Hi all, names Ben
New rider, first bike, and lots of questions
From western new york, buffalo area
Picked up an 04 620 dark, with 27000 miles and some crash damage, figure if I drop it on the other side it will match.

Already picked up a lot of info off this forum and I'm looking forward to learning plenty more.

Should I post my odds and ends beginner questions in this thread or start 3 different ones in the appropriate areas?

Welcome  You can post your noob questions here or elsewhere, I don't think it matters too much.  If its likely to get complicated or in-depth a seperate thread would probably be better and you'll get more specific action in the specific dedicated subforum.

Thanks.

Uno, my front brake sounds like a cicada or cricket or something. Is that normal or am I hearing things?

Two, like an idiot I locked up my rear brake the other day. I was in my works driveway believe it or not. The front brake is easy to get a feel for, rear is a lot harder for me, any tips?

Three, in ny its legal to have a single headphone in, so I've been listening to music on my ride to work. Where does this fall on the scale of bad ideas?

First off, Welcome!

To answer your questions:
1) New brake pads can have a tendency to squeak before they get broken in. If it's not squeaking and the noise sounds different, you can always get it checked out.
2) Not really sure other than you might be a new rider.
3) Headphones are awesome! For long, solo trips, I love to have a little music playing. Just make sure to plan your playlists around your ride. Changing the music during the ride is definitely dangerous.

Yep to the above and
1) No not really normal.  Check that your pads aren't worn.  You can see them just by looking without taking anything off. There should be some friction material there, if its super-thin, they need replacing.  If the material looks good the noise is probably just due to dirt etc and a bit of brake cleaner might fix it up.

2) Just part of learning to ride well.  You'll get a feel for it and taking an advanced rider course, track day school, supercamp etc will all help.  Also, using the front brake well is probably no where near as easy as you think.

3)  I don't like music when I ride.  Also, without ear plugs you'll suffer hearing damage from wind noise over time.

4) have fun 

Welcome. Usually you'll get more attention in the various other topic specific sections of the site - but your questions aren't super deep. Most folks don't come to the intro section, so it's just a low traffic area - for future reference.

1) They covered it
2) Yeah, practice. One thing to keep in mind is that the brakes on a Monster are way better than your MSF mule. Also, because of the geometry of the Monster the rear brake doesn't do too much work. Don't get me wrong, you will slow faster using both front and back. But if you're hard on the front and the forks have compressed the rear isn't doing much for you. In a situation like that (weight transferred forward) it can be really easy to lock the rear as the tire is losing a degree of contact with the road.

So just be easy on the rear, and know that your front brakes are the real work horses

3) EAR PLUGS! Well if you don't use them, you'll be yelling about them later when you can't hear. Besides protecting your hearing, wind noise has a fatiguing effect that plugs can help prevent. If you require music, look into helmet speakers. I have a comm system that also has and FM radio - it's got a thin speaker that fits in the helmet. So I can get sound, but don't suffer the ills of the surrounding noise blockage that headphones cause.

Welcome to the world of Ducati.  I am in the Rochester area.  As far as the questions you asked I think the others did a great job answering them.  I just wanted to let you know you have a great Ducati Dealership about 30 miles Southeast of you in Holland NY.  It is called Williamsville Ducati (they also sell KTM and Moto-Guzzi).  It is a small shop but they know their stuff.  I just bought a new bike from them a about 6 or 8 weeks ago.   Have fun.

Jim

I'm also in the Buffalo area. Ducati Williamsville is a great shop. 

Hey guys, I know about the shop, I work pretty close to there actually, owners quite a character haha.

Bike is in the garage with the seat and tank pulled off, cheap chinese headlight soon too. Going to braze the tank, install replacement light and try and clean up the bike as best I can.

Hoping to paint the headerpipes and exhaust sometime too.

Nice to meet you guys.

PS Do you paddle Jim? Ive been up to lock 32 in rochester before

Quote from: stickbow on October 31, 2011, 01:37:56 PM

PS Do you paddle Jim? Ive been up to lock 32 in rochester before

Yes I do paddle.  I love my Ducati but whitewater is actually my biggest passion in life.  I am friends with the guys that run lock 32 although I don't get there as much as I used to.  Depending on the time of year I spend a lot of time either in the Adirondacks or in Watertown paddling.  Great to see another Ducati rider that likes whitewater.   How long have you been paddling?

Jim

Ive had a few years on and off, most recently off because I wasnt part of a club or anything to meet up with people. Im hoping next summer I'll have a chance to get back up to speed.


Pic of the bike in my sketchy basement with a new headlight

Im hoping to offset the long winter by tinkering