have to deal with all the idiosyncrasies like the Ducatis have. The SV1000S doesn't have the handling, yada-yada-yada of the GSXR but it's way less expensive and has the nice V twin torque and power delivery. It's said that for general purposes I shouldn't be able to tell handling/braking differences at my skill level and with riding it on the limited roads we have. Dunno about all that. I do know that after sitting on them and pushing on the front and rear shocks the GSXR feels better to me. I have no idea if that same difference would actually translate out to real life on the road.

The Triumph 675 Daytona was also a front runner for a long time but I'm having a bit of a problem with the new nose on the '09 model. I can kind of understand why some people are so put off by the difference between the 916 style and the 999 style. Once you're put off you tend to kind of stay put off. That louvered air scoop on the new Daytona nose puts me off.

I think I'll go have a couple of beers and a cigar and mull this over some more. I've got time. Cheers guys.
 [beer]

Cool.  Whatcha drinking?  I just got a couple of Guiness in the fridge and ready to go.

And you know, you can always go and take a look at that RC51.  Great V-twin lump and sound, probably just as good of handling as any of the other bikes you are looking at, as much as you can use here that is, and at an attractive price.  ;)

You know, I wish that guy would have had that 749S for sale when I bought the Daytona.  If so, I would probably have a red Duc in the garage waiting for its yellow sister to get here.

I like the Duke as a probable Tantalus Runner.  [thumbsup]

I also like the SV.  But I have no taste.

Well, I like the SV too, so that's two of us.  [thumbsup]  The 690 for Tantalus would be spot on. The SuperDuke maybe, but I think it'd be a tad heavy. Dunno.

And as for drinking it's only been three Guinness Stouts. At home, so I'm good.

You know, as much as I like to egg you on about this, I really think I would just end up keeping the T9 if I were you.  I don't know what it is about it, but it seems to grow on me more and more each time I see it.  I think a lot of that started after you let me ride it the first time...

690 duke

That is the heavy favorite at this minute.  [laugh]

then make it so.

The 690 has stalling and fueling issues. However, it makes only 3 less horsepower than the Monster, 11 less ft. lbs of torque but weighs about 80 lbs less than the Monster. That could be impressive.  One other thing is that there are only, maybe, 200 imported into the US a year. Yikes! Plus the 2009 costs about $1,000.00 more than it did last year. Cough, cough.

And the complete lack of a knowledgeable support network here...

Not to mention that on top of the $1,000.00 MSRP increase it seems that the only decent exhaust system upgrade runs about $2,300.00 and then one still might have to get a Power Commander to make good use out of it. Maybe or maybe not on the PC. In any case I could be out around $13K before tax and license, depending. When you are talking about that kind of dough that puts it in contention with some other pretty serious machines.  You can see how the dilemma unfolds. If I only rode the Monster by myself or with other Monsters it wouldn't be so bad. Ride with some other machines that make almost twice the horsepower and the differences are glaring. BTW, I checked and the 98 only makes about 67 HP with the small valve heads. It might make 70 HP with the FCRs but still when stacked up against bikes that are running 110 HP and above, well.... you just sit back and say" bye, bye" until everyone calms down.  [laugh]

Oh, I forgot to mention that as of this afternoon the 690 Duke isn't at the top of the list anymore.  [cheeky]

No?  And what is?

Damned if I know at this point.

I figured that after yesterday's ride you would be looking more and more to the 750.

Possibly, though I wouldn't have done the Dillingham blast regardless of which bike I would have been on for the same reasons I don't gas it around Norfolk. Crapping in your own yard, or something like that.  I guess I'm having to really take stock of what direction I want to go in motorcycling and how much I want to spend. This afternoon if you were to ask me "Which bike, not counting the Monster, would you get?" I'd say the 750. Our bunch yesterday was fairly roudy. Fun? Yes. At times. Sometimes the fun goes way against better judgment and I'm not sure if that's fun anymore. The fun line shifts like tide marks so it's hard for me to draw a line until I'm in the moment. I thought I saw the Sport Classis shaking a bit in some of the straight line runs and I know my Monster was near to it's limit at times. Maybe it has a lot to do with the limit of the machine too.

That old bit about it being more fun to ride a slow bike fast than riding a fast bike slow. I disagree. Personally I have, and can, take a slow bike and wring it out. Even when I was running against other equally slow bikes it wasn't usually that much fun straining the engine, the chassis and the brakes. If you're racing in a certain class then that's just the way it is and it is fun. If I'm just out horsing around on the streets I have much more fun knowing that I'm well within the performance parameters of the bike.

No kidding.  The pace was a wee bit high at times.  And at other times it was a wee bit too fast; hence why I backed off after I did my Rossi impression.  ;)

But seriously, a few of those guys seem down right dangerous at times.  Like when the guy on the older CBR almost took out the newer CBR when he tried to turn towards Haleiwa.  Also, the one guy (I can't remember any of their names) with the long hair seems to have a thing for diving under people once they commit to a turn.  Fun for some I guess, but also dangerous for all...

Roger.  Stored in my "people not to ride with" file. 

Would those people be Ben & myself?  ;D (Sometimes the two of us could be the pot calling the kettle black) -- Or would it be some anonymous sport bikers? Have you met those guys? The group we're talking about is different from the groups you've ridden with.  They're all baaaaaadddd.  [cheeky]

I was referring primarily to

I am frequently tempted to go faster, and occasionally to pass in a turn, but I am usually able to control those urges.  It sucks that we don't have a track, but that doesn't make riding like an ass any more acceptable.  I guess there are times, when there is little to no traffic, when it ain't sooo bad.  Shit, I just want it all.  Or I don't know what I want.  I need a nap.

Sounds to me as if you want it all to come while napping.  ;)

Hey! Join the club! Awake or when napping, no matter. And, to top it all with, (besides bad grammar) I'll still ride like an ass sometimes, traffic or no traffic. It's the sperm of the moment.

That's nasty.  ;)

And on a slightly lighter note;  I stopped by South Seas to see if they had any decent rear stands that would work for the SC and while there, Scott told me that the Matt Fox bike is still buried in the back somewhere.  lol

That is extremely hilarious! LOL! Serves them right. ........... And so, your new SC, ques qa c'est? (I think I murdered that  [laugh])

Was sprichst du?  Das kommt mir Spanisch.

It's supposed to be ques ce c'est avec votre SC? (What's up with your SC?) And don't give me any of this Spanish stuff!

Spanisch? Nein!! Ich spreche Deutsch.

Err, Spanish?

Nope.  Spanisch ist Spanish auf Deutsch.

OK, now I'm confused.  You said something about Spanisch, then mac said not spanish, then you said german, then I said 'but you said spanish' (effectively) and then you said nope, spanisch is spanish.  which is what we've been saying all along. 



right?
 :'(

lol  Spanisch is how you spell Spanish in German.  When you say "Das kommt mir Spanisch" in German, you are basically saying "that doesn't make any sense to me" in English. 

That is all I can say.   8)

That is just like the Germans to come up with a slang that runs another country down and then expect everyone to know what they're talking about when they use the expression.

Jawohl!  Das ist in ordnung!

Uhm Rick?  Just noticed that it says (sold) next to the 999.  Care to explain?

It is what it is. Paid for and should be picked up tomorrow.   :'(  Just have the Monster now.  [thumbsup]

And enough money to get started on a replacement.  ;) 

So did you get what you were asking for?  Was the buyer the same guy that flaked out on seeing it twice?

"YES" to all the above.  Replacement is still up in the air.  If any other bike moves in the Monster must move out.

BOOO Monster moving out!!!

BOOO woman dictating things upon manfolk!!!

HOORAY BEER!!!     [beer]

Aaahh, but what if something better than Monster comes along and selling Monster helps make it happen?

Ohne wenn es kommt aus Oestereich und von KTM!!  MV Agusta ist auch schoen!   8)

Okay German boy, do you really want me to start posting in Chinese?  Cause I sure don't!

Will your keyboard do that?

I don't anything about any of that but KTM's extremely limited support network has put those bad boys at the back of the list. Too bad as both Dukes are pretty cool but I'll be damned if I end up at the mercy of lack of parts, finicky running and limited knowledge. At least Will knows what he's doing with the Ducs. If I bought either KTM they would be doing on the job training on my bike. No, no, no.

shenanigans!




 [popcorn]

Well I guess so then. [laugh]

BUT, how are we to know that isn't actually Japanese?   [cheeky] 

1.2 billion chinese and will shout in unison that their 5000 years of history made that language what it is today.


a mess  :P

You said it brother.

Quit threadjacking my thread!! --- This is supposed to be about serious angst and hand wringing in the "Oh, boy, what do I do next life course changing decision and how badly is my wife going to beat me?".  [coffee] [laugh]

Sorry mac.  I feel for you.    :'(

So, are you doing the wife-support thing for her ride tomorrow?

We all tried brother, but you kept shooting down all of our ideas.  So now I say get a BUSA!!  ;)

She's not riding. My boss at work is in the race but so far I don't think I have any support obligations.

Sorry but it's tough out there.   ;D  Busa? Did you say Busa? No, No, No. If I were to spend that $$$ I'd end up with an 848. Which is still........ I don't know, maybe....... In today's travels I'm going to try to get some prices narrowed down just to see what the actual stretch would be.  Hmmmm.

An 848 would be sweet!!  Are you riding on these travels that you speak of?

I am but later in the day after I sweep Ala Moana Center parking lot with brochures for the shop. We need to get some advertising out. I don't know exactly when I'd finish that. 2pm? I have the Monster at the shop but will be going to AM with my sweetie in her car. Hit the lot and then back to the shop. Want to go ride around a bit after the parking lot sweep?

YES YES YES!  Give me a call and let me know when you want to meet up and I can meet you there at the shop.

You got it, will do. Like I need another devil on my shoulder.  [evil] [evil] [laugh] [laugh] Turnabout is fair play they say.

Hey Rick, how does this contend for your next ride?

http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=11215.0

tristan like

That looks great!  Except for the vents/air intake on the tank panels. You know what? I think I have it figured out. How about scoops over the air intakes instead of just leaving them plain open? How'd that look?

better me thinks. Maybe you should hold out and see what next year brings from Bologna?

that bike's a step up, at least...

luddite!  luddite! Go back to your horse-drawn bike!  [cheeky]

maybe I will, jebus....

maybe I will...

but where would you keep the horses?

Bringing an old thread back from the dead for a new picture post.  So here it is:

http://www.triumph675.net/forum/showthread.php?t=27064 (http://www.triumph675.net/forum/showthread.php?t=27064)