[Nimbus]

I picked up my buddy's brand new '05 Monster620 dark last night. I put the first 13 miles on it for him and wow, what an interesting experience. I don't get it. Right now, there is an 05 SV for less than $5300 at a shop down the road. This monster was at least $6300. Neither are good first bikes IMHO, and I told him that, but all I had to say about bikes and first bikes was heard like the parents in a Charlie Brown cartoon.

The levers are so far out (and non adjustable!!) that my average hands had trouble grabbing the brake comfortably. The clutch sucks. It disengages right at the very bitter end of the far away lever's travel. When it does finally start working, the gearing is so high it feels as if it has no bite at all. That and a far (esp compared to my naked '99) reach to the bars conspires to make the bike less than easy to ride. The suspension feels quite nice however, much better than a stock SV. But will a newb ever know the difference? How do you break-in a Ducati? 5K is "redline" and anything under 3K and it shudders like you are bogging it?

On the plus side, it is a Ducati :

But it sure sounds nice going through the gears

 

[asp125]

....
On the plus side, it is a Ducati :

But it sure sounds nice going through the gears

No, ... you DO get it.

 

[ratmloud]

why is an sv not a god firsst bike? Thats what I dont understand.

 

[Red Sea Pedestrian]

why is an sv not a god firsst bike?  Thats what  I dont understand.

its on-going debate. depends on who you ask, opinions will differ. some think its a great beginer other will say that starting out on anythign but a 250 ninja is silly.

 

[Nexus242]

That's the Catwoman's bike, I hope your friend knows that.

 

[Nimbus]

Here's my view on the first bike thing:  The Duc or the SV are fine (Duc maybe better as it is slower) once you get the first drops out of your system.  I'd rather take a $200 loss on a GS500 or EX500 that I ride/drop/abuse for 6 months or a year than drop a brand new Ducati.  A new gas tank for the Duc is over $500.  To see a true newbie on a bike like that...totally uncertain, never rode beyond the MSF range, forgets to pull the clutch prior to toeing 1st gear...that's why I'm against a nice new bike for the 1st ride.  

Also, to whoever quoted me saying it sounds good.  It does, but not as good as my TBR on the SV.  I don't get why you'd spend the $$$$ other than for the name; and I fundamentally don't get that (which is why I have an SV).  

 

[Red Sea Pedestrian]

Here's my view on the first bike thing:  The Duc or the SV are fine (Duc maybe better as it is slower) once you get the first drops out of your system.  I'd rather take a $200 loss on a GS500 or EX500 that I ride/drop/abuse for 6 months or a year than drop a brand new Ducati.  A new gas tank for the Duc is over $500.  To see a true newbie on a bike like that...totally uncertain, never rode beyond the MSF range, forgets to pull the clutch prior to toeing 1st gear...that's why I'm against a nice new bike for the 1st ride.  

Also, to whoever quoted me saying it sounds good.  It does, but not as good as my TBR on the SV.  I don't get why you'd spend the $$$$ other than for the name; and I fundamentally don't get that (which is why I have an SV).  

same reason why people will spend hundreds more on crappy clothing with brand names on them. insecurity plays into it on some leverl.

 

[Ben_JamminVFCC]

It redlines at 5K?!?!?!


That's worse than a Buell motor twice it's displacement!

 

[DrummerDaveB]

  It redlines at 5K?!?!?!


  That's worse than a Buell motor twice it's displacement!

I think the 5k "redline" is only when its being broken in.

 

[evilbologna]

  It redlines at 5K?!?!?!


  That's worse than a Buell motor twice it's displacement!

I think he meant "break-in" redline, like how we weren't supposed to go past 5k for the first 500 miles or whatever.

 

[Nimbus]

  It redlines at 5K?!?!?!


  That's worse than a Buell motor twice it's displacement!

Come on Ben! Yeah, I meant self-imposed break-in revs. I think it revs out to about 9. Nothing like your Ninja, but not like a Buell either. It is really hard to keep below 5K. 'Tis no 8v DOHC liquid cooled SV motor, that's for sure.

 

[Jesse H]

why is an sv not a god firsst bike?  Thats what  I dont understand.

Low end torque that can easily loft the front wheel in an inexperienced riders hands.

 

[Raspberry]

Aaaa just put 2 fingers on the brake lever to steady your newbie hand. The SV is my first bike and I have yet to accidentally wheelie. I love the touchy throttle. It feels like I'm operating the bike by telepathy.

 

[Kevin]

raspberry...I dont think you need to worry about accidentally popping a wheelie on your SV. I know the 2nd gen wheelies a little easier than the frist but you need to preload and monkey with your clutch to wheelie it. SVs or any V twin is a much more predictable powerplant than a in-line bike. Just like a 4 stroke dirt bike is much more predictable than a 2 stroke.

Whoever said it earlier is correct. Duc owners are just posers IMHO. They are just looking to own a badge not a bike. The SV is the best bang for the buck your Duc ridding friend will realize this after his first few visits to his dealer for service work. Plus a SV will tear a 750 Duc Monster up anyway. BTW.....WHY would the guy not go pick up his OWN new bike. I would have serious concerns about even a newbie who wasn't dieing to go pick his bike up. I picked my bike up and rode it from FL to NC b/c I bought it in FL.........

 

[Chris81579]

A friend of mines girl friends ducati 620 was backed into by a car and a tank is actualy $1800. He has a 02 monster 900 dark and we switched bikes when I had my 03 sv650. I took off as hard as I could on his duc and I thought i would dust him but he was right on my butt riding my 650 from a stop and i had a jump on him. he proubly would have pulled on me if he was in the lead.

 

[Nimbus]

  BTW.....WHY would the guy not go pick up his OWN new bike. I would have serious concerns about even a newbie who wasn't dieing to go pick his bike up. I picked my bike up and rode it from FL to NC b/c I bought it in FL.........

He was wanting to pick it up himself. I strongly advised against a total newb taking a brand new $7000 bike across 2 lanes of rush hour traffic (55mph zone) doing an immediate 180 degree u-turn back into rush hour traffic at 60mph on new tires. I think he made a wise decision. Should a guy who unthinkingly drops the bike into first gear sans clutch be riding his first street miles in an urban area?

 

[Maritan]

Duc owners are just posers IMHO.

What about a 999 owner? Poser? If yes, why?

The Monsters are naked bikes meant for looking good while cruising the streets. Does it provide as much value as the SV does? No. But I think the Duc looks better and sounds better doing what it does.

 

[subyspecialist]

Ok I gotta throw in my opinion here, because two weeks ago my girlfriend sold her yamaha scooter and bought a 05 monster 620 dark.  This isn't her first motorcycle though, prior she had a klr 250 and has ridden my friends ninja 250 many times.  I have my 03 650s and her brother has an 05 650 naked, and she has sat on both, but she wanted to go with the duc and I agreed with her after we researched and checked it out in person.  The positives were that it has a lower seat height than the sv and she can flat foot it, better suspension, the new 05's come with a slipper clutch, and it has a hydraulic clutch so no clutch adjustments need to be made, comes from the factory with steel braided brake lines, it is fuel injected like the sv, and it is in my my personal opinion one of the sexiest naked bikes made.  The negatives were that it is air cooled, needs 6000 mile valve adjustments(which I will be doing :), is a little down on power vs. the sv(it's rated at 65hp), and costs a little more.  And I wouldn't call the clutch feel a negative it is just a different clutch than on our sv's, every different bike I have ridden have clutches that engage at different points, and you are comparing a hydraulic clutch to a cable clutch, ride a sv1000 and compare there clutch feel to the 650, same difference.  But I do understand what you are saying about it when first getting used to the clutch it is a little more on off, so if you take off at too low of revs and don't clutch it right it makes the bike lug more, it just takes a little more finesse to get used to it.  And in the duc manual they actually say for the first 600 miles to vary the engine load and speed and you can take the revs up to "5500 to 6000 rpms but no more".  Overall I wouldn't say one is really better than the other, just different.  I love the sv, but I have also been having fun with the monster.

 

[overtorqued]

Duc owners are just posers IMHO. They are just looking to own a badge not a  bike.

There are other perfectly good reasons to buy a motorcycle, other than HP per dollar, or the vague "fun per dollar" that we SV owners covet.  
If money isn't your primary concern, buying a Ducati gets you an absolutely gorgeous Italian machine, with a rich racing history/heratige and more than enough performance for the average rider.  Not to mention they sound simply amazing - unlike anything else - from idle to redline.

 

[dom]

Whoever said it earlier is correct. Duc owners are just posers IMHO. They are just looking to own a badge not a bike.

Um NO, thats like saying someone who owns a ferrari is a poser!! a ducati owner is one that has a shit load of money and wants a bike that is better than what God could do. Italians are known for their frames so you will pay for that experience. They also have a famous sound. Just think how much it would cost to put all those suspension goodies on an sv! I love ducati and i plan on owning one!!