Ducati Monster Forum

I'm looking at a 2005 monster 620, and am considering buying.  Unfortunately it doesn't really have a service history.  It has 17000 miles and has had two owners.  I spoke with the 2nd owner, and he owned it since 8000 miles.  During that time, he never had belts replaced or a valve adjustment.  I don't know what kind of service was done the first 8000 miles.  The price is about 3200 before licensing.  Should I pull the trigger and go for it?  Also, this will be my first bike - although I have some cruiser riding experience.  3200 is at the top of what I'm looking to spend, so I hate to buy it and then be forced to have $800 dollars of service done.  Any good indicators of the wear and tear on belts or valves to look for?

Sorry, forgot to introduce myself.  I'm kris from ohio  [thumbsup]

Welcome to the DMF, Kris.   [thumbsup]

In terms of price, the bad news is that you're going to have to pay for a 12k service (valves, belts, etc) not matter what.  While you can check what the belts looks like, regardless of their wear, they still need to be replaced every 12k or two years anyway.  The valves should be checked at 6k and there's no simple way that I know of tell if they're out of spec.  Alternatively, you can avoid paying for the 12k service by doing it yourself.  But I wouldn't attempt it unless you're mechanically-minded.  No matter what, it will take a while and you should still figure to spend at $100-$200 in parts though.

For a first bike, you may want something where you know more about it's history.  Also, make sure you figure the cost of buying motorcycle gear into your "first bike" budget.

+1 to everything Spidey said. I would pass on the bike or tell the guy to have it serviced first before you purchase it, the bike needs to be checked out before purchase.  There are other bikes out there.....

Oh, something else.  I don't know if you know this already, but the owner should have the red key and the key card.  Otherwise, he better drop his price another $1500 because you might run into issues with the immobilizer.  If you need, we can explain that in more detail, or a search for "red key" should produce some threads describe the issue.   

Thanks for the quick replies!  I did check with the keys, and it does have the red key thankfully.  I was thinking about doing the service myself, because i am somewhat mechanically minded.  What else is done for the 12,000 mile service besides valves and belts?  Also, what kind of damage can be done to one of these engine by a worn, old or warped belt?

If a belt breaks you'll most likely end up with a valve through the piston.  :-\

The 12k usually involves the belts, a valve check, oil change, brake and clutch fluid changes, spark plugs, fuel filter and general lubrication and checking of da stuffs on da bike.  If a belt fails, you're going to do serious damage to your engine.  The belts control the cams, which controls the valves.  The damage can be as small as a messed up valve or as large and a completely blown engine.  There are plenty of online tutorials to walk you through a 12k service and you can stop at any point and post up here and get some help.  Also, there are plenty of Ohio folks (dunno where you are located exactly) with a lot of Duc knowledge who might be willing to lend a hand.

I would skip this one-if nothing else, it doesn't sound like the current owner was real interested in maintaining it, which begs the question if it's ever seen an oil change.

Good point.  You're probably on the hook for plugs too (though that's only $10), and should have the fork oil replaced as well - since that's never been done. If you can do the forks, it's only about $10 in parts.  But if you need someone to do it, it is a couple hours of time in a shop.

Also, have a good look at the tires.  IF they are the originals, they are probably pretty shabby - and most bike tire manufacture strongly suggest that tires be swapped at 5 years of age regardless of millage.  A set of tires will run you the better part of $300, not including mounting costs.

Good that's it's got a Red Key - but you also want to have the code card.  Double check on that item of you decided to follow up negotiations

From what it sounds like a sprockets set and chain may be needed too.

My stock 2005 620 rear tire had worn through right to the steel by about 3500 miles and the dealer suggested that was fairly typical. If this bike sill has the original tires at almost fourteen thousand miles more than that I would be shocked into insensibility. What would motorcycle tires have to be made of to get seventeen thousand miles on them?

It depends on riding style and rider weight and roads. The wifey could get 12k or more on a stock tire on a stock 695.

I could get 3k if I was lucky (more likely 2k) on a S4R.


I flog things, she doesn't, and I'm more'n twice her size. Such is life.

I bought an '03 620 back in February for $4200 with all the paperwork and 4500 miles, they're out there, just be patient. If you buy a neglected Duc, you'll pay much more down the road. I'd skip this one, unless you can pick it up for $2500 or so.

Agreed. It turns out you can get an '05 with under 4,000 miles with all service records (at a highly-respected dealer) for a very reasonable price... ;)

What part of Ohio are you located? I'd be glad to keep an eye out for you if I know what you're looking for.

with a bike with about 8-10k miles on it without a service and you are getting close to 18k miles total, this bike will probably need at the least. bc most of it has to be done anyway for th 18k service.

valve clearances checked and fixed
new belts installed
new oil/filter and probably clean out metal oil filter, others know what this is.
if its 8k miles on the tires, then you proably want/need new tires
if its 8k-10k miles since last main service you probably need a new chain and sprockets i went through them in 12k miles and a second chain in 7k miles
if its the original battery you would proably want to replace that, 4 years is basically the life of a motorcycle battery.
check forks see if there is any problems.
change brake/clutch fluid and possibly need new rear brakes at least

all of this if you bring it to a good 3rd party mechanic will probably cost around 1k-1.1k dollars only bc the tires/chain and battery will cost you even if you bought it from the internet and had him with just labor install them for around $400 total= 250 tires/100 battery/100 chain and this is somewhat conservative you might find better deals. that leaves around 600-700 for the normal service which is probably what a dealwer will charge you.

so what you could do if you really like the bike is tell the guy this and see if he will come down by 500-1000 doubt he will do it but its something to ask.

You should have it looked at first by an authorized dealer before any decision is made. A full service will cost you up to $800 given the obvious neglect. But then too, that bike is a Monster. Its a well built machine, that will last if you take care of it.