From CheeseLand

[grankin]

We're supposed to say hello, so here goes:

I'm an Olde Fahrt:  Gene Rankin, live in Madison, Wisconsin, and have been riding since 1956, though with a couple of hiatuses.  The first one (1960) after I fell off my Triumph Tiger Cup and spent a year recovering (but it got me out of the service), the second (1969) after I ran out of $$ and couldn't afford to replace the dead alternator in my H*nd* CB160. Looked at bikes from time to time, but never got hooked again.

I went to the first Slimey Crud Motorcycle Gang's Cafe Racer Run (1995) with my then 5-y-o daughter, to show her what dad used to do.  The next year I went on my 1978 Ducati Darmah, which I bought because I could not afford a bevel 90SS.  I still ride it.

Then I talked myself into a 1994 Bimota db2 and scored a lovely 1974 MV Agusta 350B from a friend on the Isle of Man.  Kept both for close onto 10 years, but sold them to finance daughter's college education.

I run the BevelHeads list on the 'net <http://www.bevelheads.org/> and have done so since starting it in 1997.

Am looking for a Monster to serve as the Darmah's substitute.  Old bevels are built mostly of unobtanium (Ducati sold as junk all their stock of parts back inthe '80s) and want something that looks like a motorcycle, sounds like a motorcycle, and won't kill my wallet when it needs something replaced.  A Monster will manage all of that, I think.

[ducpainter]

Welcome Gene.

What took you so long to find us?

BTW...you are old. 

[Slide Panda]

Wait.. we've now got two old guys named Gene? Oh dear.

Welcome - so you're on the hunt for a monster? Lots of choices for that - any notion what sort you might prefer?

[grankin]

Welcome Gene.

What took you so long to find us?

BTW...you are old. 

Wasn't thinking "Monster", that's why. 

And I am only as old as the woman I feel, which makes me a decade younger, right?  And even younger ... if I get lucky (and Kitty can't find out).

[grankin]

Wait.. we've now got two old guys named Gene? Oh dear.

Welcome - so you're on the hunt for a monster? Lots of choices for that - any notion what sort you might prefer?

Thinking air-cooled fuel-injected, under-seat high pipes.  I tend to like the looks of the earlier ones better.

The idea is to take the burden off the Darmah, which will be 35 years old in October.  Something with a similar not-hunched-over-and-with-my-heels-up-my-ass riding position, acceptable pillion seat.

[Slide Panda]

Air cooled FI... ok. So that's the 900 or bigger from 2000 on, or the all monsters past 2002. If you see a bike listed as and ie model -that's injected.

Under the seat - like directly? You won't really get that, or do you mean just higher mounted cans, vs the stock low position seen on all monsters until 2005 and the entry of the S*R variants?

High mount exhaust a on the Double Sided Swingarm (DSS) monsters are not stock, just FYI. There are a ton of after market ones though of varied size, shape and material so you should be able to track down something you like.

acceptable pillion seat.. that might be a stretch for the Monster, depending on your size and your passengers. They aren't big bikes so it can get crowded.

[ducpainter]

Wasn't thinking "Monster", that's why. 

And I am only as old as the woman I feel, which makes me a decade younger, right?  And even younger ... if I get lucky (and Kitty can't find out).

As you say...if you're lucky.

Under seat pipes are not very common for Monsters.

[grankin]

Air cooled FI... ok. So that's the 900 or bigger from 2000 on, or the all monsters past 2002. If you see a bike listed as and ie model -that's injected.

Under the seat - like directly? You won't really get that, or do you mean just higher mounted cans, vs the stock low position seen on all monsters until 2005 and the entry of the S*R variants?

High mount exhaust a on the Double Sided Swingarm (DSS) monsters are not stock, just FYI. There are a ton of after market ones though of varied size, shape and material so you should be able to track down something you like.

acceptable pillion seat.. that might be a stretch for the Monster, depending on your size and your passengers. They aren't big bikes so it can get crowded.

Understood.  SWMBO doesn't ride along that often, but the potential is always a good thing.

As to high-mount exhausts, this is what I have in mind:

.

This is a handsome bike now for sale on this forum, and I'm talking to the seller.  He's done other things that have made it a tad 'sportier' than I need.

[Slide Panda]

Yep - those will be in the that pile of aftermarket ones.

That the 900S?

The 900 is a solid engine. It's a later revision of the same one they used in Dakar bikes. I've got a 2000 900S, just a hair shy of 34K. Fires on the first go every time still.

As noted, they bike has been change - there's clip ons that lower the bar height a good bit from stock on there. You'll have to figure out if they are to your liking. If not, it's not a terrible effort or cost to swap them out for something else. Speedy Moto makes clip ons that have a significant rise to them than could be mounted under the top triple and still give you a couple less inches of reach without giving up the clip look.

[grankin]

Yep - those will be in the that pile of aftermarket ones.

That the 900S?

The 900 is a solid engine. It's a later revision of the same one they used in Dakar bikes. I've got a 2000 900S, just a hair shy of 34K. Fires on the first go every time still.

As noted, they bike has been change - there's clip ons that lower the bar height a good bit from stock on there. You'll have to figure out if they are to your liking. If not, it's not a terrible effort or cost to swap them out for something else. Speedy Moto makes clip ons that have a significant rise to them than could be mounted under the top triple and still give you a couple less inches of reach without giving up the clip look.

No clip-ons for me, TYVM.  That's one of the reasons the Bimota and the MV are now gone.  Wrists, neck, and hips are no longer happy with extreme riding positions.  Other than that, the bike pictured is pretty fine.