Hypothetically speaking... a new bike for da 'Belle

[slower than...]

...... Lay it on me guys...what's the ugly truth with these bikes? 

Give Jim at Nichols a call.  He will give you the straight scoop on all of the choices you are considering.  He knows which ones were proned to stall, which ones had the dreaded flaking rocker arms, and so forth.  I know he talked me out of two used bikes I was considering (a 748 and a 749).

[Speeddog]

---------snip--------
 Lay it on me guys...what's the ugly truth with these bikes?
 

You can get a biposto 916 if you really want a passenger seat that's even less practical than a Monster's.

Pretty much any 4-valver can have flaking rockers.
748's tend to have it more, likely due to being run at higher rpm than the larger bikes.
The valve clearance job is bigger with the 4-valver, as there's twice as many of everything to mess with, and the parts are smaller and the access is more difficult.

[johnc]

one mo to consider belle ...

[johnc]

Pretty much any 4-valver can have flaking rockers.

not true amico ... i forget the years/months of production that ducati used the rocker arm supplier that had the issues with the chrome flaking ... but i do know that the first year 916 did not have any flaking rocker arm issues.

on the model years that DID have these flaky rocker arm issues, replacing said rocker arms with megacycle rocker arms is the ticket.

perhaps someone who knows which model years are the ones to watch out for can post up?

[Le Piou]

What about something really special... Voxan?


Only problem is people at the DMV don't read French... Ain't gonna be easy to register this one...

[cloudseeker]

Wow, 8 pages on what bike to get...impressive.

I vote for a Paul Smart or an '06 Sport 1000 (dry clutch, cooler swingarm than later years).  Both super cool.

If I make it out to a ride again, you are welcome to ride my '03 M1000 if you'd like to try out the DS motor.  That was before the O2 sensor, so an '03 M1000 might be a good option if you want a "classic" monster.  It's great.

I know from experience that '99 had flaking rockers.  And a cracked coolant tank (no big deal).  And a destroyed SSS eccentric (a big deal - but preventable, so inspect for it).  And electrical flakiness.  But you should know what to look for going in, which is key.  I'd probably go for the 848 myself.

Oh, an MV Agusta F4 would be on my list.

[Buckethead]

Post Script: Neither the Paul Smart nor the 2006 Sport 1000 have an O2 sensor.

The only "down-side" is the lack of a passenger seat.

[duckwrench13]

  Lay it on me guys...what's the ugly truth with these bikes?

I was giving Enzo some insight on the 916 series this morning. Nothing super horrible...just little things. If you want, you're welcome to give me a call and I can give you all of the pros and cons.

There are some ongoing service recall campaigns for the series...mainly for the rear eccentric and axle. You can have any dealer run the VIN against DNA's database and it will show what service campaigns are open the bike. I know that the rear drive issues were a safety recall campaign, and are covered by Ducati. regardless of what you get, it's worth having them run the VIN and make sure all the bases were covered.

[johnc]

What about something really special... Voxan? Only problem is people at the DMV don't read French... Ain't gonna be easy to register this one...

ah france ... land of pepe le peu:

[slower than...]

Post Script: Neither the Paul Smart nor the 2006 Sport 1000 have an O2 sensor.

Actually, I'm not sure if that is true.  Because the Termi/Race ECU kit for the PS and S1000 allows you to bypass the O2 altogether.

[Buckethead]

Then please allow me to rephrase: my 2006 S1000 has no O2 sensor.

[Le Piou]

ah france ... land of pepe le peu

Hahaha... That is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO a new joke...

[mostrobelle]

I guess it's Monday.  Geez folks lighten up.  A lot of y'all are taking everything a bit too seriously.  It's the internet...half of what we do here is mock one another and tell each other how wrong we are.  It's the nature of the beast. 

[TCK!]

I guess it's Monday.  Geez folks lighten up.  A lot of y'all are taking everything a bit too seriously.  It's the internet...half of what we do here is mock one another and tell each other how wrong we are.  It's the nature of the beast. 

Can we talk down to women too? 


So are you still lusting over the 916? Or thinking about something a bit newer and fresher? I just happen to read about a couple people on BARF who said their GF's were 5'-4" and the Brutale fit them perfectly and they really loved the bike.

Maybe you'd be interested in my Monster, the thought has crossed my mind to get something a bit more touring oriented. But it's a wet clutch though.

[johnc]

I guess it's Monday.  Geez folks lighten up.  A lot of y'all are taking everything a bit too seriously.  It's the internet...half of what we do here is mock one another and tell each other how wrong we are.  It's the nature of the beast. 

no we don't take things too seriously ... and stop patronizing us    i have a mock turtleneck soup recipe