Ducati Monster Forum

Hi,

I am looking into buying my first motorcycle and am not sure if I am getting a good deal or being ripped off!?
What do you think about this one?
Is it street legal?
What would be MPG?

How much should I pay for this bike?

Following is the ad for 2006 Ducati Monster S4R

Holy make the beast with two backsing shit! A mother make the beast with two backsing 2006 Ducati Monster S4R!!!

That's right this badass embodiment of all that is awesome in a motorcycle is for sale. This bad boy is a real Ducati not one of the lame new ones. Lets see
Big L-twin? Check
Dry clutch? Check
Trellis frame? Check
Single sided swing arm? Check
Sexy panty dropping red? Check
This bike is all that is man and gets an approval nod from Chuck Norris! Its was already badass enough but what did I do? That's right I threw some mother make the beast with two backsing termignonis on that pregnant dog along with the flashed ecu and open airbox it demanded! So now this liquid cooled 4 valve beast sounds like Satan having an orgasm every time you twist the throttle!
This bike has been ridiculously well maintained and taken care of. It doesn't know what rain is and has never touched the ground with anything but its tires( dunlop Q2s with about 500 miles on them!)
I bought this bike with 300 miles on it and just don't have the heart to ride it as often as I want to, I've had the bike for almost 2 years and only have about 5600 miles on her. She is too pretty for me to abuse! So I'm selling her to get a new daily beater to replace my z1000.
It's a sad sad day for me because this bike is all that I love about motorcycles. I will regret this.
Seriously you should buy this bike, it's made out of titties, bacon, and crack.

Well, it's got a steel tank... it doesn't look like anything ridiculous was done to it...

but I wouldn't want to spend that much on it.  I might be a cheap bastage, though.

somebody needs help writing craigslist ads




offer him 6

seriously............
if you walked onto a car dealer's lot and the salesman talked to you like that, would you buy a car there?

Check the prices on NADA and KBB for reference, plus other local sales for going rate. Miles are low, plus the aftermarket exhaust, ECU and new tires are an added bonus.  Ask for service records; recent valve check/adjust, belts, oil/filter change? If not, subtract that off the price immediately.

Based on the ad, the dude isn't very well grounded. You might have better luck elsewhere...

i'm just going to go ahead and state what maybe some other folks didn't notice because of the ridiculousness of the ad...
a 2006 S4R with a massively powerful liquid-cooled 996 testrasetta motor might not be the BEST choice for a FIRST bike..
rip off or not, you'll end up in a heap of trouble with that bike if you don't know what your doing.
how old are you and how long have you had your license?

I am 32 and got motorcycle license just few months ago in US.
I drove a 135cc 2 stroke motorcycle in a foreign country regularly for 9 years.

You're gonna do what you're gonna do...

But, unless there's some REAL hidden talent in your gene pool, or you've got a lightning fast learning curve...  I wouldn't recommend that for a first bike.

(Keep in mind, I know NOTHING about you but the info from this thread.)

YMMV, & this isn't the ONLY S4R out there...

being an owner of one I'll tell you to be VERY careful and NEVER assume you're in complete control.  They are lightning quick and can make you feel like you're driving better than the pros.......that would be a mistake.  If you get her I'll say congrats but treat her just like a woman and remember, like with women, you're never in complete control.   Post pics of your prize.  [thumbsup]

Oh yeah, and if you want an economical bike (your question about MPG)... this is not the bike for you.

i'm not trying to tell you what to do, you're an adult [thumbsup]
9 years of riding is a long time, so you should have a good understanding of the basic mechanics of things, as well as how invisible we are to cars...
just keep in mind that this bike is essentially 10 times that of what you were formerly riding.

everyone told me not to even get a monster as my first bike, because i would likely trash it. they were wrong, and 5 years later i'm still accident/drop free.
i DID however have the choice between an S2R800 or and S2R1000... and the price difference was negligible. I went 800 and am glad I did... just wish i would've ridden a year or two and traded it on a 1000 ;D

+1 Corey, I've only ridden a s4r once and I have to say that as much as I want one, I know that there is way too much power for me. Hell, my S2R gets me in more trouble than I can handle.

Nothing.  I don't like Monsters.   ;D

If you've ridden a two-smoke for 9 years you're competent to handle a motorcycle.  Don't let these elitist snobs (especially Duck Stew...he's the worst!   :o) put you off.  If the price is right and the maintenance is right then do what you gotta do. 

That's my 2 cents.

S2R does not have enough power.

id like an S4R, who wants to trade????? ;D

This guy is badass. He states that only the tires have touched the ground. Either he carries a rear stand with him everywhere or his bike magically stands up without the kickstand.

All kidding aside though it just sounds like he is trying to draw attention to his bike and I have seen others doing similar ads. Not the way I would go but to each their own.

S4R for a first bike is a terrible idea.

best case scenario, you dont wreck the bike and are forever ruined by having that hellion as the only example of a motorcycle in your experience.  anything with less than 4,000,000 tq will feel like a child's toy and speed limits will exist only as a quaint reminder that some people actually go slow enough to comprehend signs.

seriously though, for a first bike an s4r is an exceedingly unforgiving machine.  if you want a monster look for something air cooled.

how much power/torque does a 135cc 2 stroke put out?  30HP?  You are going to quadruple the power output of what you regularly rode for 9 years with a S4R.  The first time you accidentally crack open the throttle, you will be miserable on it.  You are capable of riding it, I am sure.  But I doubt you would enjoy it as much as, let's say, a S2R or S2R1000, which has plenty of power on tap.

After 2 years on a Monster 620, with riding experience from childhood and teen years, I switched over to a S2R1000.  It took me at least 1 year to be comfortable on it.  I knew enough then that a S4R would be too big of a jump for me.

Not even close unless it was full race kit and even then maybe not.  I reckon about 15 HP max.   Jump to 100+ HP. No problemo.   [roll]

That's still a make the beast with two backs-ton more experience that the average litre bike buyer who has a wad of cash and no, or virtually no, real riding experience.  make the beast with two backs sake, ya buncha gurls.

I guess I'm make the beast with two backsed.  The strongest bike I ever owned before I bought a Panigale was a GSXR-750.....a-la 1986.  MAYBE 90 horses at the wheel on a good day.

It ain't the bike, generally speaking.   [evil]

Probably not.  If the Termi's are like mine they're stamped "For race use only" or something like that.  It hasn't been a problem yet for me, but you might want to ask the seller if he's still got the OEM pipes, just in case.

Yes, and we all know that always turns out okay.

My opinion?

1) Don't buy anything from the type of douche that writes that type of ad.

2) Don't buy an S4.

3) Buy a 600 or 750; get used to bigger bike with more power.

These type of post's always puzzle me. We Americans have this misconception that more power is always better. And while to a veteran rider who is looking for that extra "wow" factor this may be appealing, fact is for most of us (Human excluded) the lower HP bikes not only are less expensive, but truly are more fun to ride. As long as they aren't so small that they wine out on the freeway. That being said, I'd love to have a street fighter with my DS 1k motor.

For your first bike and you really want a twin... I'd avoid duc's altogether and get a SV650.  Pretty much bulletproof, dirt cheap to fix up, a huge parts list to choose from, and it's just a fork swap away from becoming a solid trackbike.  Learn on that, beat the hell out of it, and then get a duc... repairing beginner mistakes on a duc is $$$.  But dont sell the SV, make it into a track bike... I still regret getting rid of mine :\

Buying a small bike to start with just means you'll want to buy a larger bike within at least 6 months. Don't waste your money.  Buy a bike with a large enough engine to satisfy you. 

Of course you'll find other reasons to buy a different bike within 6 months of your purchase, but there's no helping that.

Every person involved in this thread has good input.  I have bad input. 

My first bike that ran? Ducati Monster S2R800. 

Did I drop it? yes.

Does that somehow detract from it's visceral appeal? No.  No.  No...

~1900 miles in 4 days... can I have some more time off?  [Dolph]

Do I have the slightest clue what I'm doing? nope.  I read nonsense on the interwebs and apply what works for me.  Maybe one day I'll hook up with a local club and get a clue. 

Twisties teach different lessons than traffic.  Both are valid.

Damn.  Where are all my Hooligan brothers to offset all these mamby-pamby, do-gooder, wanna-be, nice-guy, non-tire-cookin', wimps?  Thanks, DD, for representin'!   [evil]

Every single motorcycle comes with two built in limiters - your right wrist, and your brain.

My advice is use them wisely.

I've been riding a SV650 for the last 4 years, and just put up 1000+ miles on an S4R1000 this past weekend without an issue. The S4 has so much more get-up-and-go, thanks to its amazing torque, but you can always reign that in between judicious use of brain and wrist control.

Buy what makes you happy and gets you out riding, but always treat it respect.

+1
respect the bike and remember there are two kinds of riders:  those who have fallen and those who will.  I got lots of scars from pulling stupid shit when i was younger - too old now.

Yeah, I come from a long line of hooligans.  My great-grandfather apparently used to do burnouts in his Doble.

1) Asking price may not be too bad - depends on how much titties and crack were used to make the bike (bacon's not good for one's health).

2) Demo'd an S4R in 2004 - never got it above third gear (around 70 mph) - bought the 1000s instead, saved $3,000, and still got plenty of bike for the road...with no fugly radiator.

3) Bet the S4R does really great burnouts...  [evil]