Purchasing my first monster

[sidefx]

I love the look of the older trellis frame monsters. A guy has a 1998 m750 for $2500 with 2900 miles clean title. The things I do not like about the bike are single disc brakes and lack of tach. Are these upgradable? Is there anything else I should look at? Hows the price I know I should offer lower but how much lower?

[rideserotta]

Well, you can upgrade/mod these bikes quite a bit depending how handy you are and now much money you want to throw into it. Most of the time it's cheaper to buy the one you want in the first place. How the bike has been treated, maintained, and stored is just as important as the miles. Do a search here and you'll find tons of info.

I'm sure the experts here will chime in with the things you need to check... listen to them. They know what they are doing.

Welcome to the forum.

[the_Journeyman]

Not sure on adding a tach, BUT I did have a Ducati catalog for my 1999 M750 and there were gauge clusters available with a tach, so it's not impossible to add a tach.

Brakes?  My single rotor does an awesome job until I'm on a rather aggressive group ride hanging with bikes that have twice the HP and whatnot.  If this is your first bike, the brakes are excellent until you really tax them.

JM

[Howie]

There are so many options for a tach but here is a start.  Both these companies make units that will replace your speedo and allow you to keep your stock cluster. 
http://www.spa-uk.co.uk/design/tachometers
http://www.motogadget.com/us/frameset.html

Replacement modern stuff here:
http://www.veypor.com/?gclid=CJHBwMX5y6kCFYeD5QodinN_OA

Ebay for used Ducati Performance or Road Racing units.  Avoid the Ducati Performance LED units.


Journeyman's opinion on the second disc is spot on.  The single disc Monster still is in the top 10 shortest stopping distances according to Motorcycle consumer news, plus you save some unsprung weight and rotational mass.  The advantage of the twin disc is resistance to heat fade  under extreme use, like on the track.

If you want to upgrade you will need a 16mm. master as well as the rotor, caliper and associated brake lines.

[bikepilot]

Sounds like a good buy and of course its true that the second disk is more for increasing the brake's ability to absorb heat than provide more power.  A single disk system makes a lot of sense for a light bike on the street.  Not hard to add another if you need it though.

[corey]

the single disk on the old 750's has a goldline caliper and a 320mm rotor correct? if so, it's probably equal if not better than the dual 300's and shitpot calipers on my s2r800.

$2500? i'd say jump on it if it's running good and he has SOME kind of maintenance paper work ... at least for the 600 mile service or something.

[sidefx]

Well I offered the guy $2000 so we'll see where he comes back at...

[Destructobot]

For $2k go for it, but I've read that the late 96 to 98 Monster 900's have W heads which belong to the 750 engines and are severely detuned.  Any truth to this?

[ODrides]

I really wouldn't sweat the lack of tach too much.  The 750 has a meaty power band from 4 to 8k or so. If it's lugging, you're below 4k. And you'll run out of power before you hit the "redline" which is somewhere near 10k. Should be a fun bike, but like corey said, make sure there's a maintenance history. Belts and rubber parts don't last forever.

[SacDuc]

Unless you are tracking it you ill find the single rotor more than adequate.

The tach is not needed. That motor makes torque all over the damn place.  Like Orides said, be prepared to replace the perishable bits.

sac

[sidefx]

well he sold it to someone else the hunt continues...

[Düb Lüv]

since your looking at the older carb'd bikes i would lean away from the baby monsters. usually for a little more you can get most of the stuff you were wanting without having to modify. the only downside is that you're wanting to buy a bike at the worst time of the year. i bought my 95 m900 with FCR's and dyna coils for $1450 in the second week of december.


like many will say what i hated hearing the most. the 750 wasn't meant to be. be patient it'll find you.