Monster 695 recently making a strange noise from engine

[Lieutenant Dan]

Good to hear they included a service/tune/oil change? as well.  YES, this is definitely throttle body synch/balance issue.  Take it back to the shop, explain/show the issue to the service writer/mechanic.  It should've been corrected during the service, so they should "make it right" without you having to pay for this again.  Use your discretion, if they take extra time to accommodate your concerns and do a good job, offer to reimburse them (if they are not charging you for this followup).

Thanks for the good advice. I'll be back to the shop. Unfortunately the shop is about two hours away, so it might be a little while till I get down there. Btw, no oil change though, and for that matter, I got the bike back with the chain ridiculously loose. (This is my fault since I let it get that way, but I would still expect the shop to give everything on the bike a very quick once-over before returning it to the customer. They didn't even mention it.)

Just to throw a little more doubt into the mix.  Ducatis are notorious for coming from the factory fueled very lean to pass emissions standards.  Your bike might be on the lean side of things even with the throttle bodies correctly setup. 

I don't doubt you, but I've never understood this, as I am a pilot and in aircraft piston engines it can be very dangerous to run lean as this can cause excessive engine temperatures and lead to many other serious issues (preignition, detonation, etc.)

[Lieutenant Dan]

I thought I'd throw an update out there and see if anyone might have some new insight.

Recently on a hot day, friends I was riding with reported small amounts of blue or white smoke coming from my exhaust on the highway. At a stop, when I hit the gas, a large cloud of blue / white smoke came billowing from my exhaust. I ended up topping off the oil with about 1/2 a quart. After this incident, I have had no further experience with this bike smoking (or burning oil for that matter).

However, now when cold, it starts up slightly hesitantly but when I try to accelerate, it hesitates, sometimes backfires very loudly through the intake usually twice, and then takes off (and I mean wayyy off! i.e. If I wasn't prepared for it, I could easily get thrown off the bike.).

Furthermore, the backfiring through the intake during normal riding is becoming much more frequent and random (cold/hot/accelerating/steady - it doesn't matter).

Oh and lastly, it sounds like there might be some light rattling noise coming from the engine (possibly from the head(s)?)...

I know this is difficult to diagnose over the internet, but any help is much appreciated...

[BastrdHK]

They come lean from the factory to pass emissions tests.  This is only during a certain rpm range (very broad stroke here, but I believe the testing is done between 0 and 5000 rpm)  Not so lean to cause damage, but enough to cause low rpm hesitation.  It is commonly accepted that an aftermarket ecu, ecu piggyback (like a Power Commander), ecu tricker (FatDuc manipulator), or reflash of the stock ecu to richen the A/F ratio in that rpm range makes a noticeable difference in ride quality.

That being said, it was more prevelant in the S2R generation which your 695 could be considered apart of.  I don't have time too look up your ecu model (I think it is bosch or magneti marelli).

So, did you ever have the throttle bodies/tps synced?  It sounds like your problem was never corrected and is simply being exaggerated by time. 

Smoke issue if a one time occurrence is not a cause for concern because it could have been caused by the type of riding, weather conditions, etc.  Try to be as detailed as possible about the conditions surrounding an occurrence like that.   Blue smoke is oil, white is water vapor.  I often get a little water vapor on cold/wet days that evaporates out of the pipes on startup.  I also (b/c of a throttle body synch issue just like yours), have had unburnt fuel in the pipe that will backfire causing whisps of smoke, like a drag from a cigarette, to come out of the exhaust.

The "rattling" you hear from the engine is likely valve train noise, completely normal, but impossible to confirm over the internet as you said.  You are at a point where you are LOOKING for problems, and chasing the wrong clues which are only complicating your path to a solution.

Find a competent Ducati tech that can synch your throttle bodies/tps properly!

Look forward to your progress