Ducati monster 400ei

[peterpan]

opinions please on the 400 monster 2000-2005. there seems to be a few coming into the country at a desent price. i cant seem to find any information on the net so any info on handling, reliability and maintainance cost would be appreciated.and of course previous experience.

[ducatilover]

i have been told that performance wise they arent too great. and being a duke i would expect service costs to be relatively high
good looking though

[jim.cox]

Nice bike,

Aimed at the Japanese market regulations, which is why they are turning up here as imports.

Kind of underpowered, and the suspension parts are nothing great.

A 600 or 750 would be a better choice - IMHO

[randyp]

they look quite nice bikes but pretty much a small bike dressed up to be one of its bigger brothers. 1000cc wannabe pretty much.

[johan]

opinions please on the 400 monster 2000-2005. there seems to be a few coming into the country at a desent price. i cant seem to find any information on the net so any info on handling, reliability and maintainance cost would be appreciated.and of course previous experience.

All you need for the road. Great machine! Comfy riding position.

Being a 400cc, you actually get a chance to rev it a bit without going through warpspeed and loose your license.

The monsters aren't that stable in the chassis, I had a 900 Monster and a 996, so I could compare them. But that makes them perfect for city riding and also snappy handling in the twisties at legal road speed.

Try to find one with documented service history.

Oh, also, I think the 400s have a wet clutch.


My %02

[johan]

i have been told that performance wise they arent too great. and being a duke i would expect service costs to be relatively high
good looking though

I general, the big thing is servicing the belts and checking the valve clearance, every 10000k or every two year, which ever comes first.

I don't think the monsters had the flaking rocker arm problems, which can be expensive.

Also, if it's a 2 valve it's probably cheaper to maintain.

You can download owners manual at Ducati's homepage.

Have a read here as well:
http://www.ducatimonster.org/

[lanci]

I'd go with a 600 or 620. I went to the 620 and am pleased with the jump in power, not too much as it was my second step.

I just did the 10K service and it was $680. So yeah it's not cheap but definitely worth it.

[BIGBOSSMAN]

I borrowed one for a few days while my bike was waiting on parts. It was surprisingly good for what it was, very low powered (compared with my ZX10R - go figure) but comfy and easy to ride with good brakes and overall decent handling.
Would make a perfect learners bike if the cement-heads in the KillaBeehive had any common sense...

[daytona 2]

all of you there is nothing wrong with it! its my favourite small bike id kill for one

[James Deuce]

I've seen those too and thought that one would make a nice replacement for the Katana.

[98tls]

Interesting reading above posts,when selling bikes (many moons ago) we had a 400,only one id ever seen,then and since as it was an ss,rode it twice and both times was unimpressed..taking everything into consideration.The 600 on the other hand would be a far better proposition imho.

[euronesia]

Hi all
I'm riding Monster 400 year 2003, runs well in these tropical conditions, somehow managing to keep up with other big brothers on touring around.
Well it is good for city ride, for touring needs more skills or will be left behind far.

As for maintenance I think it costs just as same as other big ones, as the parts are same, the only difference is the engine cc. wet clutch works great cheaper to maintain then dry one though.

top speed, it can hit up to 190kmh.

I also include a pic of my desmo

Cheers