Ducati Monster Forum

Rocked to Frasers today for the test ride day, was booked to ride 848 only.
On arrival we asked straight away about 696 and how booked it was.
They just put a 3rd bike on so we (Dock) and I were set for the 2nd ride of the morning on 696.

What blast sure it's not fast and after riding it I wouldn't change the 620 for it not a big enough step.
But gee it's light and chuckable, except for numb nuts on the test ride who were more used to riding there cruisers....
What fun, it would be a great commuter scooter and city bike. The nads did get a little jucied after the ride time (about 20-25 mins)
It felt like a motorcrosser, elbows out and throw it into corners at speed to really have a good time with it.

Sorry no pictures was too busy riding but if you get a chance in the next few weeks or on the Wollongong test ride day July 19th
go have some fun. You will get off it with a smile on ya dial.  ;D ;D
There is no clutch to speak of, the brakes what little I did use of them were good. It can wheelie, well kinda anyway.
Dock was giving it a wrap over some humps until the teacher asked him to take it a little easy as they do have just 100 or so k's on'em.

As Molly would say, do yourself a favor and go out and try it.  [thumbsup] [thumbsup]

Cheers
Matty....

Yeh was a great day Matty loved the 696 but as you said not worth the upgrade if you can call it that.

Gave the 1098 a bit of a squirt, not so city friendly as people are saying my opinion anyway.stayed on after you left Matty and 15 od pizzas were delivered shortly after. so all said got to ride some great bikes and got fed at the same time and the best part Free [thumbsup],

Dam pizza...... Oh well, had fun on the bikes.
Looking forward to the 848 further South next month.

REALLY interested in your findings on the 848...you going to try it too Dock?

If I could fold up (and had the riding skills) I'd be on a white one in no time.

Like the look of it so much thinking about eventually turning my monster into a homage. pearl paint, black wheels, red decal, naked carbon strip running down the centre.

with Termi's they sound wicked too!

Spider the 848 ride was far too pedestrian, there was a bloke on a Monster infront looking like he had training wheels on.
He was wobbling all over the place, might have been the same guy infront when we changed over to ride the 696.
After I have a good blat down at Wollongong where I think the guys are more prepared to "ride" the bikes I'll let you know my thoughts.

My small experience this morning it is fun but you could save yourself some $$$ and buy a 749 with lots'a bling.
That is something that I am still thinking about.

Cant say ill give the 848 a go based on the experience I had on the 1098 .the S4RS is punching out few more ponies than the 848 and handles pretty good,

To be honest  I found it very boring to ride, maybe it was just me but it felt like, how can I say a bit placid in comparison to the monsters way of power delivery, you guys who own one would know what im talking about.

The power delivery from the 1098 felt like it was delivered through a big fire hose you could feel the power in it plenty there, but you sorta needed to wait  for it ,where the S4RS power its sorts delivered via a big bucket thrown right at your face and you just need to deal with while gasping for air.
Not to say 1098 is not an awesome machine you can feel the race heritage egging you on to take it to the track  ,flicks like crazy but only when you moving along at a more than steady pace, not so good at a slow pace, I felt un easy on it at them slow speeds. It just ain’t for me.

Considering what I just bought I find it hard to think that ill need another sports bike any way  ;D

I still have a thing for the 748s actually (and sp) and got to sit on one at Zagames during the week...and the tank fits me better than the monster! I'll take a red one please!

the bloke with training wheels was he a shop employee who was 'leading' the ride?

Yeh Matty il still come along, maybe give the Hypermotard a go maybe even the 848 or 1098 again just to make a final judgment better roads out that way [thumbsup]

Nah he was doing alright trying to keep the pace up within reason having a group of 15 or so with him.

If you want an 848 better hope your dealer has one in stock, My dealer let me know that he just had a customer throw one down the road, most likely going to be written off, no replacement available until Nov/Dec, all stock coming in is sold.

The head Tech up here just went down to NFI for the Tech training on the 696, he said he liked it, power not to dissimilar to the S2R 800, it will be a little more expensive to service though, he said you have to spend more time stripping off parts for valve adjustments.

My dealer loves them, people are placing orders just off the pictures, they love the look, so as much as the die hard Ducati fans don't like them, The general public seems to love them.

Go the Hypermotard.... I rode one of these a while ago and loved it.

If I didn't have my Monster it would be one of these babies...... A dam fun ride....

When I did my test ride it was with 2 other sports bikes..... The Hyper killed them in the streets, speed bumps and roundabouts...

Just a great fun bike to ride in my humble opinion....

Rode the new 696 today @ 9.30 am. I'd buy one.
sounds like a ducati too. unlike a overmuffled Multi I am currently riding. They seem to be using some trickery in the exhaust system to get the better sound these days.
this 696 has the power of a 800. thats how this humble rider found it.
thumbs up from me  [thumbsup] [thumbsup] [thumbsup]

I think this was the point. Existing Monster owners are probably the most critical of the new design ... but what do they care, they already have a Monster they are happy with and (besides Rusty) how often do we really upgrade to another Monster.

As their high volume bike, it was all about drawing more (read new) customers into the fold. So it sound like they got it right (at least in FNQ).

What I'm keen to see is what they are going to do with the bigger Monsters, I have read we may see a bigger brother monster preview as early as the end of this year?

So I did a bit of sniffing and it turns out the 1098 has not alot more torque than the S4RS in relation to the 100cc more and not much lighter 173 / 177 kg,The S4RS also has lower gearing which would explain why its such an aggressive beast.

This is based on a stock comparison .Dyno run on a stock 1098 came up with 144rwhp,Which is not much more than some of the S4Rs’s seen on this board.


1lb-ft=1.356Nm

                                     1098                            S4Rs 
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3145/2619667846_c449674ab5.jpg?v=0)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3050/2618845869_f828c7ce31.jpg?v=0)