Nice looking Ducs in this thread. Here's mine. '20 Monster 1200S bought new in Aug 2021. Man, I really love this bike.
Tee hee hee.... I had a 2015 1200S. The first time I cracked it to WOT I literally said "Holy shit!" and started giggling. And then did it about five more times. It felt a but childish but then I was watching a guy review one on Youtube, he cracked the throttle, and said "Holy shit!" so I felt better about it.
Awesome bike. I sold mine for a couple of silly reasons but it remains one of my favorite bikes.
I now have a Street Fighter V2. I like it even better than the Monster, but it doesn't have that "Holy shit!" torque like the 1200S did. It actually has a few more HP than the 1200 but nowhere near the torque. Completely different riding experience.
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It seems I've already posted in this thread but there have been a couple updates since then. First of all I started searching for a nice M900 but instead of the near stock, good condition Monster I expected to find I ended up coming home with a POS, beat to hell 900ss track bike. Because I'm an idiot, that's why.
And then I decided the V85TT I had bought wasn't cutting it and I needed to get back to all Ducatis, all the time. When the V2 Streetfighter was announced I put a deposit on one. That meant selling the V85. So I put up some ads, and said "NO TRADES" cuz I needed the money for the V2 SF, right?
So of course I got offered trades. First was a bunch of literal garbage that made me want to reach through the screen and slap the guy for even proposing it. I'm still annoyed buy his offer.
THEN... then... oh man, then I got another trade offer. This one had a story. I still needed money for the SF so I intended to say no dice but as I was writing the reply my view softened and I asked for pictures and more info...
Long story short, after a few weeks of trading info and running some numbers, this ended up in my garage.
Did I mention I have a HUGE soft spot for Super Lights? Did I tell the story of how I stood and stared at one at my local dealer when they came out? How I've regretted not buying it ever since? This one had sat unused for about 20 years so needed TLC, but come on. Look at it. How could I say no? The POS track bike was getting very close to being useable again, but the minute this showed up the trackbike became a donor bike. It's new belts, it's uncracked aluminum swingarm, it's Ohlins shock and a few other goodies were unceremoniously stripped off and offered up to the SL. The trackbike then got stuffed in a corner to await it's day in the sun.. which may well never happen at this point.
So now I had an SL. And no V85. And a Street Fighter on the way. Sometimes sacrifices need to be made. The 851 would have to go. I placed the ad right around midnight one night. I thought it might take a few weeks to sell. It was sold before 1am. The next morning two more guys had posted they'd take it if the first deal didn't go through. Apparently I didn't ask enough for it...
The day the SL deal was sealed, my wife walked into the garage as I was admiring my new toy. She seemed a little annoyed when she asked "So you traded a bascially new Moto Guzzi for a 20 year old Ducati?"
I replied "NO! I traded it for a
30 year old Ducati!" She didn't think that was as funny as I did but she didn't say anything else. Or at least I don't think she did. I dunno. Holy cow the undertray hasn't even been drilled let alone cut!
And then I picked up the Streetfighter.
And took it down to Deals Gap.
It is an amazing bike. I had a 2015 Monster 1200S that I really liked. It was probably the best streetbike I had owned to that point. but I sold it anyway, in part due to I just didn't want to change the belts on it. Well, pay for it's first major service really. So yeah, I sold it. The Street Fighter is an even better streetbike IMHO. It worked SO well doewn south. But the one thing it does NOT have compared to the Monster is the torque Not even close. Not at all a torque monster like the Monseter was. Oh wait... there's another thing the Street Fighter doesn't have. CAM BELTS! But I'm rambling.
I finally got the SL road worthy at the end of the season, just in time for the local "ALL Clubs Day" in Stockbridge, MI. I put a whopping 75 miles on it before it went back into storage but hopefully next season it'll see more use.
I had the Termignoni exhaust and the ECU flash done at the dealer. Other than that, the mods have been mostly ergonomic. I found the stock seat to be a Weapon of Ass destruction, so I replaced it with a Corbin. Pricey, but it changed the Monster from a 100-mile max day to a 400-mile a day bike. Added the Rizoma lowering pegs for an inch more leg room. That, plus the slightly taller Corbin seat made a world of difference for my 6-foot, 240-lb frame. Added the Rizoma bar end mirrors too because 1.) I liked the look and 2.) the stock mirrors always slip rearward when cruising at high speed (I was scared to tighten them any more into the soft aluminum threads). Finally, I just fitted a set of Marchesini forged aluminum wheels in November. Been busy traveling for work and haven't gotten a chance to road test them yet. Hope to get out for a test ride soon.
