About to order a Ducati Monster 1200S, should I get white or red? (UPDATED)

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
C

CombatChuk

Platinum Member
Jul 19, 2000
2,008
3
81
About to pull the trigger on a Ducati Monster 1200S. Trying to figure out if I want White or Red. Red is classic Ducati, but the White (only available on the S) is unique and I was a big fan of it on the 848 and 899 sportbikes. Here's some pics of it.

Both Colors
http://i2.wp.com/www.asphaltandrubb...4-Ducati-Monster-1200-S-08.jpg?resize=635,475

White
http://i2.wp.com/www.asphaltandrubb...4-Ducati-Monster-1200-S-08.jpg?resize=635,475

Red
http://i0.wp.com/www.asphaltandrubb...2014-Ducati-Monster-1200-S.jpg?resize=635,475

Update #1
Got some pics while the dealer was getting it setup. Will pick up on Tuesday probably

http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/CombatChuk/Monster_Left.JPG
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/CombatChuk/Monster_Right.JPG


Update #2
Brought it home today! Rode great, addicted to that baritone exhaust. I love it! Had to be real careful to stay under 6000 rpm, I wanted to to uncork it

Here's some more pics

Front
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/CombatChuk/front.jpg

Right
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/CombatChuk/right.jpg

Rear
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/CombatChuk/rear.jpg
 
Last edited:
JulesMaximus

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,544
924
126
Have you ridden it yet? My local dealer has a demo model in red that I'm going to test ride, maybe this weekend or next for sure. They're pushing me to trade my current Monster 1100 EVO in for a new 1200 S. They still haven't gotten a white one in yet but should have one soon.

At first I was leaning toward red but I already have a red Ducati Monster so I'm thinking the white would be a nice change and it is unique. Not too many white Ducatis.
 
twinrider1

twinrider1

Diamond Member
Sep 28, 2003
4,096
64
91
White, if you powdercoat the wheels white as well. If not, go with the red.

The VFR750 (or was it 700 then) and the 750 Paso were glorious in white.
 
JulesMaximus

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,544
924
126
There are a couple things that put me off about this bike. One is the passenger pegs and the placement of the exhaust hanger. The heels of your feet hit them when in the normal riding position. It is also kind of heavy (compared to my bike). Then there's the price and the fairly ugly left side of the bike.

I've sat on it but haven't ridden it yet so I'll reserve final judgement until I've ridden it.

It does sound good though and the fact that it has a metal tank instead of plastic is a huge improvement. An extra gallon of fuel helps too... mine only holds 3.5 gallons.
 
satyajitmenon

satyajitmenon

Golden Member
Apr 3, 2008
1,911
9
81
Go for white. My bikes white, and it definitely sticks out in a sea of bikes.

twinrider1 said:
White, if you powdercoat the wheels white as well. If not, go with the red.

The VFR750 (or was it 700 then) and the 750 Paso were glorious in white.
Click to expand...

On the white wheels, while they may look great (they do on my bike), they're a real pain to keep clean. Dirty white wheels look like arse, and every spec of dirt/brake dust is easily visible on it.
 
C

CombatChuk

Platinum Member
Jul 19, 2000
2,008
3
81
z1ggy said:
Whatever you think looks best.
Click to expand...

I think they both look best :D

halik said:
red, gotta make the frame pop
Click to expand...

If the White bike had a red frame, then I would have made my decision already

JulesMaximus said:
Have you ridden it yet? My local dealer has a demo model in red that I'm going to test ride, maybe this weekend or next for sure. They're pushing me to trade my current Monster 1100 EVO in for a new 1200 S. They still haven't gotten a white one in yet but should have one soon.

At first I was leaning toward red but I already have a red Ducati Monster so I'm thinking the white would be a nice change and it is unique. Not too many white Ducatis.
Click to expand...

I rode a 1200S yesterday. Tried it in both Urban and Touring mode. In urban mode the bike was extremely tame and tractable (even at low RPMs). I still don't understand why Urban mode you don't get a tachometer but whatever right. The gearbox was a little pickier than expected since finding Neutral was a pain in the butt.

I did also ride a regular 1200 this past weekend at another dealer, I was at first struggling to go "S" or not but after riding the S yesterday I'm going S. The Sachs forks and shock were fine, I noticed the Ohlins were a bit better dampening wise. The brakes were a wash, either ones will stop you without a problem. If I'm spending this much on a bike I might as well get the S
 
C

CombatChuk

Platinum Member
Jul 19, 2000
2,008
3
81
JulesMaximus said:
There are a couple things that put me off about this bike. One is the passenger pegs and the placement of the exhaust hanger. The heels of your feet hit them when in the normal riding position. It is also kind of heavy (compared to my bike). Then there's the price and the fairly ugly left side of the bike.

I've sat on it but haven't ridden it yet so I'll reserve final judgement until I've ridden it.

It does sound good though and the fact that it has a metal tank instead of plastic is a huge improvement. An extra gallon of fuel helps too... mine only holds 3.5 gallons.
Click to expand...

This is my first Ducati, I've ridden nothing but Japanese bikes. My last bike was a Suzuki Bandit 1200S. The Footpegs stood out at first but I was able to adjust and didn't notice them after that.

Coming from a Bandit, this bike felt tossable like an SV650 with a monster engine so I didn't really notice the weight
 
exar333

exar333

Diamond Member
Feb 7, 2004
8,518
8
91
I like the white. It has a bit of a 'sleeper' look to it vs. the red. Both look great though.
 
JulesMaximus

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,544
924
126
CombatChuk said:
This is my first Ducati, I've ridden nothing but Japanese bikes. My last bike was a Suzuki Bandit 1200S. The Footpegs stood out at first but I was able to adjust and didn't notice them after that.

Coming from a Bandit, this bike felt tossable like an SV650 with a monster engine so I didn't really notice the weight
Click to expand...

I've ridden a number of Ducatis but the one I have now was also my first Ducati. Not the most reliable bike I've owned and ridiculously expensive to maintain if you take it to the dealer for service.

A friend of mine recently bought a 2007 Multistrada 1100 S that had only a little over 7k miles on it. It needed the belts replaced, a valve adjustment, rear brake bled, new clutch slave cylinder, oil change and a new fuel tank. All of this would have cost a couple thousand dollars at the dealership and that's not even including the new tank (we found a NOS tank on ebay for $599). He did all the work himself and now has a well sorted sport-touring bike with Ohlins suspension that cost $16k new. He paid a little under $8k for it. Kind of tough to spend 25% of the value of the bike on maintenance...

If you know how to work on them yourself they can be a real bargain (if you buy a low mileage pre-owned one) but if you plan on putting a lot of miles on it and taking it to the dealer I hope you have deep pockets.

I'm coming up on the 15,000 mile service on my bike which entails replacing the belts and adjusting the valves (mainly). Dealer quote was a little under $1,000 for this service. I'm going to do it myself though with the help of my friend with the Multistrada. He has done this now on 2 different Ducatis he owns so he pretty much has it down. I helped him a bit with both so I know what is involved and between us we have all the necessary tools.

I've had a number of issues with my bike in the 3 years I've owned it. Ducati is good with warranty claims though and they get parts out to their dealers pretty quickly (except in August). My advice would be to ride the heck out of your bike. If something goes wrong you want it to go wrong during the warranty period and the only way to find out what will go wrong is to ride it. And I guarantee you something will go wrong. ;)

Are you on any of the Monster forums? There are a lot of helpful and really knowledgeable owners on there. I'm a member on all 3 sites.

http://www.ducatimonster.org/forums/

http://www.ducati.ms/forums/42-monster/

http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?board=1.0

From those who already have the new Monster 1200 the complaints I've heard have been about the shifting and having a hard time finding first gear and neutral but otherwise everyone has been fairly positive about this new breed of Monster. Of course you have the people who loathe the lack of a full trellis frame and the demise of the dry clutch but they've been saying that for years now.
 
Last edited:
M0oG0oGaiPan

M0oG0oGaiPan

Diamond Member
Dec 7, 2000
7,858
2
0
digitalgamedeals.com
T

theApp

Member
Dec 1, 2001
139
0
0
If only it was available in yellow I'd say yellow, but since it isn't, you'll have to go with the second fastest Ducati color, red ;)
 
boomhower

boomhower

Diamond Member
Sep 13, 2007
7,228
19
81
I like the red, but I'm a classic guy when it comes to colors. Ferrari should be red, Mercedes silver, etc.
 
F

FiLeZz

Diamond Member
Jun 16, 2000
4,778
47
91
theApp said:
If only it was available in yellow I'd say yellow, but since it isn't, you'll have to go with the second fastest Ducati color, red ;)
Click to expand...

I used to have a yellow one. That color went out in early 2000's. For sure stay with red. It is a trellis frame it needs to be red.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom