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I dunno folks; anyone says this bike doesn't look like a Rebel 500 with "Alien vs. Predator" going on amongst the subframe doesn't my sense of humor, I guess.
Darn thing is downright ugly and I don't mind saying so.
[attachment=5633]
Not well-reviewed anyway.
I just wonder why it is that the more exclusive and expensive a motorcycle is, the less reliable it is, with poor handling to boot. Not always, of course, but it does make one wonder.
Put an FZ10 next to this, game over. But the reviewer, MacDonald, did refer to the Monster's "character" at least once.
P. S. I just realized my very clever pun in invoking "monsters" in describing the "Monster".
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Almost looks like something Eric Buell designed.
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Put an Aprilia Tuono next to both of them, and its a double knockout. If I attributed zero value to aesthetics or form, I'd take the FZ in a heartbeat. But I don't. I do believe Ducati struck out with the 1200 Monster, across the board, and have been trying to fix it, unsuccessfully. It's bloated and cumbersome and not in the spirit of what a Monster has been for 25 years. Most feel that the 821 is a better bike. I have a bud with an 1100 EVO, last of the big motor air-cooled Monsters, and an 1100 Tuono Factory. Both are sublime...and bulletproof reliable.
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My son has a 696 Monster. It has been anything but reliable, stranding him several times. Locked transmission once. Electronics went out once. It's had a persistant oil leak, the rear brakes have always squeaked loudly. He calls it his 50 mile bike. He won't ride it further than a 50 mile round trip from home. If his wife hadn't bought it for him new for a wedding gift it would have been in someone else garage a long time ago.
Another nephew bought the next version, a 797 Monster. Also rear brake issues except his keep going out, besides squeaking. At least the trans never locked. Had it down to the dealer 120 miles away several times. They couldn't fix it, so he traded it in on a new T-120 Bonnie black.
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Ugly. I agree. Someone needs to put a bra around that headlight to keep it from drooping any more and hitting the fender. And that oil cooler (I assume that's what it is) is just asking to be taken out by a curb or flung stone.
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Looks like Audi is not doing them any good.
I have always wanted to own an Italian bike again. But after a bit of lusting common sense and bank account preservation kicks back in and I come to reason. Same thing happened every time I think about getting an old British sports car again for a project.
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It's the gentrification of motorcycles.
I see this in various locations in Southern California. The idea is, you are selling something hand-crafted and exclusive, and the more you pay for it, the more it must be worth. Some of these businesses are charging prices for food and drink that are incomprehensible. There's a motorcycle dealership here charging more than $1500 freight and setup on a Grom, and nearly $2000 for the same on more expensive bikes.
I say, have trailer, will travel. I ain't paying some clown a fortune for the privilege of buying a motorcycle.
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Good lord, some people have more money than they know what to with.
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$1500 freight and setup for a Grom? Seriously? People are still buying them? I've seen ONE in the four years they've been available. Dealers can't give them away out here (sound familiar?)
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(11-23-2016, 05:04 PM)LongRanger_imp Wrote: $1500 freight and setup for a Grom? Seriously? People are still buying them? I've seen ONE in the four years they've been available. Dealers can't give them away out here (sound familiar?)
Yep. Same for the Kawi minibike. Economics, if folks haven't noticed, are of great interest to me. What people will pay for, and why. That's marketing, of course.
Guys pay huge sums for bikes that look like the bikes they wanted when they couldn't afford a bike. They pay gigantic fees for bikes that temporarily evoke nostalgic sentiments. It's a much better way to soak someone of his dough than horsepower; there are plenty of bikes making over 200 HP and they are not very expensive, with lots of competition. But build a bike that looks like an old Triumph or Norton, the wallet opens along with the heart. I wonder what Honda's gonna charge for the CB1100RS.
Marketing types can't afford to have a heart; they just figure how much they can squeeze from each purchase.
In some locales, like SoCal, that can be a lot of money, especially when financing is cheap and easy. Those huge fees cause the negotiations to start at a very high number, and if you have a trade, you don't often feel like riding to Bakersfield to do business. "It's only so much more a month."
After four years of so much more a month you could have ridden to Bakersfield a hundred times on the amount paid.
