Hello everyone, I'm Joyce and I just purchased a 2010 Ducati Monster 696 ABS yesterday. I'm feeding my riding addiction and wish to fully explore the joys of twisty riding and thank goodness there are a few good choices just a couple miles from my house.   I was looking at purchasing a new Ducati Monster 696 but this one came up and I just couldn't pass up on the deal; it only had (before my riding today) 1500 miles on it, with the lo seat, speedymoto frame and axle sliders, a battery tender tail, and an extra set of new monster art lilac panels. I'll probably be e-baying those panels as lilac just isn't me. The bike will probably stay black. Anyway, I'm of the height challenged variety and this was ready for me to ride away (the dealer didn't have a lo seat in stock!) and was several thousand cheaper.

The story on the low miles is that he purchased the bike for his fiancee and then broke up with her a few months later and the bike basically sat in storage for two years. I'm sorry it didn't work out for him but I'm glad that I got the deal.

I also ride a Victory Vegas bagger and don't think it will be leaving the premises as it's just sooooo nice on the freeway and really decent in the twisties. Needless to say, after riding the Vegas here for a while, the stopping power of this Ducati is really quite awesome. Dual Brembo brakes on a 355 pound (dry) bike! Wow, I am being careful to learn Ducati throttle and brake manners.

I didn't try tearing up the twisties today...just a nice easy ride to start getting to know the bike. BTW,I did change oil yesterday - Valvoline VR-1 Racing oil and a K&N filter...and had to go find a 14 mm allen so I could clean the oil screen off. Enough rambiing about me. I'll be posting up soon trying to figure out some mods...already put a small tab off the kickstand to make it easier to kick back (did I mention that I'm height challenged!).

Welcome! Always a pleasure to meet a lady with good taste!

Did the dealer change the belts too? If not, those are past their sell-by date.

I didn't purchase the bike from a dealer. Per the PO, the break-in service was done, and it was ridden a few miles after (1500) and was put into storage after the break-up. He pulled out the bike and had the battery replaced and don't think anything else was done. Do these belts go bad with a couple of years of storage? I haven't owned a Ducati before and don't know much about the maintenance yet but will be learning.

BTW, on that subject do you know where's a good place to get a service manual (not owner's manual) but the maintenance manual that techs use when working on the bike? I found a couple of places that seem to sell downloads but quite honestly don't trust that. I figure I would end up with some garbled cr*p and just be out my money. I really don't mind paying for it especially if there's a paper copy, I just would like to find one. If that's not possible is there a CD for sale or..? ...and I haven't called a dealer yet...just looked on line.

696 is 15,000 miles or two years for the belts. Certainly no more than two years from the warranty start date. Belts are no joke. Valve check at 7,500 by someone who knows what they are doing.

Ducatis are not particularly DIY regardless of what others here may tell you unless you have above average mechanical skills. I've seen too many bikes screwed up needlessly. As for a manual, I believe you can get one on a CD from a dealer. You might want to try Pro-Italia out there.

If it hasn't got one already, consider a 14T front sprocket which will give you a nice boost in power and make the bike easier to manage at American speeds. Cheap to fit. Lube the chain at least every 300 miles after a ride. Many of us here swear by Dupont Teflon in the yellow can which you can buy at Walmart. Really!  Doesn't fling if you apply it correctly.

Rubber side down and have fun!

Congrats on the bike Joyce!!! I'd agree with you, sell the lilac and keep it all black!!! I'd be curious where you found the downloadable guides. I have the basic ones for the bike but want some more in depth tech docs on the bike. Post up some pics of the ride when you can!

Congrats -

Don't forget to check out the MOB. Plenty of Duc folks in the bay
http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?board=19.0
Also - if you've never found the Bay Area Riders Forum, yes BARF, check it out
http://bayarearidersforum.com/forums/

And please listen to Curmudgeon. The belts need to be addressed ASAP. Replacement of them isn't hard, and you seem like a DIY type, so you might look up the doing of it on a 696 (I'm not familiar with exact details for the 696 and newer). But it's about $80 for a set of belts and pretty simple tool suite. At a shop it should be under an hour of labor - at least on an older monster.

I just ordered the CD service manual today from proitalia. $75 for a CD! It wasn't that long ago one could get a hard copy for that kind of money. The CD is having to come from Italy! I will take a look at the belts...and any other maintenance that's coming up/shoulda' already been done.

I do know about BARF. It's a great all around board for riding here in SF Bay.

As far as what I found on manuals...there were a few things like these:
http://www.2shared.com/document/QaA-SuRk/ducati_monster_696_service_rep.html

http://car-obd.blogspot.com/2010/03/ducati-monster-696-2009-service.html

http://www.carlsalter.com/ducati-service-manuals.asp

There were some others too. I just did some google and duckduckgo searches for monster 696 service manual and found a few items. Most of what is out there seems to be for 2009 and before. I ordered the 2010 696 ABS manual on CD .

Is there anything else that anyone knows of for good info on service that I should get? Sometimes there are aftermarket books written or videos which are better than the service manual...but that's not often. I am a DIY person so I will be doing at least most of the maintenance on the bike.

Just thought I'd say a couple of nice words about proitalia - the parts person was actually helpful and friendly. I also ordered some tank grip pads, 14 tooth sprocket, crush washers, K&N oil filters and a couple of t-shirts (hey, Ducati colors are nice looking!) too just to get started and spread a little Ducati money around.

Quote from: jcmjrt on January 22, 2013, 05:22:09 PM
Is there anything else that anyone knows of for good info on service that I should get? Sometimes there are aftermarket books written or videos which are better than the service manual...but that's not often. I am a DIY person so I will be doing at least most of the maintenance on the bike.

Run a search in here or look at the tutorials. It can take some sifting, and a touch of patience - but there's a ton of info on all manner of ducs on here. And if you don't find what you're looking one can always post. There's not really an aftermarket manual, that I'm aware of, that is better than the factory one.

Got a particular service question at present? Or just want a notion of the schedule?

I don't have a particular question at the moment...just want to get a general lay of the land maintenance wise....and then I'll be installing a 14 tooth sprocket but it will arrive with the manual.....and I think that I saw a thread on here about it too so I'll be doint some searches.

There's a thread for that!

Belts, 2 years or 15k miles - used to be 12k miles
Forks - new oil annually, harsh riding (track) or conditions will shorten this
Shock - refresh every 2-3 years, harsh riding (track) or conditions will shorten this
Replace hydraulic fluid, brakes and clutch, annually. If you're in a very humid area, ahem, you might want to go sooner
Valves- don't know the 696 spec, sorry
Oil, 3-5K if you're using good stuff. Harsh riding (track) or conditions will shorten this

Um...
Check bolts while doing other stuff. Keep and eye on brake pads etc etc per normal bike stuff.