Monster 620 - girl wants to upgrade from CBR125R

adri

adri

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This is her second season riding, but only around 12k km experience. She's been looking for a bigger bike as we've been doing rides to Niagara Falls, Wasaga, and soon Montreal. The CBR can be frightening on the highway sometimes.

A friend is willing to part with his 2006 Ducati M620 for dirt cheap ($3.1k) because it needs some work and he has too many bikes in his fleet.

The bike needed new levers - got some for $75. Signals - macgyvered it back to almost perfect for $0. So far so good.

However the speedo is ******. It reads 180 mph while parked and off. I'm told an entirely new cluster is $799 + time to reprogram keys?! Anyone know if the speedo can be corrected or will it need replacement?

Anyone have any general tips / thoughts for a chick new to Ducati / Monsters ?

Thanks & ride safe :)
 
PS: she's fully confident and happy riding my 400+ pound cruiser because she says gets more respect on the road (more space, people aren't cutting her off, they hear her coming, etc.) but she needs to keep off her tailbone due to injury.
Please no SV-650 recommendations. We've looked at lowered ones and they're still too tall. Does anyone know if lowering links exist for the 620?
 
Lowering links exist for all bikes, Just buy them at whatever length you want and make sure the bolt hole is the close in size. And I want that ducati!!!!!. Stupid ducati has some immo stuff related to the gauges I don't know if anyone has bothered to defeat it. Although I would think it's more of a speed sensor issue than a cluster issue for that 180mph parked speed display.
 
take the speedo apart and have a go at it yourself, needle may have come loose, or sensor dirty at back brake calipser...or something broke off inside, turn needle back to zero on speedo and try that...if the bike is otherwise fine and you don't mind possibly having a defunct speedo, go for it...but replacing the cluster you are looking at about $1000 (and make sure you have the red key when you do this)
 
I had the M620 as my first bike, had it my first two seasons and was a great bike to learn the basics but still at the end of the day a novice entry level motorcycle if you ask me. It is IMO a great bike to putt around the city with looking good parked outside an espresso bar and all but not really a first choice bike i'd take for a "ride" if that makes sense to you. Of course you can spend the money on extra parts to make the bike ride like you'd like it but out the box I found the suspension way to soft and the pegs are positioned way to low the ground will touch your toe under hard cornering. There are some benefits but equal as many short-comings to this bike. Some good points it being very comfortable and light since its air-cooled great for people of smaller size to easily manage around a parking lot. The downside is that it is a pretty damn scary bike if you try to ride it like a SS and lacks giving the rider any confidence to get faster and better at cornering. I've noticed you already have a few gremlins to deal with on yours...there will be more trust me. If you can do most of the small fixes/oil changes etc.. yourself you should be happy with it. I have yet to find a decent reputable ducati technician in the GTA. Just a heads up but if the monster ever shuts itself off in gear and cannot figure out why check the kickstand sensor. That was a huge PITA to figure out and scared the living **** out of me when it shut off on me in the middle of a 400 series highway. This is my experience with this bike hope you enjoy yours!
 
I have no idea about the bike, but for a speedo, have you considered mounting a GPS to her bike and using the speedo on that instead of replacing the entire cluster? It would be a less expensive option and would be helpful when in unfamiliar areas.
 
I like that idea. Sounds like a $200 fix. I'll poke around the monster forum to see if anyone over there might have experienced the same thing. Thanks!

For the rider who wasn't fully satisfied with his Monster, if you were looking for something that specifically does not cut corners like an SS would you have been happier?
 
Canada speedometer in Ingersoll will be probably able to fix it, and it will probably be under $100. look them up on google
 
the m620 is the same power as a ninja 500. she'll have no issues handling it.

as for the speedo, for now I'd suggest adding an Acewell speedo. you glue a magnet to the front rotor (where the pads won't hit) and run a wire up to the gauge. for $100 she'll have a digital gauge. or... spend $800... my understanding is on many of the ducs, the speedos can't just be swaped, they are coded for the bike.
 
Adri, I know exactly who to ask... I'll msg you on FB when I get the info.
 
A 620 monster is a good second bike, easy enough to work on and parts are all that expensive, suspension is adjustable on the rear shock . Its not that easy to lower, good luck finding a kit or links, the usual fix is to thin out the seat padding.
It rides just fine, has more than enough power and handles quite well. The dual disc brakes stop it just fine.

The speedo cluster is a programmed unit, cant swap from bike to bike without the red key. Its a security feature. They are available used, some of the bikes that have gone track only have clusters removed . Its a 1k problem.

at $3k needing a cluster replacement and levers its about market value, not a deal. When was the last time the valve clearance was checked and the timing belts, that's your biggest concern.

Only change I would make is to lower the front sprocket by 1T, they gear it up to meet EU emmissions, it will have way more driveability down 1 in the front.

I have one sitting in my garage, I like the bike, I ride other bikes if I'm going more than 200km in a day.
 
crankcall said:
A 620 monster is a good second bike, easy enough to work on and parts are all that expensive, suspension is adjustable on the rear shock . Its not that easy to lower, good luck finding a kit or links, the usual fix is to thin out the seat padding.
It rides just fine, has more than enough power and handles quite well. The dual disc brakes stop it just fine.

The speedo cluster is a programmed unit, cant swap from bike to bike without the red key. Its a security feature. They are available used, some of the bikes that have gone track only have clusters removed . Its a 1k problem.

at $3k needing a cluster replacement and levers its about market value, not a deal. When was the last time the valve clearance was checked and the timing belts, that's your biggest concern.

Only change I would make is to lower the front sprocket by 1T, they gear it up to meet EU emmissions, it will have way more driveability down 1 in the front.

I have one sitting in my garage, I like the bike, I ride other bikes if I'm going more than 200km in a day.
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OHHH OHHH you live in milton. We should hang out and you can bring your ducati by and look at my broken bike ahah.
 
Adri, why not look at a slightly used Kawasaki Ninja 500. All the power she will ever need to keep up with your HD. Actually may pass you!:laughing8:
 
She's a girl, she wants a pretty bike, and she has a thing for italians ;) but yeah, her machine puts out more HP than my HD :(
 
adri said:
She's a girl, she wants a pretty bike, and she has a thing for italians ;) but yeah, her machine puts out more HP than my HD :(
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Meh. Eventually you'll get used to the inferior performance. ;)
 
I love Ducatis...they're gorgeous bikes....but I would imagine parts are rather $$$. For money reasons, I would stick to Japanese bikes. By the way, doesn't it have a dry clutch? Those can be a little expensive to repair if you're not careful in using it properly.

For the money you want to spend, I also suggest a Ninja 500 which is very easy to maintain, way cheaper to insure (less than 599 cc), extremely easy to sell, and it has a proven reliability. Sure, it won't have the looks of the Ducati, but it will have plenty of power to move around...just watch youtube clips and you get the idea :)!

Good luck with you decision!
 
crankcall said:
The speedo cluster is a programmed unit, cant swap from bike to bike without the red key. Its a security feature. They are available used, some of the bikes that have gone track only have clusters removed . Its a 1k problem.
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Ah ha! Well there ya go Adri, now we know...LOL! That would be why the guy I spoke to said to be sure you have the red key.
 
my wife's first bike was a 94 900 monster and she did great with it.... her next bike was a 03 919 Honda and her last bike was a 04 Z1000

what's with the "girl wants to upgrade" thing??
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