Ducati Monster S4RS - Lovely!!!!

[et al]

When I first heard about this bike I was attracted by the Specifications - comes standard with heaps of quality gear eg: Ohlins Front & Rear, Carbon front guard and cam belt covers and other bits and pieces, Radial brakes, Marchesini wheels, etc. Pretty much the same running gear as the 999S for considerably less money. Also lovely tubular single sided swing arm to top off the whole package. I had never seriously considered owning a Monster in the past but I just had to check this one out - so I went out to Motomart, looked at it, sat on it under the watchful and knowing eye of Todd and what more could I do - tis mine! Have only done approx 200k so early days yet but I know we are going to get on very well. The ergonomics are perfect for me - no issues with hand/feet position and the seat is very comfy already for a new bike. She turns in lovely and those front brakes make an interesting hissing noise when applied (not sure what thats about but I like it). The actual performance of the front brake might take a bit of getting used to as I find them to have a real harsh initial bite (probably just me grabbing too much - I will see if adjusting the lever span helps). Of course I just love the engine - as for the suspension, needless to say those Ohlins are awesome, pretty good out of the box and I wont try to change any of the settings for a while. One minor irritation is the screen wobbles around annoyingly so I am going to make up some straps to attach them to the mirror stems (this fixed similar issue on my Hornet). Some other minor mods I am wanting to do are:
fit a Headlight Guard, Oil Cooler and Radiator guards, maybe some mini rear indicators, and a rear hugger. By the way - I also discovered that it has a plastic petrol tank - not sure if this is a good or bad thing overall but at least no worries with it rusting out.

[slowpoke]

Luvvly jubbly...great choice!

[R6_kid]

bootiful!!! now get rid of that catalytic converter(?) underneath the bike and get a nice set of carbon fibre straight though pipes! :shit:

[sAsLEX]

bootiful!!! now get rid of that catalytic converter(?) underneath the bike and get a nice set of carbon fibre straight though pipes! :shit:

What he said!

Other wise nice bit of kit, got to love single sided swingarms!

[skelstar]

Awesome mate. So now you have two italian girlfriends...gonna sell any of your other bikes?

[Wasp]

beautiful, ive been secretly looking at the monsters for awhile now - definately an option im considering

[u4ea]

awesome bike....but yer the plastic petrol tank???????hope that is just a passing fad.........

[et al]

Thanks for all the compliments guys. Re that fugly catalytic converter/exhaust chamber - this is all to do with the new Euro compliance I suppose and I did not like it at first but getting used to it now. Long term I might look at after market exhaust options. Just read (www.ducati.com) that for 2007 they are putting out a lower spec model of this - the S4R which has Showa front and Sachs rear suspension (instead of Ohlins) and less carbon goodies.

[Kendog]

Saw your bike at Motomart last weekend, now I can see why.

That is a sweet looking bike there. Dare I say almost as sweet as the Hornet :innocent:

[sAsLEX]

Thanks for all the compliments guys. Re that fugly catalytic converter/exhaust chamber - this is all to do with the new Euro compliance I suppose and I did not like it at first but getting used to it now..

What about this look though!!!

<img src=http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=41672&d=1158121483>

[Sparky Bills]

The show room is deffinatly missing something since that left. Bring it back!

[Scouse]

Lovly bike dude id like one of those as a second bike parked next to me speedtriple

[limbimtimwim]

Best thing is, to show those silly sprotbike riders, I undertand it is basically a 916 in disguise.

A wolf in wolfs clothing, if you will.

[slowpoke]

Best thing is, to show those silly sprotbike riders, I undertand it is basically a 916 in disguise.

A wolf in wolfs clothing, if you will.

Any Ducati with the letters RS in the moniker is most DEFINITELY a sportsbike already! We are waaaay past 916 performance with this bit o' kit.

[classic zed]

but I have never liked the oil cooler stuck down low in front of the engine, looks way too easy to damage.:nono:

[Scouse]

Best thing is, to show those silly sprotbike riders, I undertand it is basically a 916 in disguise.

A wolf in wolfs clothing, if you will.999 I belive

[Zapf]

nice bike! mind if I ask how much did it set you back?

[Korea]

"Wow! What a monster!"
...well, that's what she said anyway...

Nice bike :ride:

[et al]

nice bike! mind if I ask how much did it set you back?
They were $26,995 but exchange rate or something changed recently and they are being priced at $29,495 now. If you are interested I suggest you get in quick and try to find an old stock one at lower price. Also see my earlier post re the lower spec S4R for 2007 which hopefully will be made available here - this has to be a few $k cheaper and will still be an awesome bike.

[Zapf]

They were $26,995 but exchange rate or something changed recently and they are being priced at $29,495 now. If you are interested I suggest you get in quick and try to find an old stock one at lower price. Also see my earlier post re the lower spec S4R for 2007 which hopefully will be made available here - this has to be a few $k cheaper and will still be an awesome bike.

wow thanks, whats the servicing cost like? I suppose seeing its a Duc it'll be expensive and needs lots of it when the K's creep up? I am just thinking if I bought one and kept it for the long hual.

But I really like the suspension and the V Twin thing.

Was at Haldanes today and think I saw one for $26,995...

[MD]

You are in big trouble et al when Linda gets back from the GP! No one's allowed a better looking Monster than her two. Your one looked great. As soon as I pulled up beside you today I was thinking... now that looks special.
Don't take too long getting that oil cooler guard. I think the standard pipes looked fine.
See you next Sunday maybe.

[et al]

wow thanks, whats the servicing cost like?
Re Servicing - think of it as a small price to pay for owning a really neat bike and don't let that alone put you off. Whilst servicing costs will be more than Jap bikes I don't consider it to be over the top/prohibitive. The real difference is that because of the unique valve train gear it really does need to be done as per the Maintenance Schedule, and unless you are a really good mechanic then you have to get it done by a trained Ducati mechanic. Of course in the case of a new one then you have to get the dealer to do it anyway to honour the Warranty. With a second hand bike out of warranty then you could save yourself some $ by doing everything yourself except the valve clearances. Not sure how much servicing will cost with the S4RS (you could ask your Dealer for some ballpark figures), but for my 996 the 10,000k service was around $700, and the 20,000k was $1100. And having now done 26,000k I have not had to fork out for anything else other than servicing - except for tyres of course.

[SuperDave]

Sweet looking bike man.

[sexy beast]

nice package and comes for around $4500......not bad!

[mjvduc]

if you need to spend some money:banana: have a look

http://www.desmorados.com/shop/catalog/default.php?cPath=332_358_65_187


have fun

mjvduc

[et al]

Thanks for the link - I will have a good look through it at some stage but I am not wanting to spend any money at the moment, waiting for my bank balance to recover! The clever bastards at Ducati included large Clothing and Accessories catalogues with the bike so I am trying real hard to put up mental "bling blocks" for a while.

[mjvduc]

not 100% sure if your baby is euro 3 (regulated catalytic converter), if so you have to spend some extra drolllars to include the oxy sensor. if not just cut this ugly thing out and invest some bugs to get a propper mapping!! if you go for your 1000km inspection ask the lads to correct your CO figure and fit a bigger rear sproket:2thumbsup

have fun

mjvduc

if we gonna make our way back to NZ, I can get some stuff for you:Pokey: