Motorcycle folks- Wanna help me choose? FZ-09 or Monster 821

In My Humble Opinion
1

I could really use the help of some of you with more experience than me. Not really to make a choice for me, but maybe you could add some information or insight that I haven’t thought of. I’ve been obsessing.

Here are the choices:

2018 Ducati Monster 821. Still has 20 months on warranty. Mint condition.

1,060 miles
Termignoni Racing Exhaust with Upmap
Rizoma Reverse Retro bar end mirrors
Rizoma Sguardo bar end turn signals
New Rage Cycles fender eliminator (includes rear turn signals)
Ducati Passenger Handholds

A ton of money put into a new bike like this, and he has agreed to $10,000.

Or

2015 Yamaha FZ-09. Original owner, well taken care of.
18,000 miles
Upgraded rear suspension (adjustable preload, rebound, low & high speed compression)
Stiffer front suspension
Puig windscreen,
Garmin GPS
Newer sprockets, chain, battery, and brakes.
Needs tires soon

$4,500 firm

The major pro of the Duc is that I’d basically have a brand new bike still under warranty, with upgrades that I like for what seems like a great price (right)? Other pro is it’s just more beautiful and exotic looking than what seems like just another Yamaha.

The major pro of the FZ-09 is the price. I probably wouldn’t be in love with it, but at that price I at least wouldn’t feel as irresponsible as I would buying a $10,000 bike when I should be more responsible with my money right now. Plus there are other pros to having it than being in love with it. Transportation, fun to ride…

However…I wouldn’t have (or want) to spend any more money on the Ducati. It’s almost brand new and won’t need service for a while. I’m mechanically inclined, have a well-stocked garage and would do the work myself wen the time comes.

Though the FZ-01 is cheaper, I would want a decent exhaust and ECU flash or Power commander, new tires and whatever maintenance costs having an older bike would entail, possibly brakes, fork oil, etc.

I’m guessing if I needed to sell, I wouldn’t lose much or any money on the Duc as compared to the FZ-09?

What to do?

2

I’ve nothing but good things to say about my FZ-09. I’ll add more when I get home.

3

Is the Ducati still covered under warranty with the upgrades?

4

What are you planning to do with motorcycle once you have it? Daily ride? Weekend fun?

5

Yes, that was one of the first questions I asked. The exhaust and Upmap system were done by Ducati.

More in the category of weekend fun.

6

Ok, honestly, if I was comparing to a $10,000 Ducati, I would really just go get a new MT-09 for practically the same money. IMO the Monster doesn’t really tickle me with the supposed “sexiness” of a fully-faired Ducati sport or supersport. The MT-09 will also very likely be less fickle and less maintenance intensive. Both require valve lash adjustments, but the Yammie’s check interval is 2x as long as the Ducati’s. I have two bikes so I doubt I’ll ever have to worry about a valve adjustment.

Also, for 2017 Yamaha made significant upgrades to the suspension and fixed the electronic throttle mapping; 2016 and earlier ones garnered complaints of twitchy throttle behavior. My 2017 is a docile kittykat when just riding normally, but oh holy balls when you open it up it just pulls. Literally the only maintenance I’ve done in the several thousand miles I have on mine is oil changes (once in the spring after coming out of storage, once in the fall before putting it in storage) and wiping off and spraying the chain every so often. outside of that it’s literally turn the key, hit the start button, and go.

The other thing is that stock seats are almost universally awful, and the FZ/MT-09’s is pretty bad. It has a forward slope and a grippy cover, and I found myself sliding forward all the time so my jeans would cinch down and squeeze the boys uncomfortably. I changed to a Sargent seat and I’ve no problem being on the bike for a couple hours or more.

here be mine: https://i.imgur.com/rpCZd7Z.jpg

7

jz78817, what do you think of the supposedly too narrow of a seat?

ETA: You beat me to it. :slight_smile:

8

Beautiful looking bike, jz78817! Maybe my taste is different than most, but all over the internet it is called unattractive. I think it looks pretty bad ass! The one I’m looking at is the same or similar color.

As far as the suspension and throttle mapping, it looks like the owner took care of that.

9

yeah, the Sargent seat is great. https://i.imgur.com/woLSCZr.jpg

also it has a small storage compartment on the underside for stuff like paperwork, etc.

edit: it’s pretty angular and crease-y like a lot of Japanese bikes, and the “face” (headlamps) look kind of like a Transformer, but I have no problem with that.

10

That seat is $420 on Revzilla! :eek: See, I’m afraid I would spend so much in upgrades, tires, etc for the FZ that I wouldn’t spend on the 821.

Yeah the headlight issue is big for me too. I love the old school round headlight on the 821 and I don’t like the headlights on most other “newer” bikes.

11

there’s also the XSR900, which is an MT-09 with retro clothes.

12

I don’t know about 2x. Modern Duc motors at at an 18k mile valve check interval, with oil changes every 9k miles.

For me, these are hard bikes to compare on paper. I wouldn’t make the choice without test riding. Two very different characters.

Now before everyone dies of laughter here, I’ll say my Ducati experience has been that every dealer without fail has offered test rides. Maybe not every bike in the line up at a given point at a given dealer, but at one memorable day, I test rode everything in the Ducati lineup in one long afternoon. Sometimes the Yamaha dealers will have a used model for sale that you can try or you can try to find out when a demo day is.

Personally, I think both bikes are great. But I also heard enough stories about the crap throttle response on the pre-2016 FZs that I wouldn’t bother.

And as a Ducati guy, that full Termi with upmap is a veerrrrry attractive proposition. No fucking with Power Commanders or Rapidbike hardware, just plug and play. Just get on it and GO.

13

I don’t know why I said that. I’d still have to take care of the throttle issues. Like I said earlier, I’d do that after getting an exhaust.

14

The Duke will lose a lot more money on depreciation, will cost more to maintain - they also get through tyres, chains and sprockets and are more to insure.

Also Dukes can be difficult to sell - mate of mine had set his up to sell at the lower end of the listing price - but had to take another k off it - they do not sell quickly you end up waiting and waiting until the right buyer shows up, they are better at trade ins.

Look at the values of Dukes that are out of warranty and you will see a value drop - in fact you would likely be better off getting the same model Duke out of warranty - such is the sudden decline in value - because that is what you are setting yourself up for - a 20 month countdown, unless you pay for an extended warranty.

The Yam will lose some money, but it has already taken the biggest value hits, from now on it will decline relatively steadily. Parts are cheaper, but not all that much - they are more readily available.

As for getting certain items such as panels, lights, speedos etc - Ducati used to be notorious, slow and very pricey - not as bad as Aprilia but not great, maybe the situation is somewhat better these days.

I would also second the MT-09 idea

15

though if I wanted a “modern classic” I think the Kawi Z900RS wears it better.

16

I’ve known people with both and I’ve owned and ridden bikes in both brands. I would go the Yamaha. I just like the feel and handling of them better and the reliability is tops. The Ducati is a lot of fun but can be harder depending on your area to get serviced. And if you are going to be riding double one thing all my hard-core-Ducati friends complain about it the handling when you go two up. My one experience was with an older 900 and when you put someone behind me that fun little runner because a beast trying to kill us both. Not a fun memory at all.

Yamaha.

(In the interest of full disclosure I have owned and primarily ridden Harleys for the last 50 years.)

17

Yeah, there’s this. my experience is that the brand-affiliated dealers (Harley, Duc, BMW) are much, much more likely to give test/demo rides, so long as you have an endorsement and don’t come off as a total yahoo e.g. 19-year-old who’s never been on a bike wanting to “test ride” a supersport. The Japanese bikes are almost always sold through “Powersports” dealerships who don’t give a rat’s ass if they’re selling you a motorcycle, ATV, or snowblower. These places are almost never willing to allow test rides, your only hope is if a manufacturer comes along for a demo day.

hell, when I bought my first bike from the local Harley dealer they let me test ride and didn’t even chaperone me; they let me ride along with a buddy who they knew very well.

18

I must look respectable (read: old) because in the past few years, I’ve test ridden KTMs, Triumphs, BMWs and Ducatis, and never had any kind of chaperone. After asking how when I’d need to return the bike, the BMW and the Triumph dealers both said, “Well, before we close would be nice.”