• There has been a recent cluster of spammers accessing BARFer accounts and posting spam. To safeguard your account, please consider changing your password. It would be even better to take the additional step of enabling 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your BARF account. Read more here.

M 900 monster

ob1ventura

ob1ventura

Active member
Joined
Mar 24, 2006
Location
moss beach
Moto(s)
'20 RSV4rr, '01 FXD, '07FXDC
Daughter hasn't posted for a while and forgot her user name and pass word so posting for her.

She wants a damn monster.
Found one on C/L
'95 w/ 28k on the clock.
Original owner.
"Small dent on tank".
$3.5k

Tried talking her into a SV but she prefers the Duc.

I don't know crap about Ducs........... If it ain't a Harley it ain't a bike right?

Looking for advice re: monsters.

Thanks.......ob
 
$3500 for a 18 year old bike seems like a lot to me (and I don't think the M900 is a classic). Then again, I don't know enough about these bikes to provide a solid opinion.

There are far newer bikes that can be had for around $3.5-4.5k. But as with all used motorcycles, maintenance is the most important thing. Check out that 2004 Tuono in the classifieds section.

But take a look here: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110621181847AADONuo
 
Seems like you could offer less cash and come out with a great bike. The monsters usually come with "dings" on the tank due to the bars hitting the tank. Hard to find them without the dents on the tank. Ask for reciepts of maintenance, and offer less if there are no records as it will help track the history and wear on the bike and valvetrain. Ask when the belts were last changed, should be swapped out at 12,000 miles or two years, whichever comes first. about $50 each belt for replacement. Air cooled motors are tough. They are solid bikes. She'll enjoy it.
 
KrustyKruser said:
Seems like you could offer less cash and come out with a great bike. The monsters usually come with "dings" on the tank due to the bars hitting the tank. Hard to find them without the dents on the tank. Ask for reciepts of maintenance, and offer less if there are no records as it will help track the history and wear on the bike and valvetrain. Ask when the belts were last changed, should be swapped out at 12,000 miles or two years, whichever comes first. about $50 each belt for replacement. Air cooled motors are tough. They are solid bikes. She'll enjoy it.
Click to expand...

Thanks.

She really wants this thing and I'm having a hard time talking her into being practical.:laughing
 
I sold a beater 2001 S4 for $3000, which is the 4 valve water cooled 916 version. generally, they sell for about 50-75% more than the air cooled. It had 28k on it and the same dent in the tank from the bars.

I'd say that bike is too much money for the age. Maybe $1200-$1500 too much.
 
I had one of these - a '97 Cagiva-vintage M900. Mine was a good, solid play bike. Bought mine as a wreck and re-assembled it, rode it for a about 2 years and sold it for $ 3k, if I recall correctly.

Not terribly comfortable for distance work, or long commuting, but I spent some long hours in the saddle riding in a most spirited fashion - they go nicely, stop well and have good stability. Really wheelie nicely and make that classic, glorious Duc noise. Bit quirky - narrow steering lock, high pegs, funky bar angle, useless mirrors - but I never bothered changing any of it.

Maintenance is GOING to cost significantly more than a comparable SV or the like - you must make her acknowledge that before she pulls the trigger - it's just a fact of life that Ducatis of that era are NOT like most modern vehicles that you just put gas in and go for months on end - this is more like a hobby, and if she doesn't care to put it up on the wheel stands and go over it every few weeks then she WILL become frustrated with it.
 
Last edited:
Hawaiirider said:
I had one of these - a '97 Cagiva-vintage M900. Mine was a good, solid play bike. Bought mine as a wreck and re-assembled it, rode it for a about 2 years and sold it for $ 3k, if I recall correctly.

Not terribly comfortable for distance work, or long commuting, but I spent some long hours in the saddle riding in a most spirited fashion - they go nicely, stop well and have good stability. Really wheelie nicely and make that classic, glorious Duc noise. Bit quirky - narrow steering lock, high pegs, funky bar angle, useless mirrors - but I never bothered changing any of it.

Maintenance is GOING to cost significantly more than a comparable SV or the like - you must make her acknowledge that before she pulls the trigger - it's just a fact of life that Ducatis of that era are NOT like most modern vehicles that you just put gas in and go for months on end - this is more like a hobby, and if she doesn't care to put it up on the wheel stands and go over it every few weeks then she WILL become frustrated with it.
Click to expand...

My S4 was quite a bit newer than your Cagiva, but in my experience, it was dead nuts reliable. The valve adjustment never changed. Change the oil, change the belts every few years, and tires, that was it. I've heard Ducati reliability horror stories, but that wasn't my experience.
 
Mine wasn't a horror story by ANY measure. My ST4 was much worse - due to a previous owner's neglect.

My point was - and still is - is that any Duc, expecially an older one - just is NOT the standard-issue one-size fits all, ignore it at your leisure, plug-n-play machine that many have come to expect from today's vehicles. Make no mistake - while sold to common folk, this is not a consumer-grade, idiot-proof, Corolla-like conveyance.

Funny story about my M900 - I found it in the back of a friend's m/c shop, crashed, bent and broken. "It's dead." says my pal - "We couldn't get it running." - well the fact is that non-running motorcycles don't get in violent crashes, so anything that wasn't crash damage ought not be an issue. I made a low-ball offer for the wrecked chassis ( I think paid $ 500 ) and we had it running about an hour later. heh.
 
$3500 is probably fair market value for that bike. If you do a little research they're all pretty much going for around that price unless they're super beat up. Obviously if you can haggle for lower, you should ;)

As for the M900, it's a wheelie machine. I would say your daughter has good tastes :D What you probably want to do is find one with a decent set of service records to make sure the bike was taken care of. The 2-valve Desmo motor is fairly bulletproof if kept up, there are plenty of guys/gals with 50k-100k+ miles on these motors floating around.

The earlier Monsters had headbolt issues but most likely by now they've been replaced or repaired. If you want a fancy spec'd one, look for adjustable Showa forks, and "V" stamped heads :thumbup
 
Thanks for all the good advice!!

Damn it Robbie; she will be reading this :mad Pretty sure I still have her thinking she needs my input / approval on matters concerning bikes, men and how to dress.
 
I've owned a 97 and have a 2000 and another 97 sitting in the garage. They're awesome machines but can be temperamental. Those that love them understand that they're not the same thing as the Japanese "counterparts". They're also not expensive to have serviced...if you know where to go. COUGHNICHOLSCOUGH! Especially the pre-fuel injected models. However, yes, it'll always be more than an SV650. :p

If I were you, I'd look at an M620 for her instead. Less bugs, decent power, fuel-injected and can be had for less than that $3500 in many cases. Particularly if you're willing to leave the state to get one.
 
I love my M900. Conventional wisdom is that they get better with age, as far as maintenance gremlins go.

Your daughter should totally go for it, and I'd say dry clutch or bust! Honestly, I can't see myself ever getting rid of mine (ok, maybe if a S2R1K came along and I had the cash).
 
I bought my '94 in 2004 I think. Still have it and it's my daily driver. I've had to do some pretty major repairs, but it's still going at 86,500 miles. I love it and it seems like it's been pretty bulletproof compared to when I first got it. I'm waiting for the engine to blow at this point. Paid $3800 when I first bought it and it had 18K on it.

Don't know if that helps, but sometimes what seems frivolous and impractical turns out to be a pretty good buy in the end.
 
CABilly said:
Honestly, I can't see myself ever getting rid of mine.
Click to expand...

Same here. I didn't think I would find a motorcycle I would want to keep forever. Many others will come and go in the future, but my M900 just has too much character and so much beauty. So pretty to look at and crazy fun to ride :ride

As for the ones that think it's uncomfortable to ride (in the posted links and stuff), I ride mine two-three times a month on a 300+ mile round trip to Chico, Ca. plus my usual riding route is 45 min-1 hr every other day. No complaints other than sometimes I wish I didn't get lost so much in SF. :twofinger

Very pretty to look at :D
DM900SmallPic_zpsca171537.jpg
 
Last edited:
TheFarmer said:
Same here. I didn't think I would find a motorcycle I would want to keep forever. Many others will come and go in the future, but my M900 just has too much character and so much beauty. So pretty to look at and crazy fun to ride :ride

As for the ones that think it's uncomfortable to ride (in the posted links and stuff), I ride mine two-three times a month on a 300+ mile round trip to Chico, Ca. plus my usual riding route is 45 min-1 hr every other day. No complaints other than sometimes I wish I didn't get lost so much in SF. :twofinger

Very pretty to look at :D
DM900SmallPic_zpsca171537.jpg
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's a nice one! Mine looks like a heap compared to that! Pretty sure it spent a significant portion of its life parked within spitting distance to the ocean :/ Short of a full tear-down, I don't think it'll ever look shiny, but at least the tank is 100% straight!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top