New guy from southern Illinois

I don't ride a Monster, but I'm considering buying one.

I have also looked at bikes like the BMW R1200R, Kawasaki ZZR 600, the Suzuki GSX650F, Suzuki Bandit 1250S, Yamaha YZF-R6S, BMW F800ST, Suzuki SV650, or maybe even a dualsport (like the Kawasaki KLR). I just haven't really narrowed things down.

My current bike is a new Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic LT. It's a great ride, but I'm interested in also having a non-cruiser. I generally try to avoid owning two bikes at once, but I figure the cruiser is different enough from a Ducati that I can justify it.

I have already owned four Ducatis. An ST2, 999, 750 Supersport and a 750 Monster. I loved the ST2 and the Monster, but the Supersport and 999 were just a bit too uncomfortable for this old man. I do like v-twins, and have also owned three Suzuki SV650s. I'm not sure exactly which Monster would be the best for me. I need to read up a bit more about the new 696 and decide if I like it. Otherwise, I suppose I'll consider an S2R 1000.

About me. I live in southern Illinois (the Marion, Carbondale area). I grew up in central Virginia, and spent about a dozen years in the Army. When I got out of the Army, I decided I wanted to do something fun for a while, so I attended MMI. I went to their Phoenix campus, and initially took the Harley-Davidson electives. Later, I went back and took the Suzuki elective as well (the F.A.S.T. program). I think it's a pretty good school. I only worked briefly as a mechanic (at a Harley dealership, and later at an aftermarket shop) before being promoted to service manager. I served as a service manager at a Harley dealership for most of my career. We recently moved to southern Illinois, and I took a break from the industry.

The other thing I always try to brag about is my Iron Butt Association membership. In 2005 I rode from Texas to Laguna Seca to watch the MotoGP race. My buddy and I decided to ride the entire way back to Texas non-stop. We did 1,767 miles in 32 hours. I was on a Yamaha FZ6 at the time. I don't plan to ever try that again... but I like to brag about it. There are a couple links in my signature block. One is a write-up I did about the Iron Butt ride, and the other is for a write-up I did about my motorcycle trip through Europe on a BMW F650. They're long, but there are pictures.

Here is a list of the bikes I’ve owned (pretty much in the order that I owned them):

1984 Kawasaki LTD 550
1985 Honda Rebel 250
1991 Harley-Davidson XLH-883 Sportster
1976 Yamaha XS360
1996 Harley-Davidson FXDWG Dyna Wide Glide
1999 Ducati 750 Supersport
2000 Kawasaki Concours
1999 Ducati ST2
1999 Ducati M750 Monster
2000 Harley-Davidson XL883 Sportster
2002 Suzuki SV650
1981 Suzuki GS750L
2004 Buell XB12S Lightning
2003 Ducati 999 Monoposto
2004 Suzuki SV650
2003 Honda Metropolitan
1981 Suzuki GS450E
2005 Yamaha FZ6
2006 Suzuki SV650
2007 Triumph Bonneville T-100
2008 Kawasaki Ninja 650R
2008 Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic LT

Anyway... great to find this forum. I look forward to learning more about the current Monster models.