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It’s a great bike, had a blast on it (cheers Thumpy boy) and it put a grin on my face. Not many bikes sound that nice, it’s a pleasure to hear it start up. Lots of bang for your buck, and they are excellent value at the moment.
Well, it all started with the very sad demise of my beloved TDR250 which needed to go to the great re-builder in the sky….. luckily I sold it to a fellow enthusiast, but how I miss that bike.
You know the score…empty garage, empty heart, full pocket…I really stood no chance.
I turned, in desperation, to the usual suspects. Used Bike Guide, Auto Trader, ebay etc. How they tease.
They are so cruel. I was watching over 24 bikes at one point, and then I realized I was in big trouble: Insatiable bike appetite, and no clue on a short list….I simply wanted them all, and NOW!ZRX’s, Firebolts, R6’s, CCM’s more TDR’s………I wanted the lot.
But as I swapped back and forth between sports bikes and supermotards, singles to multi’s and back, I did hark back to my old SRX400 & 600, which I found immensely surprising to ride. Not powerful, but light, flickable, and with handling that rewards good lines, and using preserved momentum theory becomes truly engaging.
That’s when I spotted the Monster for sale, and it seemed to make sense. The TDR handled well, the SRX too, and I love squeezing the performance out of the smaller bikes, and surprising a few riders with much better bikes on the bendy bits!
I read about the way the USD 42mm forks, married with the multi-link rear monoshock, and braided hoses to Brembo brakes…..if it does what it says on the tin…..I pondered.Well, I put a bid in, and was as often happens, out bid just before the close of the auction. Bugger.
As luck would have it, I did have a second chance, and agreed to buy it from a chap in Bristol. So spend all my brownie points with the wife and two young daughters (for this and next year), off we went to rainy and windy Avonmouth where the deal was to be done.
As you can see for the picys, the M600 is red, and with 11years & 35000km getting on a bit now, but has an (essential) full service history with belts and servicing bills a many.
Good, but this just highlighted the achilles of all Dukes – big service costs!
The bike also, despite the money being spent, really needed some TLC, as some paint is missing in different areas, making a slightly tatty overall impression – but I can fix most of these, and quite enjoy the satisfaction of cleaning up my bikes too.
So not a great introduction then….until it fired up.
Glorious deep v twin music. No point resisting then, where do I sign….etc. I did take it around the block, but it was pouring down by now, so not much to be learnt, except maybe that it went and stopped, all a bit academic really as I wanted the noise even if the wheels didn’t go around!It was 240km back to Sutton Coldfield where I really got to know the bambino of the range. The family were left behind as I filtered through the awful M5 traffic in the lashing rain, October temperatures, first drip down the neck………what the hell am I doing……
Then, the rain stopped. I was getting a 100kph blow dry, and it was even getting warmer. By the time I was dry, and the M50 came into view. Ross-on-Wye, the forest of Dean, winding riverside twisties, and B-road hillside undulations….umm. (0.21sec)… Time to get the phone out, and pop in on my sister for a cuppa!
As you would expect, the low weight, and low seat height of the M600 really came into its own, and I had a whale of a time. It does what it says on the tin, and now I knew this was a bike I could enjoy.
After the family social, I then set off for Kidderminster, well I had to show the “new arrival’ to Radar!
The A49 through Hereford, and Leominster was fab, and had some great overtaking fun.
This showed the limitations of the relatively feeble power of this Monster, only producing around 50bhp. But not really a big issue for me compared to the 38bhp of the SRX600, and the nice noise and torquey delivery.Radar giggled so much when he had a go, I could easily hear him chuckling over the sound of the booming desmo!
In summary, it is easy to ride, and gets around corners and brakes in a way that makes you yearn for more. The seat height is low, as is the weight. The looks are distinctive, and acquired I think – sure not every ones cup of tea, but very Italian.
Down sides…. not enough to put me off yet, but the clutch is heavy, and the 900 engine has to be to one to go for. As for servicing and reliability, I’m not too worried about the engine, but electrics…? We shall see!
I’ll let you know how I get on subsequently with my first Ducati.
It certainly puts a smile on my face anyhow!
Looks lovely Thumper. You’ve now got a new chat up line for the ladies…
“I have a Monster between my legs!”
“…..and it needs some attention, especially a good clean and a touch up where there was some crusty residue.”
Good luck scoring with that one mate.Excellent review Thumper, and cheers for the ride it was highly enjoyable. Look forward to another blast sometime soon!
I like the the way you pick on diverse bikes, I must be a little braver next time I buy a bike. I keep buying Yamahas! For example, the R1 that I looked at recently was Red/White and black; I already have TWO red white and black Yams! Will I ever learn
Fancy a 900 Monster TBH
Thanks all, I’m a happy little biker at the moment, still enjoying polishing out the years of wear & tear! Do you know, I enjoy the project almost as much as the ride!
Gix, I’ll attempt to get beyond Bassets Pole next time!,
and Digger…keep it quiet about my monster mate!cheers all!
Hi Sidevalve, comparisons to a 2 stroke, umm…….
I guess the low revving, tractable Duke could not be more different to the narrow torque band, free spinning 2 strokes I love!
A completely different animal, or should I say Monster?!?!The TDR250 smoker is light, high pitched and free revving twin, and a dream when you keep the engine ‘on song’ in the power band. This power band traditionally is very narrow on 2 strokes, some extreme examples having only 1000 revs to play in. This meant the race bikes had to have many narrowly spaced gears.
The narrow power band of a two stroke is due to the literal ‘tuning’ of the exhaust and inlet tracts, working best at the point where they can get maximum inducted mixture. This has to be coincidental to the resonated reverberated waves back up the exhaust to the port to assist with keeping the mixture from flowing straight across the piston, and out of the exhaust port. These harmonics are what the racers used to spend ages getting the right resonate length of their expansion pipes.
One manufacturer overcame this issue with the adoption of the Yamaha Power Valve System [YPVS], which by the use of Reed induction Valves, and a rotary valve at the exhaust port, broadened the torque band considerably. The reed valves prevented reverse pumping losses of the mixture, like a one way valve.
The rotary YPVS worked by adjusting the ignition timing and exhaust port timing by closing the valve partially at low to medium engine revs. The full power was extracted by fully opening the valve at the point that the induction and exhaust pipes become ‘in tune’ together – again, a calibrated high rev frequency at which the system reverb harmonics produces peak power.When it happens, it’s a proper adrenaline junkie’s heaven! You can’t resist using this all through the gears – all the time!
The engine changes note & pitch, and scolded cat analogy becomes real as the scenery turns blurry!Two strokes are also very smooth, and can be relatively quiet when they are not in the zone. This is all a function of firing twice as many times as your common 4 strokes, so it’s a bit like having a smooth multi.
So I would suggest, good exhaust [pipes are much more critical to a 2 stroke than a 4 stroke like the thumping Duke.The M600 has some very naughty pipes on. Booming away, I had to go for ear plugs yesterday when out with Radar & later Toggsy. The Power of the throbbing V twin is comparatively soft and with a very wide torque band, pulling from a mere 2000 rpm. Modern 4 stroke 600 super sports, such as the Gixxer6 and the like have really taken on the role of the old 2 strokes with high revs, huge power output, but gutless midrange.
By contrast, the Monster is not smooth – far from it. You can feel each ignition pulse catapulting you along, with inevitable gaps just to reinforce the harsh power strokes, and consequently needs a heavy engine to cope with the big bangs.
This destroys transmissions, chains and tyres….but there’s nothing like it for noise and character.If you use this modest power to its optimum by using the torque, these bike can be very swift exiting corners – not being so critical for the correct gear /rev combination of the super sports.
Hell, all this points out to me after all these comparisons, is that I cant live with just one type of bike and engine type….they all have their place, and I love ‘em all !
Vive la differences!
Thanks Phil ER5, I am having a giggle on it….…as for Lex, maybe I should go for an Italian 2 stroke next, just to wind you up a bit!
quote:
Originally posted by ThumperHi Sidevalve, comparisons to a 2 stroke, umm…….
I guess the low revving, tractable Duke could not be more different to the narrow torque band, free spinning 2 strokes I love!
A completely different animal, or should I say Monster?!?!The TDR250 smoker is light, high pitched and free revving twin, and a dream when you keep the engine ‘on song’ in the power band. This power band traditionally is very narrow on 2 strokes, some extreme examples having only 1000 revs to play in. This meant the race bikes had to have many narrowly spaced gears.
The narrow power band of a two stroke is due to the literal ‘tuning’ of the exhaust and inlet tracts, working best at the point where they can get maximum inducted mixture. This has to be coincidental to the resonated reverberated waves back up the exhaust to the port to assist with keeping the mixture from flowing straight across the piston, and out of the exhaust port. These harmonics are what the racers used to spend ages getting the right resonate length of their expansion pipes.
One manufacturer overcame this issue with the adoption of the Yamaha Power Valve System [YPVS], which by the use of Reed induction Valves, and a rotary valve at the exhaust port, broadened the torque band considerably. The reed valves prevented reverse pumping losses of the mixture, like a one way valve.
The rotary YPVS worked by adjusting the ignition timing and exhaust port timing by closing the valve partially at low to medium engine revs. The full power was extracted by fully opening the valve at the point that the induction and exhaust pipes become ‘in tune’ together – again, a calibrated high rev frequency at which the system reverb harmonics produces peak power.When it happens, it’s a proper adrenaline junkie’s heaven! You can’t resist using this all through the gears – all the time!
The engine changes note & pitch, and scolded cat analogy becomes real as the scenery turns blurry!Two strokes are also very smooth, and can be relatively quiet when they are not in the zone. This is all a function of firing twice as many times as your common 4 strokes, so it’s a bit like having a smooth multi.
So I would suggest, good exhaust [pipes are much more critical to a 2 stroke than a 4 stroke like the thumping Duke.The M600 has some very naughty pipes on. Booming away, I had to go for ear plugs yesterday when out with Radar & later Toggsy. The Power of the throbbing V twin is comparatively soft and with a very wide torque band, pulling from a mere 2000 rpm. Modern 4 stroke 600 super sports, such as the Gixxer6 and the like have really taken on the role of the old 2 strokes with high revs, huge power output, but gutless midrange.
By contrast, the Monster is not smooth – far from it. You can feel each ignition pulse catapulting you along, with inevitable gaps just to reinforce the harsh power strokes, and consequently needs a heavy engine to cope with the big bangs.
This destroys transmissions, chains and tyres….but there’s nothing like it for noise and character.If you use this modest power to its optimum by using the torque, these bike can be very swift exiting corners – not being so critical for the correct gear /rev combination of the super sports.
Hell, all this points out to me after all these comparisons, is that I cant live with just one type of bike and engine type….they all have their place, and I love ‘em all !
Vive la differences!
Thanks Phil ER5, I am having a giggle on it….…as for Lex, maybe I should go for an Italian 2 stroke next, just to wind you up a bit!
Blimey Thumper, comprehensive answer or what! I have been having a look at Moto Guzzi V50s, an NTV400 and a GS650GT with the proceeds from my sale of the RS
The Duke’s going lovely with some new rubber on, an AVON STORM….very impressed with the way the bike goes around corner so far.
Not bad in the wet either….that was your daft idea Radar! Breakfast helped though!
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