about to step into the monsters realm

[RCone]

Howdy Fella's.
i just checked out a private sale today.
a 2001 S4 with about 9k miles. last service done on 6k mi.
asking price $5,900. Original owner sold to friend and friend wants to sell.
the "friend" is a late aged gentleman with a harley. he says since he had it, he put on approx 1500mi and never did ANY service on it.
fyi- I HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF MONSTERS WHATSOEVER. so i am here looking for info. please be gentle.
ive had numerous sportbikes but never had the chance to study I-ty vtwins.
it had quite a few carbon goodies on it. i wish i took pics. but cosmetically seemed quite nice, xept for the rusted chain. Almost looked identical to the Fogarty but with gunmetal paint n' rims. i suppose the original owner tried to bling it out. didnt test drive it but turned it on and started herrup' and those carbon cans sounded MEEEEEN. i didnt hear any obnoxious knocking so i suppose there is no major mechanical error?

im no dumby so i kno 59hundy cash is bullshyt.
what would be a reasonable offer?
Anything else i might wanna check out or watch out for when i go back tomorrow with some cash and a chinaman's wit?

(if u wonder why im trying to buy a monster is cuz i believe i will die sooner than later on a sportbike)

thanks fellaz

[vij]

S4 is a briliant bike. As I dont live in USA I can not tell about the price but it sounds good to me.

As all 4 vlv ducatis it has a few small things that can cost alot of money but today it is a cure for them today.

Mainly crome flaking from cam rockers and flywheel loosening. If this is not sorted it can be expensive.

What I would do if I bought the bike is to make a big service.

Make sure they install, tight and locktite the flywheel properly.

Remove the opening rockers and send them for recroming. It is 8 of them and if you send to MBP in Canada it will cost 50 dollars each.

Install MBP half rings to extend your valve adjustment time and set the valve clearance to "spot on" and install new belts.
http://www.mbpducati.ca/can/shop/pro...roducts_id=240

If you do this you will have a very nice, very fun and very releiable bike that will give you alot of smiles and no big worries.

Jocke.........

[TripleDuck]

Originally Posted by RCone

Howdy Fella's.
im no dumby so i kno 59hundy cash is bullshyt.
what would be a reasonable offer?
Anything else i might wanna check out or watch out for when i go back tomorrow with some cash and a chinaman's wit?

(if u wonder why im trying to buy a monster is cuz i believe i will die sooner than later on a sportbike)

thanks fellaz

The S4 is no Superbike....but it is no slouch. The torque on that motor can spool up and......... well you get the idea. Believe me, you can die on a S4 as easy as any.

$5.9 is actually on the low side of market for an 01/S4 (that's about 1/2 of the original purchase price for most folks). They seem to have settled in at about $6.3-$6.8.

As far as what to watch for: (1) Oil pooling behind the vertical cylinder (TSB exists for an oil galley plug) (2) Battery acid damage - infamous exploading Monster battery issue (3) Service records (belts should have been changed by now) (4) Swing arm damage from improperly installed wheel spacer (5) Normal used bike stuff - the rusted chain would be concerning to me.

I've got 16K miles on mine. Overall I've been extremely happy (i've had >35 bikes and this is one of two that have stayed in my garage more than 4 years). It did have some electrical issues when new; however, once those were sorted out, its been normal maintenance stuff. I was coming off of a 748 when I purchased it and did not like the S4 handling (seemed to float around on high speed sweepers). Rear sets and clipons cured those issues.

Good luck!

P.S. I could be wrong, but I thought the Foggy's did come with grey wheels. There is a thick Foggy following here (pun intended), I'm sure someone will correct me.