Hello, and greetings again after a long absence from Ducatiforum.co.uk (I sold a Multistrada 1000S a few years back and have had a few years of Jap bike ownership). I'm thinking of getting a Monster 796 or bigger. Most of my riding is in Central London - I'm an instructor, and yes, I will be using the bike for work! However, I don't own a car and the bike will be my sole means of transport. Pillion work will also be involved! My annual mileage is between 10-12,000. Am I going daft or will the M796 or M1100 stand up to this sort of usage? I can't afford new either so not interested in the 821.
Welcome back! My M696 has now done over 52,000 miles since I bought it brand new in September 2009. I commute all year round on it (except if it is snowy or icy), tour Europe and even just go for the odd sunny Sunday ride. I don't think you're mad to consider a 2nd generation Monster as your year round daily transport, but don't expect to win any show & shine competitions with it if you do. The paint at the bottom of the forks where the brake calipers are attached is peeling, and there's a chip in the silvery paint on the headlinght surround, and a certain amount of furry aluminium & fasteners. I dare say if you cleaned it more regularly than I do, the finish might last longer (in my books a bike is for riding, not taking apart and scrubbing with a toothbrush after every ride). It doesn't, however, have the flaking engine paint which afflicted earlier Monsters. As for weaknesses, the M696 eats wheel bearings (not sure if the 796 is as bad, but I've had more replacement wheel bearings than tyres). Reliability wise, it has had a new alternator (conked out in Alsasce on the way to WDW 2014), new reg-rec, new speedo sensor & last summer (around 45,000 miles) new clutch. But in the 5 years before getting my Monster, I had a 400 grey import Suzuki Bandit which also needed a new reg-rec and alternator, and did far fewer miles, so I don't have any prejudice about Ducati electrics. My ambition is to get my 696 up to 100,000 miles, and if for whatever reason I lost it before that point, I'd replace it with another M696.
