DUCATI MONSTER 600 (1993 - 2001) Review

Version: Dark

Year: 2000

Annual servicing cost: £300

Ducati's most basic, no-frills motorcycle can be described as a jack-of-all-trades - World Superbike-winning chassis, excellent brakes and a comfortable riding position could make this the only bike you'll ever need. It could definitely do with some more top-end and a better gearbox though.

Buying experience: Purchased online for 2000€.

Year: 2001

I do not have comentad

Year: 1997

Annual servicing cost: £60

great entry bike in to the ducatista

Buying experience: very good, i bought it for £1400 and the bike shop delivered it to my hose free of charge. would i use them again? yes i would if they had my next bike available, i also use them for mot's

Version: Dark

Year: 2001

Annual servicing cost: £60

I've had the pleasure of owning this simple yet characterful Monster for over 3 years and covered over 10,000 miles (passed the 30k miles now). The Good: Most enjoyable riding experience i've ever had despite being just 53bhp it has plenty of low down torque and awesome exhaust note making cruising even at just 40mph a pleasure. Big 320mm disc up front and brembo 4 pot caliper means very good braking power even for just a single disc as the Monster is a light bike. Rear brake has plenty of bite and can be locked up 'at will'. Happy to cruise comfortably up to around 80mph, above 85mph the engine sounds a little harsher but it can still belt up to 90 if need be. Suspension feels very planted, steering is light and very precise and the bike can cut through traffic like a pro, and the exhaust note/noise lets drivers know you are there. Chain adjustment is rare, despite being a v-twin, just a lube every few rides or every couple of hundred miles. Over the 10,000 miles i've averaged almost 62mpg, best of 66mpg, averaging a cost-per-mile of 10p(Uk figures) its a cheap bike to run. Reliability has been 10/10. Been ridden thru winter and in -6 degrees, it wasn't happy(suffers carb icing below 6 degrees!) but it did it, and finish of parts is still excellent after a wash proving quality components and plating of bolts etc. Good decent sensible headlight and beam pattern. Belt changes take 20-30mins at home and are so easy to do it's crazy. All these non-owners scaring off potential owners with horror stories on belt changes and them snapping, there's not been any instance i've heard of on the forums of them breaking even when 8yrs old! The bad. Being carb'd it suffers carb icing(stalling at low revs-never on the move, just at traffic lights or junctions revs will slowly die down to nothing but always fires up straight away), it starts when temps drop below 6 degrees(idles low even after 3 or 4 miles riding at commuting speeds), get down to about 1-2 degrees and it can eventually stall if throttle not blipped, get into minus figures and the fun starts lol. Front o.e. brake discs from the factory have too much play in the rotors bobbins so if you 'grab' jerkily/learner style the brake lever the front brake may make a resonating noise, but you get used to 'progressively' braking and it will never be an issue. Few false neutrals can be found in the gearbox if you don't move the gear lever positively enough, again, get used to the bike and it will hardly ever happen, gearbox is light and beautiful to use 99.99% of the time. Front forks suffer 'stiction' where the fork compresses but doesn't fully extend unless you lift the weight off it. Just a trait of the forks and never a problem. 'Grumpy' engine when cold, needs choke to idle but won't run happily when riding with choke, get used to riding off and flicking the choke off, and maybe back on when coming up to a junction to stop engine stalling. Only first few mins riding, a 'nack' of getting a feel of the bike makes morning starts quite ok, but an injection bike will seem like bliss to ride in comparison lol. For the first 2 mins at least. Rear tire wear seems to end up flatting off the centre section, probably down to riding low revs/lots of torque/v-twin and WOT, doesn't seem to upset handling even when it looks quite bad so not a worry tbh.

Buying experience: I bought privately from eBay for the going price back then, bike turned out to be just 5 miles away! I'm always sensible and know the warning signs-lots of owners, lack of history, owners description of condition can vary wildly from the truth. Well my Monster was ringing every alarm bell going, poor running, coughing and spluttering above half throttle 7 previous owners, the 'service done by a mate who's a local ducati dealer mechanic so should be spot on' (later transpired to cambelts flapping wildly on the pulleys on inspection after purchase), all of these things were warnings but my heart said this bike was for me and so against everything i believed in when buying a bike i went for it, and i don't regret it at all. That was my experience, and it helped me get to know my bike and the great ducati forum members/friends and suss out which are the decent dealers out there. So don't be afraid to take a risk on one thats not pristine or has a few owners or poor history or 20k miles. If i had gone to a dealer and bought one thats low mileage, pristine, over-valued etc, i'd have missed out on the other side of the Ducati experience of great forums and getting to know other owners and joining in with meet-ups and days out and all the helpful ones that are further afield offering advice and genuinely going out of their way to help a fellow owner trying to fix their Monster. It's a lot of waffle this, but owning a Monster is more than just having another bike, it's a whole community. Back on track, 3 years ago i payed what was the going rate of £1600 for mine, today 3yrs on they are still fetching that price, so in terms of depreciation the older Monsters are great buys.

Mines an '01 M600, done 1400 miles in 2 1/2months ownership and been 100% reliable. Has been my commuter bike in the week and pleasure riding the weekend. Handling is ok, nothing scary to worry about, but there's little adjustment except preload. Engine is excellent-lots of low down grunt, nice burble, air/oil cooled, 2-valve, very simple and mechanically easy to work on. Gearbox can have some big gaps between gears so you may fins some false neutrals but you rarely get them once your used to it. Engine suits the bike perfectly tho runs out of puff after 7k so short shift is best. Can cruise at 80/85mph if need be, but seems happiest from 60-80mph. Low top gear revving, 60mph=4k revs, thats 15mph per 1k revs.You can wor out the rest. Comfortable up to around 45-50miles when seat feels uncomfortable then on, but doesn't get any worse the more miles you do. Honestly the quoted 43mpg is wrong, you will never get less than 50-55mpg. I average 62mpg overall(normally 60-70mpg commuting and weekend blasts in the country). Belts are super easy to do, access is excellent. Reliability has been great, no gremlins, it'll happily start even after a days worth of rain with it being sat outside. Payed £1550 for mine, an '01 Dark M600, 20k miles, average condition(needed tidying) in June 2012. I would recommend it to anyone, parts are £11 air filter, £10.80 oil filter etc. On par with yamaha, honda etc. Overall a great bike with bundles of charactor. Has won me over big time, i used to have Fireblades and a Bandit 1200 before this but my Monster 600 has shown me there's easily as much enjoyment at the opposite end of the speed scale. Don't be put off by the low bhp output, its a light bike and does a grand job making the most of its 53bhp. Try to find a standard one, well looked after and it'll bring many years of pleasure to you!

Excellent handling and just love the engine. Perfect bike for city drive and shorter distances, but expect rough wind on highways. People claim some unidentified electrical problems may occur on some models, for instance I've myself come across two in a short time, although they were easy to fix. If you get one for around a couple of grands it's definately a catch.

Apart from costing a miniature arm and leg to get it seen to sometimes (Rosso Corse are great) it is like being with a feisty, sexy, exuberant sweet heart who know what to do to make you happy. A very sexy, fun bike and perfect for London. People do actually MOVE out of the way when they see it coming along...sweet!