ducati monsters good commute bike?

[venomousr1993]

I have been commuting on my S4R for the past 1k miles.  I had put 10k miles on my 06 CBR600RR in about 12 months.  The upright position of the monster makes it much more comfortable..I also have the 14T front sprocket.  I actually found my 600RR more streetable in heavy traffic though and gets better mpg too.  The Monster feels more stable, the nice Brembo's have saved my a$$ on a few occasions already, and tons of compliments.  In the end, the S4R will get a day of commuting a week, the 600RR gets the rest...unless the weather gets real bad, then I'll be caging it.

[CMDRDAVE]

If you are looking for a commuting bike to save $$$, due to high gas prices, then a monster is probably not the best choice.
If you are looking for a for a commuting bike that you can ride like a hooligan when you are not commuting, then you have found the right place.

[boxer11]

Thank you all for the responses.  As of right now I'm leaning towards the monster 696.  I thought the monsters get good gas milage....I read that the 696 gets 44mpg.  Is that right?

[myssrhl]

yep.....

My commute is 54 miles each way (108 total).

Better than 2 cups of coffee.

Feel lazy when I take the cage on rainy days.

Davo

[wbeck257]

Yeah, they get alright gas mileage.
But start adding in the cost of tires, and services.
I figured it out the other day, and I'll save $600 in fuel. But the upkeep on my bike for the miles I commute a year is more than $600. I'll end up loosing money being on the Monster every day.

In a year I'll go through atleast 2 rear tires, 1 front tire, 2 valve adjustments, 1 set of belts, and 4 oil changes. That gets pricey.
And that does not include "pleasure" miles -- just my commute to/from work. Also, this is with a car that gets only 23mpg. If you have an even-more efficant car you are going to loose more money.

[CMDRDAVE]

In a year I'll go through atleast 2 rear tires, 1 front tire, 2 valve adjustments, 1 set of belts, and 4 oil changes. That gets pricey.

This is what I meant about being difficult to save $$$.  But it is so much better than sitting in a cage.  And other perks may easily make up for it, HOV lanes etc.

I would expect you could get more than 44 mpg from a 696.  I get 43 mpg consitantly while commuting on my 900.  I have heard of 50+ on 620's but can not confirm.

[Ontario_Monster]

MPG is dependant on your style of driving, route you take and so many other variables, I know the 2007 s2r 800 I have gets about 25 mpg in the city commute I do, but my parking is free every day, and it is still cheaper than public transit by about $60 a month.  When I have it on the 6-4-2 lane parkways/highways/interstates I get closer to 45-47 mpg (that is imperial gallons not US gallons).  Still all in all with all the other costs included it is probably even to driving a car ..... but so much more fun and that is the key.  My old 2005 620 did a little better in the city but not much and it was a blast in town, just didn't like it for the 4-5 hour trips I like to take.

All in all any monster will be a blast, but I would guess that in 2 to 4 years you will be looking at something bigger than the 696, so from someone who bought his 620 new, I would recommend a used 6** and save yourself some $$ and depreciation.

Cheers

[Duc L'Smart]

Yeah, they get alright gas mileage.
But start adding in the cost of tires, and services.
I figured it out the other day, and I'll save $600 in fuel. But the upkeep on my bike for the miles I commute a year is more than $600. I'll end up loosing money being on the Monster every day.
In a year I'll go through atleast 2 rear tires, 1 front tire, 2 valve adjustments, 1 set of belts, and 4 oil changes. That gets pricey.
And that does not include "pleasure" miles -- just my commute to/from work. Also, this is with a car that gets only 23mpg. If you have an even-more efficant car you are going to loose more money.

I think this is short sighted...
A brand new 696 with 2 year warranty is way cheaper than a cage... What can you buy for that price?
The other thing you didn't factor into your equation is: fun/mile
Seriously. A LOT of fun.

[cmorgan47]

The other thing you didn't factor into your equation is: fun/mile

i've always expressed this as zooms/dollar.
and there is no way to beat a bike

on topic, i commute every day on bike till the snow hits.  yes you'll pay more maintenance on your bike, but you'll save a ton on your car; i.e., i only put about 1000 miles on my car over the course of the summer, so i'll have it forever.

i get about 55mpg on my 696.... ymmv

[wbeck257]

I think this is short sighted...
A brand new 696 with 2 year warranty is way cheaper than a cage... What can you buy for that price?
The other thing you didn't factor into your equation is: fun/mile
Seriously. A LOT of fun.

I'm assumeing that the OP already has a cage.
I did my calculations factoring the fact that I already own both cage and bike.

The the fun per mile thing. Okay, on a good day, yes -- the moto is more fun. But however your fun per mile hits the floor on cold, raining, ungodly hot days.

My point is, from a strictly financial standpoint a Ducati Monster is not an economical solution to commute with to save money. I agree with you that it is more fun to commute on the monster -- but it isn't cheaper.

[cmorgan47]

agreed, if you're just trying to save some cash, ducati is not where to start looking... the world's full of $1000 runners that get 60+ mpg.

that said, i've repeatedly described my bike as "practical basic transportation"

[MonsterLove]

My husband used the Monster as his commuter for nine years. It finally was just taking too much time in the shop so he bought a new bike (Kawa Z1000) and now the monster is mine but it's in the shop again.  (waiting for bearings) The clutch was giving us the trouble this year. Other than that it was pretty dependable and we did our own oil changes and chain maintenence. It gets about 46 mpg and he could use the HOV lane to commute 30 miles or so each way(all highway).
Even with repairs I think we saved money(since he'd have to use the F350 to commute when the bike was in the shop) and it definately saved a lot of time on his commute. That's worth a fair bit, I'm thinking.
And of course initial purchase price is way lower than buying a new, oh, say a Prius or something.
So we have 61,000 miles on this bike and just this year we started having problems, but it's more to do with shipping time for parts than the actual repairs.  So you just have to figure out what you have to do if the bike happens to be in the shop for four weeks!

Celeste

[Jetbrett]

The 696 is probably pretty close to 695 numbers:  50-55mpg, approx $36/wk for gas.....the fun of riding every day = priceless. 

[munrokicker]

I have ridden my 696 every day to work over the beemer.  Once break-in you can put around or even cruise on the freeway as fast/slow as you want.  Plus the bike is very forgiving so stop light traffic is no big deal.  GET ONE!!!

[ride_sf]

I commute on my S4 sometimes, but most of the time I commute on my cheap-o Korean made Hyosung GT250.  It's easier to split lanes in stopped traffic on the 250, and I don't mind putting all that commuting wear and tear on it.  Also, I don't have indoor parking at work, and I'd rather leave the 250 outside in the city all day than leave the S4 out there.

My commute is 40 miles round trip, mostly highway.  I get about 80 mpg on the 250! I think I get about 40 mpg on the S4 (with full Termi setup)...