[wyckedflesh]

As the owner of an older Ducati 900CR which is only different from the Monster 900 of the same year by a better frame, forks and being semi faired and not a naked let me clear up a few misconceptions.

2V Ducatis, such as the Monster620/695/696 are much easier to work on then the 4V water cooled Ducs. A water cooled Duc can run you $1k for a valve adjustment at a shop. The 2V ducati is as easy to adjust the valves on as your 250.

Most of the Consumables on the Newer Monsters are available through the aftermarket, including FI tuning. Mine is still carburated, and for a full set of rebuild parts, it did get a little spendy, but it was my own damn fault for letting fuel sit in the carbs while I was trying to get the forks straightened out after the fiasco the previous owner did to them.

There are tons of aftermarket suppliers for the Monster line of bikes that cost the same for parts as the Japanese bikes. They are now up to the same maintenance intervals as any other V-Twin street bike on the market. Again, this is for the 2V Monsters and the Hypermotard 796.

Having spent time on SV650's and Monsters, when the 620 was out, it was a huge disappointment compared to the SV650. The 695/696 have made a huge difference in the way the bike feels and acts over the SV. But, your still comparing a 2V V-Twin to a 4V V-Twin when comparing to the SV. The SV will have more Top End revs over the Low End Punch of the Monster.

As to "Only go 130" that is pretty much the norm for V-Twins in the 600 range. If you want faster without having to change the EPA beating gearing from the factory, look at an Inline 600.

Want to stay in the Kawi family? Go Naked? and keep it a Twin? ER6N is your answer.

There are options out there, and for some, Ducs don't fit. But it is better to know that many of the things that HURT Ducati 10 years ago, are not always the issue today.

But that extra $4G's for a new Duc, is a very very heavy persuading factor in my buying wallet when it comes to out the door buying. I don't even have $3G's invested in my '95 after fixing the crap the previous owner did to it, and that includes the buying price.