I think I made a mistake

[Frisco]

I agree with George In dallas. The only thing I would say to the stability issue is maybe a stiffer spring in the back would help. I did that even for just myself. It helped tremendously. Oh, and a sargent seat.

I have an ST4s and I Love it because it does it all for ME. I can do 1200 miles in 2 days and the following week do a track day on it and turn some decent lap times. I think the ST bikes are WAY more sport than Touring.

I'm actually working on putting clip-ons to lower the bars and some 888 rearsets to make a little more clearance. But that is for ME.
A friend of mine is madly in love with his FJR.

Sounds like you made up your mind and that's cool. Go with it. 'Life is too short' and 'it's only money' seem to fit nicely here.
Steve

Sounds like your style is more sport oriented than towards the touring side (didn't sound like you do much 2-up riding) though I have no idea how anyone could do 2 600 mile days on one of these. For my 'sport side' the bars and seating position are fine - I just can't deal with the crouched-over-knees-bent-feet-back position of the sport bikes these days. As mentioned above I think this would be great for one person for weekends but I wouldn't want to ride it to LA or Chicago. I'm an advocate for having multiple bikes but unfortunately my wallet doesn't allow me to have one for each day of the week. If the insurance settlement works out I'll be looking to see if I can pick up a more touring/comtuer style scoot and keep this as a play bike - if not then I'll see what I can do to get a better all-around ride.

[alexisonfire]

Keep it as your fun bike and pick up a used FJR (preferably purple so Dax can still poke fun at it).  I wish I was in the market for a Sport-tourer (emphasis on sport) cause I'd nab that thing from you.

[muskrat]

he's old ya know. 

sell it to me Jim for $5k and I'll get it tonight.

[Frisco]

he's old ya know. 

sell it to me Jim for $5k and I'll get it tonight.

$5k and your monster?  Let me think about that...... nah    Even trade for the old outdated roadie?  hmmmmmmm ??

[RED]

Stepped back and let this thread mature a little and thought I'd have to agree with everyone just the same. It does seem that you are mainly in the market for a bike like the ZX14 Concours, or even a Wing. If you're looking for it all get the wing. That baby will do 130 all day long and the only reason you'd have to stop is to fill it up again. I can see that it's all about what you're used to riding. My experience all my street riding days have been on sport bikes/cafe setup type bikes of European descent. I like the light feel in traffic of my Duc ST4s. Since I put the 14 tooth sprocket on it hauls ass in lower rpms now so I can move effortlessly through downtown then when I want to rip it out on the road it moves quite quickly up to the ton. My seat is stock and I have no trouble putting 300 miles on it a day but then I do get off periodically too. Two up is not this bikes style. One person touring is it's forte. I plan on going up to DiTR in August on mine and hope to find out if that is the case. I plan on loading it down with the bags too and seeing what it's going to do. The main changes I've made are the sprockets, front and rear and tires. Getting a softer compound tire is key I think. The seat will be changed out too before the trip. I find that the ST4s is the all around perfect bike for me though. Power out the wazzoo, handles the curves and like Steve said you can put it on the track too.  Sorry to see you get rid of such a fine piece though. It's the last of the breed and I keep hearing so many people say that they wish Ducati had never stopped making these bikes. There is a great love for them all over the country it seems. Get what you're used to that is for sure. That way you will be confident in your ride. Changing brands is never easy. My first ride on the Duc scared me it was so powerful and quick. I was blinded by the sight of seeing 120 so fast. As far as performance I'd love to see this bike matched against the FJR to see the differences. Hope to ride with you soon ....on whatever you decide to get. Cheers! 

[Frisco]

Stepped back and let this thread mature a little and thought I'd have to agree with everyone just the same. It does seem that you are mainly in the market for a bike like the ZX14 Concours, or even a Wing. If you're looking for it all get the wing. That baby will do 130 all day long and the only reason you'd have to stop is to fill it up again. I can see that it's all about what you're used to riding. My experience all my street riding days have been on sport bikes/cafe setup type bikes of European descent. I like the light feel in traffic of my Duc ST4s. Since I put the 14 tooth sprocket on it hauls ass in lower rpms now so I can move effortlessly through downtown then when I want to rip it out on the road it moves quite quickly up to the ton. My seat is stock and I have no trouble putting 300 miles on it a day but then I do get off periodically too. Two up is not this bikes style. One person touring is it's forte. I plan on going up to DiTR in August on mine and hope to find out if that is the case. I plan on loading it down with the bags too and seeing what it's going to do. The main changes I've made are the sprockets, front and rear and tires. Getting a softer compound tire is key I think. The seat will be changed out too before the trip. I find that the ST4s is the all around perfect bike for me though. Power out the wazzoo, handles the curves and like Steve said you can put it on the track too.  Sorry to see you get rid of such a fine piece though. It's the last of the breed and I keep hearing so many people say that they wish Ducati had never stopped making these bikes. There is a great love for them all over the country it seems. Get what you're used to that is for sure. That way you will be confident in your ride. Changing brands is never easy. My first ride on the Duc scared me it was so powerful and quick. I was blinded by the sight of seeing 120 so fast. As far as performance I'd love to see this bike matched against the FJR to see the differences. Hope to ride with you soon ....on whatever you decide to get. Cheers! 

Thanks Red - I'm trying to like this thing - I was curious about the performance comparison myself - the FJR seemed faster so I checked out sportrider.com - they ride pretty much everything and post results.  Unfortunately they didn't take an ST3 out - they did have numbers for an '05 ST4s (which I think is more powerful than the ST3) - 1/4 mile was 11.25 sec @ 121 - an '05 FJR 10.78 sec @ 127.7 - as a matter of fact the only Ducati's that posted better numbers than the Feejer were the 999, 999R and a '99 916 - everything else was slower (including the Monsters muskrat  )

Saw some pics with the top case - looked more like an adventure tourer - I've come to the conclusion this is not a 2-up tripper - would be nice to have a Wing but don't think that's in the price range at this point - once I get an offer from the insurance company (they already sent me a check for my helmet) I'll see what my options are - may keep it for my play bike but most likely will be looking to sell or trade soon.

[muskrat]

I don't get it.  you want a touring bike and you post 1/4 mile results? 
Just about everything is faster than a monster, that's not why we ride them, versatility, cornering, weight and torque.  In my opinion you don't like twins anymore which is ok.  Me, the only thing other than a twin would be a Goldwing and that wont be until I'm your age.   

[Frisco]

Dax - red was asking about a performance comparison so I posted what I had found. I was hoping this would handle 2-up better but it doesn't - great bike for one person - the Wing does do it all but it has it's drawbacks as well - not a traditional bike look - 5 speed that has you looking for a sixth gear like the FJR and can be a bit warm, changing tires can get expensive too.  Concours is butt ugly (especially with the bags off) Honda ST is way too top heavy off the stand plus hot here in Texas, BMW's are way overpriced and expensive to maintain if you put some miles on them (and can be hard to find someone to work on them when traveling) - this was the closest thing to the FJR that I could find and the price was right - unfortunately it doesn't do 2-up real well nor superslab runs - it's a great one person bike and hopefully when the insurance settles I'll be able to find a deal on something that I can use for trips for 2 and this then can be the play bike. In the interim if someone wants to give me what I paid for it I'll sell and look at the options afterwards. It's not the bike but what I need a bike to do for right now and this just isn't it. Nothing to do with the type of motor - just the overall package.

[alexisonfire]

Here is the 1/4 mile time chart Frisco is refering to:

http://www.sportrider.com/performance_numbers/146_motorcycle_performance_numbers/ducati.html

Surprising to me is the 2009 Monster 1100 time, 11.46 s @ 114 mph. 

[GeorgeInDallas]

Here is the 1/4 mile time chart Frisco is refering to:

http://www.sportrider.com/performance_numbers/146_motorcycle_performance_numbers/ducati.html

Surprising to me is the 2009 Monster 1100 time, 11.46 s @ 114 mph. 

Probably still in the break-in period.   [moto] [moto]

[Jester]

I'd imagine the high times on the monster could be somewhat attributed to its tendency to wheelie.  Getting off the line cleanly with real solid drive is not quite as easy as some of the other bikes where your weight is more naturally over the front end.

[GeorgeInDallas]

I'd imagine the high times on the monster could be somewhat attributed to its tendency to wheelie.  Getting off the line cleanly with real solid drive is not quite as easy as some of the other bikes where your weight is more naturally over the front end.

Well, sure, if you want to apply physics and math to the deal.   

[Frisco]

I'd imagine the high times on the monster could be somewhat attributed to its tendency to wheelie.  Getting off the line cleanly with real solid drive is not quite as easy as some of the other bikes where your weight is more naturally over the front end.

I don't think that's the case - check out the times on the sport bikes which have a tendency to lift the front wheel off the ground as well - these are ridden by guys who know how to ride and control the front end.

[muskrat]

um, soooooo much lighter than the Jap bikes and fairings to boot.  1/4 mile is not an accurate measure of a bike's ability unless you add 6 inches to a busa and then tear off down the strip.  still wondering what purpose this shit serves anyway?  it's like comparing a corvette to a malibu in the 1/4 mile.

[sdlrodeo]

Dax - red was asking about a performance comparison so I posted what I had found. I was hoping this would handle 2-up better but it doesn't - great bike for one person - the Wing does do it all but it has it's drawbacks as well - not a traditional bike look - 5 speed that has you looking for a sixth gear like the FJR and can be a bit warm, changing tires can get expensive too.  Concours is butt ugly (especially with the bags off) Honda ST is way too top heavy off the stand plus hot here in Texas, BMW's are way overpriced and expensive to maintain if you put some miles on them (and can be hard to find someone to work on them when traveling) - this was the closest thing to the FJR that I could find and the price was right - unfortunately it doesn't do 2-up real well nor superslab runs - it's a great one person bike and hopefully when the insurance settles I'll be able to find a deal on something that I can use for trips for 2 and this then can be the play bike. In the interim if someone wants to give me what I paid for it I'll sell and look at the options afterwards. It's not the bike but what I need a bike to do for right now and this just isn't it. Nothing to do with the type of motor - just the overall package.

you keep saying this is NOT a good two-up bike but i don't remember you describing WHY you think it is not.
I ask because while i no longer (for the moment) tour with my wife, we did several trips together. i think the longest was to San Antonio and another the long way down to fredericksburg.
The latter had all sorts of weather. i think you mentioned the Bike being too stiff. That seems odd unless you were bottomed out. We did these trips before i got a stiffer spring put in the rear and to me, the bike seemed slightly wallowy and softly sprung (compared to the performance when the bike is set up for the track). i can only imagine it being better now.

As far as 1/4 mile times, i'll bet the ST4s they tested didn't have proper gearing.

I reduced mine and still don't use sixth. rarely get out of 4th actually. I do think i could go faster on the top end if i did some adjusting.

I would suggest you deffinately try the 14 tooth front sprocket. heck i'll let you borrow mine to try and put it on for you for free!
the sargent seat is a huge improvement for amanda. she said it stopped her fron sliding forward so much.

Steve

steve