New Monster launch Saturday 3rd May

[Nonnie]

Meet at 11 am at SeaStar, Newton Flotman. It is their launch day of the new Monster, they are not sure at present whether they are releasing the bike for demo rides immediately but will get back to me tomorrow so I'll keep you updated..

See you there.

http://www.seastarsuperbikes.co.uk/map.htm

[Nonnie]

Any other takers? Don't be shy!

I found out today that I'm teaching cycling to the owners kids so frankly, that's worth a discount yes?!

[squiffything]

go for it young lady you know you have room for 1 more :)

[AndyP]

A ride to Narfuk, I shall see you there.

[Nonnie]

Well done Andy, I shall look forward to it. Don't you have my old handlebars?

[squiffything]

ah ha you're awake the booze didn't do too much damage then

[Nonnie]

I thought I was rather restrained!

I'm hungry Squiffy, can't wait for lunch.

[squiffything]

lol get the brekkie on girl I really must go and get dressed in a mo where do you want to meet up don't forget I have no idea how to get to your place

[Nonnie]

But you've been before!!!

[AndyP]

Yep, still got your handlebar, not fitted yet!

[Nonnie]

Well, there we go then!

Saw the Monster. I admit to being really excited this morning, thought I was going to adore it and want one but the truth is, I don't. I feel quite sad because I really thought I'd love it. I think the standard bits (that you can change) looked cheap to be honest and I think they really let it down. I know it's full of computer trick bits that are very clever but to someone like me, who likes form over function, I think it's very UnItalian in the design department.

Still, there was a buffet and I met Squiffything (love the hyper), Humbucker (you slaaaaaaag) and AndyP, Reedyboy and Chris who lurks but doesn't post. All very nice people especially when I had parked on a slight incline and then couldn't paddle back out again so thanks for the push. How pathetic am I?

Nice to see you all, eat some food and diss the new Monster. Sorry Ducati, I thought in the pictures it looked great but close up it doesn't do it for me.

[Humbucker]

Squiffy, nice to see you again, and nice to meet "ya" nonnie.

As for the 696. I think it might be a grower, but like Nonnie said i didn't think on first impression it really grabbed me.

[chrisb]

Nice to meet you all. I've really got to start de-lurking. So I'll begin with a smug remark and say that I'm really glad I decided to stick with my 695 for a while rather than upgrade (?) to a 696.

And I had a good ride home. Maybe summer is about to begin....

[neilbaldry]

well i was up there for a bit, but drove up as i have a slack chain, and no adjuster yet!

thought i may have spotted Reedyboy lurking around seastar. also saw a red/white S2R on my drive home aswel........... just gotta ditch the missus for a day and i can get out and about!

[Nonnie]

Nice to meet you all. I've really got to start de-lurking. ....

Yes you do Chris. Very nice to meet everyone today.

See you all soon.

[squiffything]

Lovely run up, some cracking little roads that Nonnie took me down, a disappointing Monster, a beautifully prepared Monster with stars that spangled and winked at me as I followed it through the wilds of norfolk and the most amazing 1098 still in parts but hopefully soon to be on the road for its maiden run. All in all a lovely day out with the monsterers.

Rod that bike of yours is just going to be unbelievable. Hope you have room in the livingroom it's much too good to leave in a garage :)

Good to meet the guys and Chris as Nonnie said stop ya lurking and have a chat.

[damon]

well i never made it to where you guys did but me and a mate went to ducati coventry for a simalar shindig and i agree with the dissapointment, its just not nice enough to be honest.

loses alot of the retro type appeal, liked the tank but thats about it, and its waaaaaay to small.

Spose the ladies will love it but cmon ducati all english people arnt 5ft zero........... bloody good thrash out though, made me and my mate love our monsters even more :)

[Stafford]

Your right it's a little girls bike, when are they making the man size one?

[damon]

Your right it's a little girls bike, when are they making the man size one?

god only knows, spoke with a guy from JHP yesterday and it seems they know nothing reallyh about product role outs etc

personally id of thought it would of made much more sense and open other sales avenues if they'd of made two types of seats (one low one high) and two rear shocks for the same reason.

the extra money it would of cost them to produce those parts would pale into insignificance as they would clearly sell more bikes to a wider range of people (and sizes).

You can only buy them on order so when the bikes spec'd in the showroom you try it out and then the dealer applys either parts needed.

oh well, lets hope for a BIG BRUTE MONSTER comming for all us doubters :thumbsup:

[CK & AK]

Your right it's a little girls bike, when are they making the man size one?

I hope you are not implying that anything less than a litre bike is a little girls bike? :confused: - the lads & lasses who ride with great skill on the track in the DD classes might well have something to add......... but in the mean time.....

Apart from the main road bikes, we also own a cracking couple of M800's which are racing this year, and previously having a 600 & 620 racing too for over 3 years - all of which have made quite a few riders look rather silly, when they have gone past them (even with me on!).

Unless you are drag racing in straight lines (which none of the monsters were designed for) I would beg to suggest that many riders do not use (and never will use) the full sphere of their bikes power range. Any twit can go fast on a motorway or nice straight A road - but how many can safely hustle a bike round tight twisties at a good lick? - Which is what the MONSTER was, and still is, designed for.
Yesterday, I couldnt keep a straight face when I sailed past a rider on an S4R whilst I was testing a bike - but hey - maybe he was new to biking eh & didnt want to be on a little gurls bike? :)

C, now removing the wood from her teeth :D

[damon]

oooh dear,,,, i would now like to point out that i have nor ever will have any problem against small females riding bikes of any cc size....... over to you stafford (s'******)

its still a small bike in physical size though :)

[COR]

Staffod, think you need to do more train spotting!!!

[emily's driver]

Lovely run up, some cracking little roads that Nonnie took me down, a disappointing Monster, a beautifully prepared Monster with stars that spangled and winked at me as I followed it through the wilds of norfolk and the most amazing 1098 still in parts but hopefully soon to be on the road for its maiden run. All in all a lovely day out with the monsterers.

Rod that bike of yours is just going to be unbelievable. Hope you have room in the livingroom it's much too good to leave in a garage :)

Good to meet the guys and Chris as Nonnie said stop ya lurking and have a chat.

Thanks for the big up on Nonnie's bike. I think the end result was worth all those months of effort and late nights. I really was chuffed with the paintwork and though at times I wondered if I had bitten off more than I could chew, given the extent to which I stripped down Nonnie's bike, to see it all come together at the end was really satisfying.

Thanks for the comments on mine as well. It is nearing completion now. Have managed to finish an awful lot of the reassembly work since you last saw it (most of yesterday in fact) and it is only a case of bleeding the clutch slave cylinder and then refitting the side fairings and it is pretty much done. I have had numerous problems with some aspects of the build (mostly bodywork) but it has not felt that bad an ordeal, since most of the six months it has sat in the garage since I bought it, the weather has been crap, which makes the wait less frustrating. I have to have the TPS reset at the dealer and tax it, but that aside, all the really major work is now finished. I did manage to test run the engine yesterday fo rhte first time since installing the new exhaust system and fook me it's loud! It dislodged articles off the opposite wall in the garage. My neighbours are going to love me.

Shame I did not get to see your new ride but Nonnie tells me it looks the biz. Never ridden one, but if it is as much fun as Benson says it is, then you will doubtless have a blast with it over the summer. Sorry I could not stop and chat with you longer at Sea Star. See you soon.

[benson]

Thanks CK for taking the words out of my mouth! :cool:

So the 696 is a little girls bike??? Sounds more like small man/bike syndrome to me :chuckle: :chuckle: :chuckle: Hey ho.....

ANYWAY - I have to say that the headlight is my least favourite part of the whole thing, I fell in love with monsters because of the fact that they looked like an archetypal bike - I'm not convinced by the tear drop style headlight at all....I reckon the engine is a peach from what I hear but to me the aesthetics are a little lacking at present....

Meanwhile I shall just go tell Frank that I love him even more - we've had a lovely ride today in the sunshine through the city and here's hoping that Thursday night is fine for Italian night at the Ace!!!

[Albie]

Its just little.:chuckle:

[squiffything]

A bit like me then Albs, small and not very good looking either but in my own way people seem to like me.

I guess thats how the new Monnie will be small not very nice to look at but when it comes out to play will be easy to get on with :)

[sadbiker]

A bit like me then Albs, small and not very good looking either but in my own way people seem to like me.

I guess thats how the new Monnie will be small not very nice to look at but when it comes out to play will be easy to get on with :)

Strange how a few die hard monster owners call it ugly only because it doesn't look like a 10 year old design which has served well.

But to be even stranger, a mate of mine who hates italian bikes to a vengance (burnt his fingers with a Aprilla Falco and swore never to buy italian crap again), was with me and Cor on Saturday, first he remarked how the 848 looks very nice, but then to cap it all he remarked how the 696 looked quite presentable, even his missus who has a GSX600R who "doesn't do retro" wants to take it out for a test ride.

So ok maybe Ducati has upset some of the die hards with a revamped design, but I think it could be changing opinions in the non Ducati world.

Which can't be a bad thing!!!!!!!

Only thing it needs to do now is knock £1000 of the price of the 848 to get it nearer to the price of the Japanese 600's.

[benson]

Or if you said you like the 696 you could have that £1000 bonus - that would mke me smile - a lot! I seem to have been haunted by 848s this weekend - saw a lot of the blighters on my way home yesterday..:hail: :hail: :hail:

[Nonnie]

Strange how a few die hard monster owners call it ugly only because it doesn't look like a 10 year old design which has served well.

So ok maybe Ducati has upset some of the die hards with a revamped design, but I think it could be changing opinions in the non Ducati world.

.

i'm not a die hard. it just looks cheap and nasty.

[squiffything]

Strange how a few die hard monster owners call it ugly only because it doesn't look like a 10 year old design which has served well......


I'm all for change but I really do think it's ugly. Putting the light (which in itself I think is a lovely looking unit) halfway down the front forks just makes it look like the bent over uncle from the Adams family. I don't like the tiny little fairing/visor thingy sitting as a completely seperate unit above the light.
The wing mirrors look plastic. If done in billet alloy it would have been so much more appealing. The area's of body panels etc also done in what looks like cheap plastic parts makes it look nasty. The tail end I like, The tank shape and seat position I like and for a short bod the riding position would certainly appeal to me it's just that the front end just looks so wrong stick it up six inches and blend it in with the front visor and the looks improve. Lose the plastic all round and it becomes a thing of quality rather than a cheap looking mass produced made in Hong Kong/Taiwan nasty. Lets face it it's selling at a Ducati price let's at least see Ducati quality coming through.

Just my opinion

[sadbiker]

i'm not a die hard. it just looks cheap and nasty.

I'm only using "die hard" as a clique.......... So no offense meant please.

Everyone has their own personal opinions, what I am finding funny is that I am getting the absolute opposite remarks from someone who knows his bikes and once his mind is made up tends to keep with it. For him to make the remarks he made I personally think shows Ducati has revamped the new monster to hit a market which will hopefully sell more Ducatis. Which is a good thing. Specially on a business front.

Personally I think it looks much better than the 695 which I felt was a little too budgeted down with some of the equipment, as compared to a 620, which was a shame as the engine is better. But things are built to a price and the 695 is still a good entry level monster which all who own will love.

[sadbiker]

I'm all for change but I really do think it's ugly. Putting the light (which in itself I think is a lovely looking unit) halfway down the front forks just makes it look like the bent over uncle from the Adams family. I don't like the tiny little fairing/visor thingy sitting as a completely seperate unit above the light.
The wing mirrors look plastic. If done in billet alloy it would have been so much more appealing. The area's of body panels etc also done in what looks like cheap plastic parts makes it look nasty. The tail end I like, The tank shape and seat position I like and for a short bod the riding position would certainly appeal to me it's just that the front end just looks so wrong stick it up six inches and blend it in with the front visor and the looks improve. Lose the plastic all round and it becomes a thing of quality rather than a cheap looking mass produced made in Hong Kong/Taiwan nasty. Lets face it it's selling at a Ducati price let's at least see Ducati quality coming through.

Just my opinion

I used to think the R6 when it first came out had a ugly front end. Suppose it has grown on me now.

Problem is if Ducati put all the best parts on it then it wouldn't have a extras catolgue to push to get more hard earned money from us all....

All the bits you mentioned tend to be parts that quite a few people change to personalise to their own taste.

[squiffything]

I used to think the R6 when it first came out had a ugly front end. Suppose it has grown on me now.

Problem is if Ducati put all the best parts on it then it wouldn't have a extras catolgue to push to get more hard earned money from us all....

All the bits you mentioned tend to be parts that quite a few people change to personalise to their own taste.

I agree but when you charge so much for an entry level bike and the extra cost then has to be taken in to get your bike to look like what it should have been before you bought it it makes the overall cost of the bike prohibative and may put alot of people off especially the existing Ducati riders who may well have upgraded.

Getting new riders in is always a good thing for the company but when you pay a Ducati price for a bike and it's finish is that of a rice burner then Ducati's reputation will surely suffer.

[reedyboy]

thought i may have spotted Reedyboy lurking around seastar. also saw a red/white S2R on my drive home aswel........... just gotta ditch the missus for a day and i can get out and about!

Was that you with your missus looking at the white 848 then Neil.....didn't recognise ya without the cap!!! haha

[reedyboy]

Well, there we go then!



Still, there was a buffet and I met Squiffything (love the hyper), Humbucker (you slaaaaaaag) and AndyP, Reedyboy and Chris who lurks but doesn't post. All very nice people especially when I had parked on a slight incline and then couldn't paddle back out again so thanks for the push. How pathetic am I?



No worries Nonnie.....I wouldn't want to see you go arse over tit !! heehee

[Nonnie]

No worries Nonnie.....I wouldn't want to see you go arse over tit !! heehee

Not with my new sparkly paint work and new trick bits, I'd cry.

Thanks!

[neilbaldry]

Was that you with your missus looking at the white 848 then Neil.....didn't recognise ya without the cap!!! haha

me? lustfully looking at a 1098 Tricolore? and feeling like was cheating on the missus by just looking at it?!

yeah t'was me!

[COR]

so did anyone other than me bother to take their licence with them and give it a go? if so what did you think?

[Nonnie]

The one at Seastar isn't available for demos just yet.

I expect it is brilliant, I really do.

[COR]

Nonnie, so did you read my test ride report? No one made any comments so i assumed no one had ridden it yet.

For: suspension, comfort, stability, drops into bends real good.
Against: upward gear change needed a strong foot, brakes didn't feel so good (i thinks the bike wasn't set up properly - will try another).

I'm told there aren't any available to purchase until later this month.

[Nonnie]

No Cor, I haven't. I'll go find it. I really did expect it to be good, both to ride and to look at though.

[CK & AK]

Nonnie, so did you read my test ride report? No one made any comments so i assumed no one had ridden it yet.

For: suspension, comfort, stability, drops into bends real good.
Against: upward gear change needed a strong foot, brakes didn't feel so good (i thinks the bike wasn't set up properly - will try another).

I read it Cor, and thought it pretty fair in your write up.
The one I rode on Sat was 'tight' as it was new, with only 500 miles on the clock.
Brakes compared favourably with my M1000sie (had to do an emergency stop from 60+ due to dappy car driver just stopping).
Left a mate on a 1098 struggling to keep on my heels in some very tight twisties as it was so easy to lob about.
Engine purred along, but when opened there was a different sound to it altogether and still plenty left in there so it kept on pulling.
No probs with gear change.
I'd have liked the foot brake lever up a little tho I dont usually use it, it was quite low when I did need it. Also other hand levers could do with raising about 8 - 10mm to my liking, but this could be easily sorrted.
Mirrors were fine to see out of too.
Bike rode like a cross between a Hyper & the monster - light & flickable, but very planted, only worry was with footpegs, as they might well touch down if one was too blase about it.


I'm told there aren't any available to purchase until later this month.
Only if you had ordered months ago, as each main dealer got 2 red ones in.

C:)

C