What monster do you have? My 1100S was an absolute weapon and a wheelie monster. Where as the cafe racer is just the opposite. It needs to be revved to get the best out of it when giving it a bit of a tickle now and again, but with how light the bike is you can throw it around easily enough. It keeps up with most other things on the road too when ridden properly on a normal UK road. The worst bit about the bike is the fuel range. On a weekend spirited ride you will get 100 miles. Not one mile more and its rubbish. If you could get a minimum of 100 miles and they have 40-50 in reserve so you can have a good ride and still enough to get back home. I did ride the Beemer R9T before getting back onto the duke but it is a completely different bike. Way faster. Way more Torque. But a way different bike to ride. Its very heavy in comparison and with the boxer twin as opposed to the L. It tries to throw you over the handlebars every time you drop down a couple of cogs on the over run due to the pistons firing away like a mad man. Still a load of fun, but I dont regret buying the Duke at all. if you add the right mods, a nice exhaust and a load of carbon then its the perfect mix.
I have the 1200 Monster (not the S or R). It's a brute! Having been away from riding for 15 years it was pure comedy seeing me get on it. In fact I didn't dare the first day it was delivered (I blamed that I needed to tax it It's been a dream to own one. I haven't yet even really taken it to it's limits... full throttle to coin a phrase has not been achieved!! I don't have roads long enough near me haha. It's a joy to own more than ride I think is the best way I can describe my relationship with it. It's taken 6 weeks and around 1,000 miles for me to finally feel comfortable on it. At low speeds it's like riding with a bag of spanners. In the same way the Cafe Racer turns heads for it's looks, my Monster turns heads for it's sound. And for that I love it. Perhaps it's a little too indulgent to own both the Cafe Racer *and* the Monster. Surely you need to keep your Cafe in the garage/mantle piece! But I can't stop looking at the BMW NineT Urban GS, with those TKC nobblies. Clearly it's a disaster in the wet, but who cares :-D ...and you're description of the NineT has only added fuel to that particular fire damn it. There needs to be a shared ownership bike club, like the big sports cars. I can't keep up (read: my wallet) with all the bikes I want to own. I'll loan you my Monster for your Cafe! Anyway, congrats on recovering from your crash, choosing the Cafe as your return is a fantastic choice. But the pull back to the Monster is strong! Roll on summer.
I was in Hyside Ducati Romford last weekend and they have one in these and i must say i liked it a lot, a bit different
Yes been hyside before fella, I used to stay in Dagenham so popped up, I like the blue cafe racer, you thinking of getting one?
Not getting one but a Scrambler or Monster is a bike I've been interested in for riding 2 up with Mrs Roadtrip
