Greetings All

[tricky1962]

I have been fancying a Monster for a while. Finally finances have made this possible. I took a 796 out for a short test ride a few days ago.

Before purchasing I have a few questions. Where is the best place to ask them? Here?

Cheers

[Ron1000]

Hello there and welcome.

Depends on the question, there's relevant sections for technical, tyres, engine etc etc.

[tricky1962]

Cheers

If I start here, can someone tell me to move if necessary?

I've been ridiing since the late seventies. The newest bike I've owned was a 1982 R80. I currently have a 1972 Suzuki T500.

For the first time ever, I encountered a SMIDSY and my 1960s designed SLS front brake barely pulled me up in time. So now it's time to upgrade to ABS etc and therefore the excuse to buy the Monster I coveted.

First question, I went out for a short accompanied test ride on a 2012 796+. It had about 1500 miles on the clock. The engine pulled wonderfully, but laboured really badly I 2nd and third below 4000rpm. Is this normal?

[Uncle Bob]

Is it normal? Oh yes!

Welcome to the forum. If you have a little search there's acres of info about the agrigultural feel of big air cooled V-twin (L-twin) Monsters on here. It seems particularly prevalent on the 1100evo, which I have now and I'm still trying to get to the bottom of, and I had the same thing on my 696+ too.

Some people call it 'character' :)

[tricky1962]

Character's fine providing I know that's what it is.
This thing had a Termi exhaust so reving above 4000rpm seemed antisocial.
I don't want to be rude about your bikes chaps, but does the term agricultural extend to the gearbox too?

Sod it, third question as I'm on a roll.

There was no gear indicator (not a problem) but no neutral light too, which given the gearbox behaviour meant it took some time to ensure I was in neutral when I stopped. Is that normal/character//something that can be changed on the display?


I'm sorry if this is coming over as moaning, but I was looking to buy the thing and walked away thinking with the roads I ride on maybe not. I did have a second test ride somewhere else lined up to confirm/deny what I'd thought, but work got in the way so that has to be rescheduled

[Nickj]

I think you'll find that anything that's Euro 3 or higher is a bit like that, multi's just hide it a bit better than a twin. The mix and sometimes timing is set up to limit the emissions and engine noise to get to the spec rather than to perform optimally.

You can engineer it out :mand:

LOL Almost anything made in the last 20 years with disc brakes will do better than a SLS or TLS set up, though I do remember a fontana 4LS set up that was a bit on the sharp side ;)
My S2R has the 'low spec' brembo units and they scrub off speed quite rapidly when you need them to.

Just go for the one that makes you smile the most and still does what you need it to do.

[Nickj]

Neutral finding I've always found the chain tension needs to be right for it to be good and the gearboxes are pretty sweet really. Mostly it's just getting used to the feel'
There will be neutral indicator somewhere, I thought it was a green light on those.
On Termis to quote the MOT requirements It must be loud enough to be heard by other road users Oh that's the horn, silly me ;) No really just check they have the removable baffles fitted or they are loud but nowhere as offensive as a loud multi pipes howling or even a T500 with spannies

[tricky1962]

Am I right in thinking these little plug in units that richen the mixture slightly help?

I'll search for that

After decades of full four finger braking under normal circumstances I know I'm going to have trouble with modern brakes (as it was I occassionally kangaroo'd to a halt at a junction on the test ride :-)), so I will need ABS and after all why not?

[slob]

there should be a neutral light! finding neutral usually gets easier as the clutch pack wears in, 1500miles is next to nothing.

many folk put a 14T front sprocket (15T stock) on which smooths things out down low, going +3 on the back is a better but more complex/expensive fix, so best left for when the stock C&S needs replacing. ecu remapping is popular to remove the ‘emissions dead-spot’

baffles/db killers should be an option on termis if you’re trying not to upset your neighbours

[slob]

nick’s right about chain tension too.

lambda sensor eliminators are the plug in doo-hickeys that save getting a full exu remap

[Pedro]

Stock gearing will make low revs a pain - one tooth down on the front sprocket helps loads.

Termi’s fitted will benefit from a remapped ecu which will help overall running as well. If they’re too loud fit a db killer and use the revs!

Gearboxes need a positive foot! They can be notchy when new but do get better with miles. There should be a neutral light!

[Luddite]

Welcome aboard, tricky.

As others have said, the low speed running of the 796 and 1100 Evo does leave a bit to be desired. As well as the emissions gubbins, both the 796 and Evo have a light flywheel, which doesn't lend itself particularly well to town speeds.

There are lots of ways to improve this - have a look here for some ideas - http://www.ukmonster.co.uk/monster/showthread.php?t=54450

As for the neutral light, it's not uncommon to have problems here. Luckily, with the 796, it's easier to access and replace the switch than with the older models, as the wiring plugs into the end of the switch rather than being soldered on, like the early Monsters.

There are plenty of threads here on the subject - try this for starters http://www.ukmonster.co.uk/monster/showthread.php?t=56304

[tricky1962]

Well thanks for all the comments chaps.

This was the first one I've ridden and it had done only 1500 miles in 7 years.

I will now look for something a bit older just to get the measure of what the effects age and tuning/chain adjustment have.

I have been fancying one for years and I'll be honest, I got off it thinking well if I had to I could cope but that is not what I was expecting. I shall continue the hunt!

Cheers

[tricky1962]

Cheers Luddite
We cross posted
I'll have a good read of your first thread.
The garage I test road the bike from were general bike dealers and clearly hadn't noticed the missing neutral light
So I need to get out on a sorted one
You lot have bolstered my spirits :-)

[tricky1962]

Oi NIckJ!

T500 on spannies - sorry but that is Mozart on two wheels
Alongside these Termi things obvs :-)

[Flip]

After decades of full four finger braking under normal circumstances I know I'm going to have trouble with modern brakes (as it was I occassionally kangaroo'd to a halt at a junction on the test ride :-)), so I will need ABS and after all why not?

Welcome along...

I think you'll pretty soon get used to modern brakes and then have more trouble adjusting back to the T500's if going from my 1997 Monster to my 180mm Twin SLS Grimeca equipped 1965 Mach 1 race bike is anything to go by and that is with proper race compound shoes and tyres and I won't even get started on my 1978 Vespa P200E's horrible drums.

Obviously my 900 pre-dates the latest Euro compliant offerings but I can confirm as others have said that the gearboxes do need a firm foot between shifts so as not to find a load of neutrals but they do shift easily once they have a few miles on them (mine has a tad over 32,000 with all bar the first 900 or so done by me) and I have no problems finding neutral either when rolling or after coming to a standstill but a top tip is to go all the way down the box and then snick it up into neutral just before coming to a halt.

Again, as touched on already the relatively big lumpy V (or L is you prefer) Twin definitely doesn't like to be laboured and they do tend to be over-geared to comply with the 'drive by' noise tests to keep the revs down thus reducing the exhaust volume so going up a few teeth on the rear sprocket (far better than going down one on the front) will make it easier to keep the motor in a sweet spot, as will learning to ride the torque wave rather than hunting revs for power but they do take a bit of getting used to.

May I ask, was it just your experience of that test ride putting doubt in your mind over that particular bike or was there other things (neutral light obviously) putting you off it?

For your information the Ducati Roadshow is setting up along the coast from you at Whiteways Café, Bury Hill courtesy of P&H Motorcycles as Crawley on the 31st August so might be worth popping along as they'll have demonstrators there and there's bound to be plenty of Ducati owners there to chat with which might help settle your mind.

https://www.phmotorcycles.co.uk/ducati-roadshow/

[Nickj]

On theme like any bike, maybe a bit more Monster need a little time to get the best from them
Oh and I couldn't pass this one up having a suitable pic to hand

Oi NIckJ!

T500 on spannies - sorry but that is Mozart on two wheels
Alongside these Termi things obvs :-)

Hard to argue with that ;)

https://images2.imgbox.com/1a/17/7e9rtJSz_o.jpg

There you go, T500 with spannies

[mickj]

Welcome to the forum Tricky, good luck with your hunt. :thumbsup: