Monster of Mirfield

[EyeSee]

Hello one and all. I've had my 695 for a couple of weeks now and I love it. Nimble, lithe and feisty. I'm a bit of a late comer to biking having only been riding for 5 years and I'm 37. I've had a SR125, Bandit 600, VFR800 and now the Monster and it is easily my favourite so far. Well that's all for now. I look forward to becoming part of the Monster community. Cheerio!

[slob]

Hello and welcome

[Dirty]

Hello, welcome

[Jonno]

Hello and welcome. There are a few monsters around the area!

[EyeSee]

I'm in good company then!

[EyeSee]

How hot should a 695 get? I was stuck in queuing traffic due to roadworks today and it got up 131c. I know it's air cooled and I want moving much but is this ok? I have standard ECU with associated cough.

[MrsC_772]

Welcome EyeSee,

You have a similar biking history to me - I started on a Yamaha SR125 and moved on to a Bandit (though mine was a grey import 400 - the 600 was too tall for my short legs) before ending up with a Monster.

I think every Ducati will cook your legs if you're stuck in queuing traffic - have a look at the latest posts in the London tunnel run thread for others' reports of the temperatures their bikes reached on a hot sticky night (although they weren't 695s).

[EyeSee]

Thanks Mrs C, I'll check that thread out.

[EyeSee]

Woo!153c is a hot bike. Not so worried about mine now.

[Saint aka ML]

I was on 695 but my temp gauge does not work. Saying that I would ignore it anyhow not much you can do about it anyhow.

On m900 I went as high as 190s so so wrong.

[Ursa]

Yes welcome, and Edna did get to 153 degrees (toas-teh), she's the same 695 as yours. On a heavy summer traffic commute of about 40 minutes, 130ish is about normal, Saturday was abnormal. Cooler weather and a quieter run she'll happily be 110-130 depending on the time of year.

How is the paintwork on your tank??

[EyeSee]

Yeah I have around a 40 minute commute usually but today was about 1 hour 15. Paint on tank seems fine to me. What should I expect?

[EyeSee]

Ok. Just checked another thread. The paint looks ok on my tank, I can't see any flaking at the moment. The rubber bits however no longer line up. Is this the tank swell you talk of?

[EyeSee]

Is it just the 695 with the plastic tank?

[Ursa]

Yes it's the plastic tank issue, poor Edna looks terrible these days, her paintwork is bubbled all over the tank. Her issue may be slightly different as it looks as though the tank has actually gone permeable as the bubbling is in random places.

If you think the tank is swelling (as in not lining up properly) switch to BP high octane petrol as apparently it has lowest ethanol content.

I'm not sure which other models if any had the plastic tank. Hope that helps! :)

[EyeSee]

Thanks Ursa. I've located a BP garage that I can use on my commute so that is not a problem. The tank is not pushed up against the ignition barrel and the catch is still free. Is there a way of making it unswell at all? I don't want a fate similar to poor Edna.

[DrD]

The Aprilia RSV Mille owners unswell their tank by emptying it and letting it sit for a week somewhere warm.

[EyeSee]

I'll have to do that when I've got a week I don't need it for work. I'll go for low ethanol petrol to stop it getting any worse in the meantime.