another ducati spotted in domlur(bangalore)..morning at 7 with a lady pillion...again white 796!

yeah!! difficult dream. may be someday when you come for a track session to chennai

A small quick update -

I think I can brush aside my doubts/confusion on the fuel type to be used in the Monster. This morning I tanked up with Speed 97 and the previous one was a mix of 91 and 97. The bike now picks up the revs very smoothly and the difference though hard to put it in words is quite evident.

A few pics which Aditya clicked during one of our rides. Had almost forgotten about them.

Thanks Aditya!

oh my god!watte combo!

hey,jvh,think i saw you today in domlur,morning at around 7.30.......was it you?>?

Nope my friend...I was sleeping at that time

1st Service report

After a small ride in the morning yesterday, went to the showroom/service center to get the first service done. The ODO read 1013kms after 2 months.

The total damage was Rs. 6,615 and below is the split

Engine oil (Shell Ultra 4T Helix - 3 litres) - Rs. 2,265
Oil Filter - Rs. 1,000
DDS upgrade (Diagnostic check-up) - Rs. 1,200
Washing and Waxing - Rs. 150
Labour - Rs. 2,000

The job was done too slowly to my liking and in the end I was getting a bit frustrated. They had promised the bike to be ready by 2.30pm and it was handed over by 3.45pm. I gave this feedback to the manager. Though the boys do the job cleanly, they need to be faster and more organized. The 1st service should hardly be more than 2 hours IMO while this one took nearly 4.5 hours.

And I'm delighted to say the least after the engine oil and filter change. The pick-up has become much smoother. Now I can revv up to 7k rpm . In the filter and even on the periphery of the threads of the locking nut, I could feel the small metal chips as a result of the run-in.

The guys were helpful in answering numerous questions which I was firing away during the service and must they are pretty passionate about these bikes too. If only they were quicker :-). The next service is due at 12000 kms. But I will be planning to get the oil and filter change done at 7000 kms. Air filter cleaning every 2500 kms and chain tightening and lubing after every 500 kms. The dealer concurs to my schedule.

The mileage returned was averaging at 15 kmpl which is below the quoted reference of 18kmpl.

BTW, there was a white monster 796 which had trouble getting started. It was diagonized right infront of me. They first emptied the fuel and collected in litre bottle. And you know what, there was a clear transparent portion right at the bottom of the bottle...say 70% fuel and 30% water. Wow! And this was Speed 97 filled at Sadashivnagar Bashyam circle where I regularly fill up. Grrrrrr so much for the these BPCL outlets. We pay 85/litre and they are giving water in return.

OK, now some pics from the ride and the service bay

Service cost not bad at all. The Ninja 250R will cost as much to service, I guess!

The first service for the N250 is for 1700 right ?

How about a 18K estimate for the 2nd service? . This was just routine and the next one will be extensive. I have the list of to dos for the same. If interested, will post or PM.

Would be interested if you don't mind! But ain't buying a bike in a hurry, have to get that cage first

Maintenance to dos and service schedule of Monster 796

Couldn't figure out a way to attach docs through PM, hence attaching here. Hope this will be useful for all...

You say 18k for the 12,000 km service? If what is mentioned in the manual is all they are going to do, it is indeed a mighty ripoff. Mighty. More than 80% of the things mentioned there can be done by you if you have the manual and some tools handy.

Holy smokes, 18k for just that much???? This must be a joke Almost all the stuff can be done by oneself. Really dont understand how does it all add up to 18k after all? Do they even charge the customers for visually inspecting the oil level or are they washing the bike with a tanker of jet fuel