Ducati Monster Forum

I ordered a Ducati Monster 795 some three months ago and took delivery in Bangkok on 7th June.

I put 1000 km on the clock in the first week.

This bike is one of the early production models from Ducati’s new assembly plant in Thailand and the build quality is excellent.  My only criticism with the build is that they seem to have an obsession with marking pretty much every threaded component with a paint marker.  I assume this is to identify that the fastener has been correctly torqued.  Blue and white dots everywhere.  Just do it right and throw away the paint pen!

The 795 is, in most respects, a 796 engine in a 696 chassis.  After 1000 km these are my thoughts about the bike:

1.  The mirrors have to go. 

They compromise your ability to filter through traffic and at certain points in the rpm range I cannot see a thing as they vibrate.  I have designed my own mirrors and will get them made later this week.

2.  The gearing is too tall.

The gearing is 15:39.  Given the poor condition of the roads here and the erratic drivers I will probably never do more than about 160 kph.  Sixth gear is never going to wear out.  I will probably go up on rear sprocket size when I need a new chain.

3.  The bars and rider comfort generally are OK.

Most of my riding will be out of town and wind force balances out the weight on your wrists at 120 to 130 kph.  In town I get a bit of wrist ache but I can live with it.  The hand levers are a bit of a stretch for me so I will probably swap to adjustable levers at some stage.   

4.  The engine runs too hot.

In ambient temperatures of up to 37 degrees Centigrade I saw a high of five bars on the oil temp gauge yesterday.  That, according to the manual, is 161 to 175 degrees Centigrade.  Way too hot in my opinion.  Even if the engine and oil could live with those temperatures you can bet that the ECU is backing off the ignition timing and probably making the mixture richer too.  Make it run cooler and I am sure it will make more power.

5.  I cannot believe this thing passes a noise test anywhere in the world.

So far as I can tell the standard silencers are the same as those on a 796.  The part number is different but I think that is just because these ones have a stamp to indicate that they comply with Thai noise standards.  They are made by a Taiwanese company, as are the exhausts for at least some other Ducatis, but I’ll bet their production plant is in mainland China.

The sales Johnny wanted to sell me the usual Termi and ECU package but it just does not represent value to me.  Parts prices here are generally much higher than the US or UK.  An oil filter, for example, is US$32.  The factory single seat is double the UK price.  The cost of the Termi kit was more than many Thais earn in a year.

6.  The accountants chose the forks for the 795.

The front forks are 43mm upside down Marzocchis.  So far as I can tell they are unique to the 795.  The part numbers are different to the 696 and 796.

I had a good look at the forks today.  Damping is solely in the right leg.  The spring in the right leg runs up to the fork cap with a spacer below the spring.  The spring in the left leg is in the lower part of the fork beneath a cap which is staked in place.  Given this construction I can only assume that both springs are the same.  The spring in the left leg is actuated by a rod (which in the right leg can properly be called a damper rod) which runs up to the fork cap and threads into it.

The net result is a set of forks where you can only change the spring and add preload to the right leg!

The ride seems lacking in compliance and I doubt that playing around with fork oil, which is all I can do, will fix things..

I have 46mm of sag at the front with rider seated and I only weigh 145 lbs. 

I might have to do some lateral thinking in this one.  Default fork swaps are not really viable here.

The Sachs rear damper seems adequate but the damper body gets seriously hot due to the proximity of the exhaust.  My feeling is that some kind of heat shield would be a good idea.

7.  Overall, I made the right choice.

The character of the bike reminds me of my 900ss from the 1970s.  The sound with the stock exhaust is just fine and the engine pulls like a train.  The handling also reminds me of my old 900ss but with levels of grip well beyond anything that bike could muster.  The styling could only be Italian and most of the componentry is good quality.

Honda sell a million bikes a year in Thailand but nothing over 250cc.  Given the lack of competition from the Japanese and the competitive price by virtue of local assembly buying the 795 was a no brainer.

Just been looking at Ohlins' website.

This may be the answer for the forks:

Öhlins Racing establishes Öhlins Asia Co.,Ltd in Thailand

5/31/2012

After 36 years of successful growth Öhlins Racing AB establishes a subsidiary in Thailand, Öhlins Asia Co.,Ltd.

Located in Amata Nakorn southeast of Bangkok this new company and its facility will be a complete Öhlins operation including R&D, production, procurement, sales and marketing and racing support specifically aimed at the Southeast Asian market.
“This is another important step for Öhlins Racing,” founder and president Kenth Öhlin explains. “The Asian market is growing rapidly and we want to further increase our presence there. Our new facility will be of the highest standard and will cater for the specific demands in Southeast Asia.”

Interesting points.  I have ~4K miles on my 2012 Monster 796 and noticed similar things.

Some comments to your post:
*  I also have little round stickers and paint pen marks EVERYWHERE.  I don't mind really.  In fact, they're still on there heh.
*  I actually love my factory mirrors.  They are admittedly in the way of car mirrors when splitting lanes, but it's not too bad.  I never understood people with "lane splitting mirrors", when those stick out even FURTHER than factory ones.
*  I agree about the gearing.  Even at 90mph, I don't think I ever really need the top gear.  I may have used it twice (accidentally).  Useless to me.
*  I didn't notice the engine being too hot.  It went up at most 4 bars, and this was sitting in 90 degree weather in traffic for an extended period of time.  Never went above 4 bars.
*  The bike in stock form is one of the quietest bikes in my opinion.  I still have the factory cans.

The 796 has an oil cooler. Does your 795? If not, maybe you can add that?

What you are reading is actually a combination of oil temperature and cylinder temperature.  Go here http://www.ducati.com/services/maintenance/index.do (http://www.ducati.com/services/maintenance/index.do) and go to page 32, you will see the location.

Yes the 795 has an oil cooler.  It is exactly the same arrangement as the 796/1100.  The part number is the same.

I am pretty sure the oil cooler is made here in Thailand contrary to what I have read elsewhere.  There is a factory here with around 1000 staff that makes heat exchangers for the big four Japanese manufacturers as well as BMW motorcycles and Ducati amongst others.  I remember them showing me Ducati parts a couple of years ago although neither they nor I knew what models they were for at that time.

The mirrors I am making will be adjustable for width and I intend that when fitted they will not extend beyond the bar ends.  Part of the problem for me with the stock mirrors is that their height seems to coincide with the height of many car mirrors here.

Thank you for the link on the temp sensor.  I will take a look.

OK.  Got it.  Temp sensor on the rear cylinder inlet side.

I can see that it is not reading purely oil temp.

I enjoyed reading your impressions of the Thai assembled 795  :).

(And I wonder how long it will be before Australian market Monsters are sourced out of Thailand).

My '09 M1100s is still littered with little yellow dots too, doesnt worry me - just indicates it was built by human hand.

True, they are also annoyingly prone to loosening as you ride.

As it is on all new Monsters IMHO (unless you're Raux).

Same stock gearing as M1100s.  I eventually settled on 15:43 as ideal for my riding conditions.

Same accountants bought similar design forks for the 696 (except they got them from Showa).

Glad you're happy with your ItaloThai 795  [thumbsup]

(I wonder why they decided on this model though, rather than simply assembling the 696 in Thailand for local consumption?)

Exporting the 795 to Australia would probably make sense given that there is a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in place between Thailand and Australia.

Assuming Ducatis assembled here fell under the FTA you could have cheaper Diavels too.  They started assembling those here a couple of months ago.  You can pay for them with Brook baked beans and tinned tomatos which I have enjoyed on a frequent basis since the existence of the FTA.

I use the word assembled rather that made or manufactured for good reason.  My understanding is that the engines for the Thai assembled bikes are all built up in Bologna and shipped over complete.  It is the cycle parts that are bolted around it here.

I think Ducatis initial motivation for the Thai plant was to take advantage of trade agreements in the region which allow them to sell at much lower prices.  The 795 has been selling like hot cakes in Thailand.  The Bangkok dealer told me they sold 37 in one week and my guess is that sales in this region, including China, are probably at a level where it is significant business to Ducati.  In addition to that Ducati probably pay their production workers here ten bucks a day. 

That all suggests to me that we will see more models made here and in greater volume.

I have no idea why Ducati came up with the 795 but I like it.  I am indifferent to single sided swing arms and I don't really value ABS.  In truth the only real problem I have with the 795 iis the alarming rate at which I am putting miles on the clock. 
   

   

Dogbolter59,

Thanks for the impression, I'm riding a 795 too. It's my first Duc so I have no prior experience to compare the 795 to, and so far I really love the bike.
BTW, I'm under the impression that my 795 is assembled here in Indonesia, which makes sense to me cause it makes the import tarrifs lower and in turn the bike may be sold at lower price. and because when I asked the dealership when my bike will be delivered, I was told me that at that time my bike was being assembled and will be delivered the next day.

bob

Is it possible that the bike is being assembled (from the crate which came from Thailand) in their warehouse, then delivered to the dealer?

In any case, how's the bike? Got any pics?

GK

Apologies in advance here, I am going to be cynical and negative:
1. Ducati Australia would need to be careful about how they manage the PR of sourcing bikes, especially the Diavel which is sort of a premium bike, from Thailand.  It would put some people off.
2. Assuming Ducati Australia does start importing the bikes from Thailand (let's face it they probably will) they might just pocket the price difference as extra profit so they can maintain their price point and 'prestige' image of the bikes.

I won't get started on the FTA!....

I would love to see pics of your bike.

Some Triumph models for the U.S. have been assembled in Thailand for years now which makes sense because a lot of content was local anyway. The majority of plant managers are from Hinckley and the QC is the equal to or better than Hinckley. This move has helped to keep Triumph competitive with the Japanese brands and few here appear to find this a turn-off.

The fact that it's assembled in Thailand would put someone off, is possible, though I find it's hard to understand.

My understanding is that the bikes are assembled in Thailand, or in my case in Jakarta, Indonesia. The plant here is just an assembly plant, and what they do is, you know, put all the parts together.  I don't think they cast the engine blocks there, but what do I know.

To my knowledge, Harley has been doing the same thing here in Indonesia for quite some time, since the year 2001 IIRC. They have assembly plant in the same area as the ducati's assembly plant not far from where I live. By doing that, they (ducati and harley) can keep the price lower than if the bikes were imported in complete built-up condition.

bob

I understand that quality may not be affected in reality, but Triumphs are a value proposition these days. e.g. Street Triple costs AUD14k, 696 costs AUD15.5k.  There aren't many (any?) 700cc nakeds (air cooled 2 valves no less) that cost $15,500.

The way I see it...

If someone really really wants to pay a huge import tax just to have a little sticker that says "Assembled in Italy", all the more power to them, they can request to have one imported in for them.  The rest of the world will simply have to deal with their frame sticker that says "Assembled in Thailand"... right before they take the sticker off and spend the up to 300% less they spent for the bike on mods.

And lets be honest here... it's not really like italian bikes are known for their superior reliability and assembly.  Being caught up on where it was assembled pretty much is stating that all you care about is the bragging rights of having a duc vs riding it.

Completely agree with you, thought.

Not Dogbolter59 but here's a pic of my 795, in stock condition.

(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7118/7453777380_09a56b1ccb.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/29605491@N07/7453777380/)
bob795 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/29605491@N07/7453777380/#) by BobPS (http://www.flickr.com/people/29605491@N07/), on Flickr

bob

If I wanted to buy a 796 here in Thailand it would cost me US$ 8,125 more than than a 795.

That figure is not a typo.

A Panigale starts at US$ 37,500 here thanks to import tax. 

The top model Panigale is US$ 46,875.

The 796 is US$ 20,625.

The 795 is US$ 12,500.

Weighing the warm feeling of owning a Ducati made in Italy against giving a huge sum in tax to the Thai Government I went for the 795.

There are some people out there to which image matters.  It's naive to think Ducati don't market to them - why do you think they called it the Pannigale?
Personally, I don't mind where my bike was made.  At some point in the future I will have reassembled the whole bike any way - in which case it will be made in Australia!

My point simply is in Australia I don't imagine a significant (if any) price drop for the customer if the Ducs come from Thailand compared with Italy.
History has shown this time and time again with some 'premium' and 'prestige' cars in Australia now being sourced from Thailand  and South Africa.  The price of these didn't drop, the companies just pocketed the extra profit.

Riding a 2013 795 in the Land of Smiles and having a blast with the bike. I'm not so thrilled with the roads or local drivers but that wasn't a surprise. My last bike was a Harley Road King Classic which was comfy as hell but handling was, well, a challenge expecially compared to the Duc.