Ducati Monster Forum

Sell the older Bandit, new engines are service friendly regarding spacing, 600miles and then 18000miles or if you want to change oil and filter at least once a year is a 4hr job, oil/filter change, air filter inspection, rear hub lub, front wheel bearing check, fluids levels check . . . and on the 18000miles mark, valve check/adjustment, 60 months-belt replacement ..

my $0.02

Why is changing the oil and air filter a 4 hour job? Also, I noticed the horizontal cylinder timing belt cover has an air filter in it. Why?

for yearly service? because of this, : once a year is a 4hr job, oil/filter change, air filter inspection, rear hub lub, front wheel bearing check, fluids levels check . .  on the MTS1200 you need to take bodywork off . . on M821 is much less time

LOL, maybe I should look at the Yamaha FJR1300.  Shaft drive is looking attractive...

:o

I've begun thinking about not trading the Monster in on a Multistrada 1200s DVT....   [evil]

what?

I think try a Hyper first as Kopf suggested.

Why?

Check the Hyper out.

Not a tourer.  I'm looking for a bike that's comfy for 1000+ mile/day rides.   Now leaning strong toward the FJR.

1K/day?

You ain't young enough. ;D

On my Bandit, that's 16+ hours.

Not a tourer.  I'm looking for a bike that's comfy for 1000+ mile/day rides.   Now leaning strong toward the FJR.

What were some of the issues with the MTS1200?

Well, I rode 928 miles this past weekend and now have a bit over 5k miles on my 2015 MTS. I wanted to note down my thoughts on the bike as, I'm not sure how much longer I'll have it.

TL:DR - Ducati made an amazing bike but, a part from a couple of exceptions, the good ideas are poorly executed and the bike, as a whole is flawed.

Starting with the things that are straight good; the handling is excellent (I can drag a knee on this thing, it's epicly good!), skyhook evo is excellent, the motor is excellent (that's just excluding the tune *which can be fixed*), pinch adjustable screen.

The good ideas that are poorly executed:
Cruise control: not exactly a new idea but, really glad that Ducati have it on the bike. How is it poorly executed you ask? In markets where people use "Miles", the bump controls actually work in KPH so, when you try bumping your speed up or down, you sometimes hit the button twice for one "MPH" because #MATH. I've also found that, if you're cruising and speed up, while above your cruise speed, if you hit the "down/set" bump button it'll actually set your cruise speed rather than bump down the stored cruise speed. That may be by design but it was unexpected for me.
Cornering headlights: One of the reasons I wanted the 2015 over my 2012 but, poorly executed as they only really point in one direction which, only really works for one corner radius. Otherwise, they're not really helpful. I pretty much use them to flash cars that put me in their blind spot when I don't have any other way out. Lean the bike to 6º at the car and it lights them up.
Backlit switchgear: Great idea, really, really great idea... execution... not so much. You light up that there's a button there but not what the button actually does? So, how is that helpful exactly? The buttons should have their symbols lit up as well so you have some chance of knowing rather than just having to remember them anyway.
Seat height adjustment: Did you seriously include THREE separate pieces of plastic to raise the riders seat that use DIFFERENT bolt sizes than the single piece of plastic you have to use to close the gap on the passenger seat if you're not using the spacer for the rider? O_O Also, for all of us "normal" sized people (I'm 5'9"), the bike was designed around the lower seat height - everything wind related is better at the lower setting (except I have long legs for my height so my knees hurt).
Display: Yes, it's very pretty (and, actually, I really like that uses the ambient light sensor to change between night and day mode, that's a win) but please don't touch it... oh, it's scratched now. Everything is in KPH but is converted for display which is why you can't go 64mph.
Fuel gauge: I can't even tell people how irritating it is to me (YMMV) that Ducati have had problems with the fuel sender unit for the last what, 5 model years (?) and haven't fixed it (I suppose you could argue that they've fixed it many times...). Aside from that, this is a touring bike (with a bunch of sport, obviously) and the fuel light comes on with 2 gallons left... in a 5.3 gallon tank?! Seriously? On my 900+ mile trip this past weekend (mostly freeway) I averaged 50mpg so (52.4 was my best, ~130 miles, put 2.9 gallons in the bike), I should be able to get ~220 miles out of a tank of gas and *still* have some left to not run the fuel pump dry but my gas light comes on at 150/160?
Keyless ignition: So I don't need my key... until I need gas... then I need to fish it out from somewhere because there's nowhere to put it on the bike anymore.
Bluetooth: if you want to use the "player" to control your phone, you can't see range or miles travelled. Who thought that was a good idea? The BT on the bike is flakey at best, I know some people have found it to be ok but I just can't use it. Even with all other profiles deleted, I cant use it as a comms hub between my phone and BT headset, it drops out constantly.
LHS controls: If I have my hand inboard on the clutch, I'll occasionally activate high beams when I'm changing gears, not a huge deal but certainly conceivable.
DWC/DTC: Both have settings that are pointless. 8? Seems like we should have gone to 11 because it's louder.
Headlights: Much improved over the 2012 (not sure about the '13 & '14) but what's the the dark halo in the high beam?
Panniers: I like them but the removing them can sometimes lead to issues, like don't want to keep trying for fear of breaking a tab (again - warranty)

(not actually the bike but, part of a pattern)
The "urban" tank bag: you have the USB hub have a really long, straight plug, thereby taking up a bunch of room inside the bag? Did you think this would be good? You have a rain cover for the bag that doesn't have room for the (possibly?) waterproof connector?
The app (it's a beta so, somewhat expected): Constant issues connecting to my account; I have created two accounts and, the last issue required me to change my password before I could log in... I rode 900 miles this past weekend and couldn't get the app connected even after I'd resolved the account problems. The developers were threatening to release it soon and, if so, I really hope I'm an exception.

Stuff that's actually bad:
Fueling... EURO4 compliance means we have shitty fueling which, at best is irritating and at worst dangerous. On the trip, I actually felt it pretty strongly trying to overtake on the freeway in urban mode (much softer for bumpy roads) as well... :-(
Starter motor never really feels like it's ready to roll. :-/
Issues with seat losing cover... (not the first time this has happened on a Ducati model...)
Pannier tab broke
Bolt fell out of center stand (possibly my responsibility)
Center stand damaging exhaust shield
Front brakes got soft in < 3k miles (need to be bled) and are now getting soft again - I need to put RBF600 in them because the DOT4 or whatever they're using doesn't cut it.

Ducati's lack of communication on the actual issues on this bike is really disappointing. This is my 5th Ducati and, I like it better than my 2012 MTS in spite of all of this; it's an excellent motorcycle but it'll be my last Ducati for a while. I'm happy to discuss solutions to these issues because I haven't decided if I'm going to switch or not but, one of the big reasons I'm considering it is the way Ducati is handling these problems. Hopefully new management will start doing a better job of looking after customers but who knows?

Sorry I'm late to this thread. How much gear do you want to carry when you tour, if you travel light like I do consider a Diavel, there are ways to carry some gear. I have a few bikes, love my M900, ST3 and I've owned quite a few bikes since my first, a Honda CB100, a long time ago. My 13' Diavel is the best Motorcycle I have ever owned - so far. To take nothing away from my Victory Kingpin which I have put 107K+ miles on without a repair or any of the BMWs I owned previously, but the Diavel is all day comfortable, TC that just works, ABS brakes that make it one of the fastest stopping bikes on the planet, major go juice on that right grip, and handles just fine. The only complaint I have is the rear shock is a bit stiff and tire wear is a bit short. I did ride the new MTS since it fits me and I thought about replacing both the ST3 and the Diavel with an MTS. Well the go juice just isn't there compared to my Diavel, I hear it is a software issue, and styling wise I could not see myself in the Man Cave at night having a Cigar with JD/Coke and looking at the MTS, it's just a little off, put the ST3 top half of the front fairing and maybe. Anyway, you at least owe it to yourself to take a test ride on a Diavel, just MHO. - Gene

The MTS is comfy but to each his own, I'm 5'9", 30" inseam, 32/33 sleeve the Diavel is prefect for me I've ridden it twice to the Springfield Mile from Northern Virginia and quite a few all day trips on twisty mountain roads in VA/WV. It's not as knife sharp as the M900 in the tight stuff but it will still keep up all day, it does take a few miles to get vathe hang of pushing the limits. But really are we not lucky to be alive at this time with such brilliant choices, including the new Monster R. - Gene

The new Super Elefant appears right up your alley.

the Diavel's cruiser-ish riding position just is not for me.  .  

I really don't understand why you say that, only difference in the rider traingle is you sit in the bike on a Diavel instead of on it like the MTS. Sitting on the Diavel is nothing like sitting on my KP or my 01' Sportcrusier.

With over 9K miles on my Diavel I think this article is pretty accurate
http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/ducati/2011-ducati-diavel-review-90421.html (http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/ducati/2011-ducati-diavel-review-90421.html)

and buried in there is this description of the rider position "Overall, the Diavel’s rider triangle is open and neutral with just a hint of sporting stance, which you’ll appreciate when hustling this wicked-quick cruiser-sportbike-naked-type thing along fast sweepers"

BTW how many miles do you have on a Diavel? On a MTS?

Truth be told I actually miss the more athletic riding position of my M900, except when I get to the 450 mile mark on a ride. - Gene

Zero wind protection was my biggest issue with it.  ........ man did I feel like a sail out in the wind on the freeway on that thing.  The faster you go the worse it gets. 

Totally agree with you on that I did some comparison shopping testing on shields, there was an article on Ducati.net with pictures, I have a Fabbri GenX shield, works a little better than the setup on my M900.

Your also right that they are two different bikes, the only reason they compare is the guts of the two are pretty much the same, motor/electronics. I compared them because I had considered the two and the M1200S at the time I purchased my Diavel. I was just trying to share my experience. Now that the M1200R is out it might be time to have a 2nd look at that bike as well, from what I've read they fixed a few issues but they also increased the ride height. - Gene

My idea of a great touring bike is not an MTS, it's a great all around bike(many roads), maybe the best. The Ducati ST series were pretty darn good sport tourers but I would not call them great touring bikes. And FWIW the bags on the MTS are not that great. There are good bag options for many Ducati Models, including the Diavel. The MTS is a very good bike it does have some quirks, issues - it is a Ducati after all - and the newest version has some new issues but they'll get it figured out. Back to the original topic I would not get rid of my M900 for an MTS I might have considered getting rid of my ST3 for an MTS, but it was too tall. Now the newest verison fits but it's too late, the looks are still a little off and I've got a Diavel, but boy would I love to have an ST with the new motor/electronics/suspension of the MTS/M1100R/Diavel. - Gene

I really don't understand why you say that, only difference in the rider traingle is you sit in the bike on a Diavel instead of on it like the MTS.

With over 9K miles on my Diavel I think this article is pretty accurate
http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/ducati/2011-ducati-diavel-review-90421.html (http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/ducati/2011-ducati-diavel-review-90421.html)

and buried in there is this description of the rider position "Overall, the Diavel’s rider triangle is open and neutral with just a hint of sporting stance, which you’ll appreciate when hustling this wicked-quick cruiser-sportbike-naked-type thing along fast sweepers"

BTW how many miles do you have on a Diavel? On a MTS?

Ducati really is taking the onoff road market serious. Mts enduro scrambler enduro