[o0flapjack0o]

Hi everyone,
I am finally looking into buying a motorcycle. I have driven a great variety of them but never actually owned one. I have driven everything from a 80's scooter up to a Kawasaki ZX-14 or w.e. I have always loved Ducati's and Im looking into getting a new Monster 696. Are there any major issues or TSB's i need to worry about? How bad is maintanence? I went to a dealer and they couldn't tell me any of this. I searched for a thread similar to this and didnt find much. Thanks for the info ahead of time.

 

[desmoworks]

Hi everyone,
I am finally looking into buying a motorcycle. I have driven a great variety of them but never actually owned one. I have driven everything from a 80's scooter up to a Kawasaki ZX-14 or w.e. I have always loved Ducati's and Im looking into getting a new Monster 696. Are there any major issues or TSB's i need to worry about? How bad is maintanence? I went to a dealer and they couldn't tell me any of this. I searched for a thread similar to this and didnt find much. Thanks for the info ahead of time.

There are literally hundreds of posts on this subject on this and every other Ducati forum. The subject of maintenance is one of the most talked about for sure.

To answer... the maintenance isn't bad at all. Every 7500 miles you take it in or do it yourself. Get belts every other time, have the valve clearance checked - possibly adjust one or two if needed, etc... no big deal at all.

There are a couple of TSBs out - but the dealer should take care of any known issues before delivering the bike to you IF there are any outstanding on that particular bike.

The 696 is a great bike! It can have issues just like any other motorcycle on the planet, but on a whole, they are fantastic machines.

It is quite scary that your dealer couldn't speak with you about this subject - I don't think I would be doing business with a dealer who can't answer the most simple of Ducati questions - but maybe that is just me.

 

[o0flapjack0o]

I am hoping it was because when i was there originally i wasnt serious about it. Im going to head back there with serious intentions and see what i can get from them. And I was kind of reading on here the past few days and have chosen a few things that i want to mod right away. I have never worked on a bike before (primarily cars and trucks) so idk how complex any of it is.I want a steeing damper, remove the emissions canister thing, and get slip-ons. I have read Termi makes good slip-ons. How much are Termi slip-ons (preferably CF) and how much does that regular maintanence cost? Also why does it mean by tail chop?