By the way My name is Andrew and I currently have been riding 3 years. I started on a Ninja 250R then graduated to a Suzuki Katana 600. I have been looking at the monsters for a while, they are sexy, customizable, flickable and and an all-round nice bike.
The only problem is I was hoping to go to a monster 696 but to be honest they look like they would go slower then my Kat, I know it's lighter but it seems like the hp and torque is lower. This is kinda dissapointing considering a Kat is not known for it's speed and it's a 2006.
Man I had this same inner battle just very recently. In fact, I still have my 600 Kat in the garage next to my new 620 Monster. I have always wanted a Monster - it's the bike that single-handedly sparked my interest in riding - but I was aware of all the cons. I rode a few different bikes before finally riding a couple Ducs. When all was said and done I decided there was nothing that made me grin more than the Monster. I looked at everything from 620's to S4R's and decided the weight of the 600 bikes was better suited for what I am doing. Found a 620 at a killer price and here I am.
Coming from the Kat to the Monster is a little weird. For me the Monster is far more comfy in terms of seating position and manuverability, but of course the wind can be an issue. Handling is a no-brainer - the Monster excels here, and coming off the weighty Kat you will appreciate this even more. Brakes (lack thereof) were my biggest hang up on the Katana, and again this helps me appreciate my 620's Brembo's.
Now on to the engine: I bought the Kat instead of a 250 because I wanted to have some fun. At the time I had no idea how much fun this thing could be. Everyone told me "oh the Katana is so slow, it's a girls bike, its a pretend sportbike..." we've heard them all. Fact is, the Katana is an 11-second bike on a perfect day and it sounds great to boot. People have been trained to say the Kats are anemic, but they're not! They're just heavy! For this reason you may be disappointed when you open up a Monster. The Katana has an exciting build up to 7k rpm before it peaks and starts screaming. You have to keep the revs up to go fast and it's a lot of fun. The Duc, on the other hand, is perfectly content torquing around at relatively low rpm's. It's not as dramatic as an I-4 but I will say this - I could listen to that L-twin all day long. [moto]
The first time I took my wife 2-up (last week), she thought I was trying to buck her off the bike. The torque is always on boil with the Monster, whereas an I-4 has to build up. Think of it in terms of a muscle car vs. a turbocharged 4cyl. The muscle car is going to torque out in front right away and put you back in the seat, but once that 4cyl turbo spools up things become even-up. As speeds increase TQ becomes less of a factor and HP comes into play... that's when the turbo car (or I-4) pulls away from the muscle car (or L-twin).
Having said all that I must say that in terms of straight-line performance the 620 does not feel like a step up from the Kat. I would rate them pretty equal, even though they're very different. If you really want a kick in the pants you should try a bigger Duc. If you're like me though, and the Katana was plenty fast for your needs, a 600-range Monster might make you very happy.
