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New member from QC, Canada

408 views 0 replies 1 participant last post by  murc585 
#1 ·
Hey there,

I signed up for the site quite a while back but have been a little slow to get posting. I've been scanning this forum for quite a while as I've been the owner of a 2011 Monster 696 ABS since October of last year and now that the weather is starting to clear up I`m finally starting to discover my little beast.

I owned an `08 Ninja 250R for 3 years and after everything I could to suck some power out of it I decided it was time to switch. It was a great little bike to learn on and the power is alright around town, but on the highway it felt almost dangerous. I did some nice long trips on it (London, ON to Bar Harbor, Maine) and it's on those kinds of trip that truly gets you acquainted with your motorcycle. It's fun in the twisties but once you hit some long stretched on the highway with a full exhaust (Area P short carbon) cruising at 10,000 rpm you start to wonder what a larger displacement motorcycle feels like.

Anyways, traded it it for the Duc and have been in love with the L-twin since. I had it at our cottage in the country before the winter hit and it is fantastic on country roads. I`m now living in Montreal (big city full of traffic for those of you who don't know) and using it as a daily commuter so I`m starting to grasp what the Duc's weaknesses are. I found it hard to get off the line smoothly at first so at the first 1000km I had the dealer install a 14T sprocket. It made things a little bit better and I can now use second gear a lot more in the city, but in traffic I feel like I have to fight with the bike.

Lane splitting is not legal here and drivers here get infuriated (to the point where they are trying to get you hurt) if you try it. They feel that if they are stuck in traffic, you have to as well. Anyways, the fueling blows in stop-and-go traffic (even low-speed constant velocity) as many of you know and I`m surely burning through my clutch trying to keep things smooth as well. From what I`ve been reading emission restrictions and the trimming (using the O2 sensors) at sub-5500rpm usage is the culprit to this lean running machine. Like I said before, it's great at high speeds but unfortunately I`ll be stuck in traffic for the next few years.

I got pass this on my Ninja by replacing the airbox with a high-flow K&N filter, getting a full exhaust upgrade, and getting the bike properly jetted at a shop (it is carburated). It was a fairly simple process, but now I guess I`ve entered the enchanting world of fuel injection and I`m lost. It seems the Siemens ECU in modern Monsters doesn't want to touched and that my options are a little limited. I want to get a slip-on at some point so I might send in the ECU in to Motowheels for a re-flash and O2 sensor disable, but today I`ve also found that there is an add-on by Bazazz that can bypass the O2 sensors and that the Map can be modified with it as well.

I was thinking of getting a Leo Vince LV One SS slip-in with ECU re-flash and a K&N filter. Have any of you tried the re-flash from motowheels on your recent Monsters and has it helped in the low-rpm range?

Anyways, the bike looks fantastic, the tires feel glued to the road compared to the Ninja, I get constant compliments (I never see Ducatis around here), the brakes are ridiculously powerful, and I feel like the 696 is even lighter than the Ninja 250. I`ve been checking out all your bikes for the past few months so here is mine and I'm proud to now be part of the Ducati community.

Mat

 
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