2003 M620 will only start when jumping solenoid...why?

[c5ho]

Hi all, I'm new to this forum and potentially will be a Ducati owner soon!

I'm looking at buying a 2003 Monster 620 used that's a bit rough. It's been dropped, with tank dented but I'm thinking of getting it for a project. The owner says at some point, he thinks he 'fried' the ECU and now the bike only starts with key in ignition and "ON" when he jumps the starter solenoid with a wire. I've witnessed this. He does not have the red key anymore and cannot reprogram the ECU.

My question is, is this going to be a big headache for me moving forward if I get the bike? I've read many threads about reprogramming the ECU to disable the immobilizer but I would like to keep it if possible and also not have to pay a ton to reprogram the ECU. If the ECU is in fact fried, I'm not sure if it can be reprogrammed. It the ECU was fried, would the bike still run normally? I was only able to test ride the bike in a an alleyway, getting into second so I could not really tell if there was a fuel mapping issue or anything like that. I've also read that there's a way to wire the bike permanently the bypass the immobilizer? Is that possible?

Finally, is it possible that it's not an immobilizer issue and the ECU isn't fried? Ie., Could it just require replacing the starter solenoid? I'm not exactly sure how the solenoid works with the immobilizer...

Any help would be appreciated. I'm trying to figure out how much I should budget for fixing this issue and whether it's worth it. Thanks in advance!

P.S. Should I post this to the Monster thread instead?

[ducpainter]

The thread is in the right spot.

Could be a lot of things.

On the solenoid there is a small white plug. Try removing said plug and reinstalling, then try to start it via the button.