Uncle Bob
05-01-2017, 02:31 PM
Good afternoon all,
I'm in my mid-forties from the Milton Keynes area, and last summer I bought myself a tidy little 10 plate Monster 696+ in red (naturally). The intention was to change to something completely different, in the hope that it would reignite a love of biking that had started to waver after years of riding bikes mostly in the 'Supersport' category. Truth be told, I consider myself slightly too old and fat to contort myself into that riding position these days, and it was becoming a bit of a chore. Plus, wifey wouldn't go on my last bike (GSXR) due to it being not particularly pillion friendly, so that was a '+' for the Monster as well.
Anyway, I went shopping for a Monster 796 really, mostly because I didn't want to drop too much power, however I had a go on a 696 from a garage not far away and I totally fell in love with it. Power is SO not what these bikes are about, and despite it feeling quite slow compared to my GSXR (as entirely expected) it was so much more fun to ride! I returned from the test ride with an enormous grin, and that was what really sold it to me. So, thanks to my little Monster I've got that love of biking back :) Maybe at some point I'll trade it in for a 796\821\1200 or whatever, but for now I'm having an absolute blast on this brilliant little bike.
I've treated it to a new seat (mashing my nuts against the tank got old REAL quick!), OEM pillion grab rails for wifey (not that she's been on it yet!), and I'm looking at replacing the stock cans with something a bit more interesting sounding, plus getting shot of the standard tail unit. Threads on those subjects to follow I'm sure...
I'm in my mid-forties from the Milton Keynes area, and last summer I bought myself a tidy little 10 plate Monster 696+ in red (naturally). The intention was to change to something completely different, in the hope that it would reignite a love of biking that had started to waver after years of riding bikes mostly in the 'Supersport' category. Truth be told, I consider myself slightly too old and fat to contort myself into that riding position these days, and it was becoming a bit of a chore. Plus, wifey wouldn't go on my last bike (GSXR) due to it being not particularly pillion friendly, so that was a '+' for the Monster as well.
Anyway, I went shopping for a Monster 796 really, mostly because I didn't want to drop too much power, however I had a go on a 696 from a garage not far away and I totally fell in love with it. Power is SO not what these bikes are about, and despite it feeling quite slow compared to my GSXR (as entirely expected) it was so much more fun to ride! I returned from the test ride with an enormous grin, and that was what really sold it to me. So, thanks to my little Monster I've got that love of biking back :) Maybe at some point I'll trade it in for a 796\821\1200 or whatever, but for now I'm having an absolute blast on this brilliant little bike.
I've treated it to a new seat (mashing my nuts against the tank got old REAL quick!), OEM pillion grab rails for wifey (not that she's been on it yet!), and I'm looking at replacing the stock cans with something a bit more interesting sounding, plus getting shot of the standard tail unit. Threads on those subjects to follow I'm sure...