First Ducati - First Monster - First Bike

[CrashAstern]

Woo! Let's see here..

I'm a new rider, having taken my MSF course about two/three weeks ago, and was always hooked by the Monster.

So, after keeping my eyes peeled and talking to people at work, I ended up on an '06 M620 in excellent condition - only 1200 miles on it.


Every mile makes me more comfortable, and there's plenty of twisty roads out here in Washington state.


Zack

[Slide Panda]

Welcome. But bikes don't exist without photos.

Low miles is good - but there's one catch. Here's a first lesson on maintenance for your bike. Ducatis use belts to run the cams. Those belts are spec'd for replacement after 12k miles or 2 years of age from when they were put in service. So unless they have been replaced recently, those belts are well over 2 years old.

Aged belts, especially ones that sit in one spot for long terms (like a 5 year old bike with 1200 miles) develop stiff sections that can fatigue or break. Obviously a broken timing belt is bad bad bad. So you should get those swapped sooner, rather than later.

IF you're mechanically inclined it's pretty easy and you don't need much in the way of tools. Just a few allen wrenches, a torque wrench (with the right sized allen bit)  and a spark plug socket are the bare minimum. But with any wrenching, a rear stand makes it so much easier as you'll have to set the position of the engine to swap the belts. There's a tool to let one turn the crank, but it can also be done using the rear wheel with the bike in gear.

[CrashAstern]

That makes perfect sense - thank you for the insight and the heads up.  I'll definitely take a look at it and get them replaced before I ride next.

I've had an issue with timing belts on an old '91 Passat - so I know all about just how much of a pain they can be if they slip or snap.  No thanks >_<

Pictures are always nice I'll take a few and share them here after work today.

Come to think of it, I've got some service papers for the bike.  I'll have a look and see if the belts got looked at or replaced before I dive head-long into sourcing tools and a rear stand. I'll need the eventually I'm sure, but perhaps not quite yet.

Thanks again!

[CrashAstern]

Well, here she is:



Everyone; meet Angela.

Angela, meet Everyone.


Not the best picture - I agree - but there'll be more to come I'm sure.  Like once my LED Taillight comes in a few days