I was also having some issues with this. I'm relatively brand new to riding and this gave me trouble the first few days on the bike and can be an issue starting from 0 on a hill at a stop light for example. It seems to be an extremely precise point on my 696 when the clutch engages near the end of the clutch's release and feathering the clutch slightly at a higher RPM is the key I guess. Sometimes I'll still get the clutch to the point when I think it should engage and wonder why it hasn't, I'll then give it more throttle, let the clutch out a little bit more and that's where I get the bucking. The feathering of the clutch has been very helpful with a lot of the slow speed turns I've been doing at lights and in things like U-Turns.
Off topic question. How does the 0 to get going work with a passenger? I feel like I'm approaching a point where I'll feel comfortable with my gf on the back and does the bike require slightly higher revving with more weight? Also, I'm hoping the bike does not give me that buck with a passenger on the back, but I assume that is less likely with more weight on the rear wheel. Any general tips above and beyond what I learned at the MSF class that apply to riding with passengers on the monster 696? Also, I noticed that the exhaust cans get quite hot, is this a problem with a passenger. My gf will more than likely be wearing jeans. On one of the first days of owning the bike I took it to my gf's house, I turned it off, and in the process of taking off my helmet my gf came out and accidentally got a piece of her leg flesh too close to the bike's engine and before she knew it, she got a nice little piece of boiled flesh on her thigh about the size of a quarter. I had been riding for about ~45 minutes I wanna say. She didn't experience any pain really, other than an instinctual "oh shit!" reaction and didn't expect there to be a mark... until the next morning. She's obviously ok, but it wasn't the first interaction I was hoping for.
