I am looking to get a bigger bike and have taken a shine to the new Ducati Monster. I wondered if anyone has brought a bike from the Bangkok showroom and what was the service like?

Which Monster are you interested in?

There're 3 new Monsters in this years' line-up. The 696, which is a best seller as you can see from here- http://www.ducatisti.co.th/
and then there's the 1100 and 1100s.

I've bought two bikes from there. A Monster S2R 1000 and then traded in for an 848.
The service is fine and the salesman and head mechanic both speak English.

I fancied the 1100 S, as that single swinging arm look is great. That said I have read the reports on the 696 and that could be the one to go for. The 848 is gorgeous but not sure if I can stretch to nearly 900 grand. Whats it like?

I was recently in Italy on business (sort of) and there were obviously Dukes everywhere, fantastic sound and looks all of them. I have looked at the Kawasaki big bikes currently on offer and they are appealing but it the Ducati is so individual, as are the Triumphs but I think they are hard to by in Thailand (even though they make the frames here!

The 696 is small but the cheapest of the three. And the 1100s is not that much cheaper than the 848. Depends if you want to go superbike or naked. There's a Triumph dealer on RCA in Bangkok. The Street/Speed Triple might interest you or even the Daytona but they're not much cheaper than Ducatis, despite much of the manufacturing done in Thailand.
How much was the ZX-10?

This post has been edited by RusticCharm: 2009-08-13 19:26:41

The ZX10 is about 650,000 but not my cup of tea. The 848 on the other hand is sex on wheels! I suffer with a back problem sustained playing rugby some years back so the Monsters slightly riased position would probably be the best option. Now that you have told me that the service was good in Bangkok, I should just go and try them all for size.

I bought a Sports Classic 2 years ago on Thong Lor and have nothing but good things to say about them -well almost - if you get custom work done through them but its something done outside the shop, prepare to wait. And wait. Other than that - like RC said - good service and easy to communicate with. They just started organizing more activities - rides, watching motogp, that kind of stuff. lots of nice Duc owners here - thai and farang.
As for the Monster 696 - I just test-rode one last month. It's a nice bike - smooth, easier to ride in BKK traffic than my GT. But if you are over 80 kilos, go with one of the 1100's - you'll be wishing you had more power on the 696. I know you mentioned a budget, but the Streetfighter is due in next month- 1198cc, 155HP Just the bike for BKK LOL

Just go in and speak with Chum and sit on a couple of bikes. Funnily enough, I find the 848 more comfortable than the Monster. Even though the bars are a lot lower, the shape of the tank supports my gut, taking a lot of stress off the arms.


My advice would be buy the most powerful bike you can afford. 

Anyway, you may find this interesting- http://www.ducatisti.co.th/webboard/topic.php?id=00000098

This post has been edited by RusticCharm: 2009-08-14 17:05:53

Great advice!!
BTW Terry - the girl with the Monster is the sister of the guy with the 848. That is one happy girl. Great to see.

Cute!

Yep over 80 kilos and 6ft in height, so it looks like a 1100s but as RusticCharm says, the 848 is also comfortable. At the end of the day a trip to Thonglor asap is the way to go. I,ll let you know how i get on. Many thanks for all the advice.........happy days

This post has been edited by thaieagle67: 2009-08-15 16:11:13

To me, the 696 feels like a bigger bike. Awesome sound, but forget long distance touring as you will have soreness of the buttocks!

Maintenance can be big bucks in Europe - not sure how much is labour? 5.5 hours for a standard service on the 696, in Germany we are talking about 25,000 Baht

Timing belt changes etc., hope some rider tells it all how much it costs?

My last service came to the grand total of 1,200THB. This is not Europe.

This post has been edited by RusticCharm: 2009-08-17 21:37:32

Rustic.... That was the 5.5 hour service for 1,200b if so wow that's bloody cheap mate. OR are you talking about an oil and filter change?.

As i see it Kf6 is only highlighting a POSSIBLE future problem. But then if you buy a Ducati then you know it could get expensive when you HAVE to do the major services (when you rack up the km's). But i might be wrong.

Labor is around 500B per hour. I just had an oil change done - can't find the bill at the moment, but it was right around 1900 baht, including oil and filter, so service was about 450 baht.

Ok 500b an hour is ok. and you guys won't have them long enough to do the serious work like cam belts etc (part ex for the next new eye candy bike )

A show of envy is an insult to oneself. -Yevgeny Alexandrovich Yevtushenko

Allen, back to the cbr 150 thread with you and let the big bikers talk, eh.

Terry, Terry. Terry. It isn't envy mate. I don't like Ducati's and i would not own one. But i respect people that do like them. They are an expensive bike and if you like them well and good. As you so succinctly put it. I like most bikes big and small.
I like bikes not just brand names

This post has been edited by thaicbr: 2009-08-24 08:30:57

Yeah those Phantom riders have it... Who'd want to ride around on a Ducati

 duc.JPG ( 54.54K ) Number of downloads: 23


Two years... No probs electrical or otherwise.. Excellent helpful, friendly aftersales service from the dealer.
Posibly the best bike I've had... though my old 900ss came close

Nice Ducati.
How many kms has it done?

Since it is kinda hard to work out where the shit stirring stops and the flaming/nastiness starts, I have removed 13 posts and replies, some for being inflamatory & others for appearing nasty.

Please keep the discussion on topic.

few pics of my new toy ...well new to me ..k3 gsxr 1000.....i was going to buy a ducati but opted for this as my second bike.....

around 8500km Not much for two years but I'm away offshore a fair bit of the time.. When I'm home it gets used daily for everything from shopping trips to ride outs to BC or BKK..

Last month was involved in a group ride. A couple of these came along. Very nice looking Cafe Racer. A tad expensive. I have considered the Triumph Thruxton as the alternative to pootle around on.
What are those exhaust pipes? Termi? Remus?

This post has been edited by Travelmate: 2009-08-27 08:50:33

The pipes are Termis.. The Sport 1000 is around 650,000 Baht and to my mind is great value (In Thai terms) when compared to other imported big bikes available here.. BMW, Harley and Triumph etc.. The other good news is that there is very little depreciation.

How does the air-cooled engine cope with the Thai heat when in traffic?