My name is Rick Hall.  I live in Fawnskin, CA, in the Big Bear Lake area.  I ride a 1999 Kawasaki ZRX1100 but am purchasing an old friend's 2000 Monster 900 this weekend so thought it would be a good idea to join a forum dedicated to the Monster as the ZRXOA site has been a really great resource for technical assistance and ideas for modifications.  I'm also restoring a 1981 Kawasaki GPz550 aka "the money pit."  I hope to get it running by spring so I can ride it this summer.

Personal facts:  I am 57 years old and married.  My wife rides as well and also is looking forward to riding the Monster.  She once sat on one at Ducati of Santa Barbara and pronounced it the bike for her.  We'll see who gets the most seat time.     We know who'll get maintenance duties.  In addition to riding, I also enjoy snow skiing and photography.  Blue is my favorite color but I prefer my bikes to be red. 

Welcome.

Good news is that the 900 is the tank of the ducati engine family. They are hard to stop. I've got a 2000 900S with 35,000 miles that fires up right away every time.

She'll need some TLC possibly, depending on what your friend did. One thing to note is that the cam belts need to be replaced at 2 years of service or 12k miles. Whichever came first. So it's not uncommon for older monsters to be due for belts based on that age cut. Good news is that it's an easy job, and it sounds like you're up for DIY. You'll want a rear stand, or crank turning tool for it - otherwise it's just a few allen keys needed and the new belts. With a rear stand you can use the rear wheel to turn the engine to align the timing marks. If you have a crank tuner you don't need the stand as you're directly turing the crank with the 'tool' - I use '' as it's really just an extension with a couple teeth and a bolt through it to keep it snugged to the crank.

Again, depending on your buddies maintenance habits it might be due for the shock and forks to see some service. A Penske rep I was talking to said street bikes can generally go 2-3 years between shock services. YMMV of course. Fork oil should be swapped out annually, with seals and bushings as needed.

Thanks for all the great info.  I have a rear stand for my ZRX that is adjustable.  Timing belts should not be too tough.  Forks will be interesting.  A friend of a friend has a Duc with a local mechanic in Riverside or somewhere close who may be able to take care of that.  The friend of the friend rebuilds shocks.

I have an '01 M900S.  Love it.  Early 2000s are sometimes considered the 'golden years' since it was the tail end of the classic monsters, and thus most advanced without being the next gen.  Obviously, very subjective claim, but also the correct one. 

One recommendation: get the LT Snyder maintenance book.  One problem with that recommendation: the book is not available currently b/c the author (it is self-published) is on active duty.  But keep an eye out at www.desmotimes.com (author's site) or www.monsterparts.com (which also sells the book).  Don't balk at the price---the content is well worth it.