Starting with a Monster...

I've got a friend who passed his Direct Access last year and recently got himself a Suzuki SV650S... He keeps trying to tempt me onto bikes and I must admit I've started looking into it!

Working in London, I see (and hear!) a lot of Ducati Monsters and like the look of them. Would a 600 be a decent starter bike? How expensive are these to run? Other problem would be insurance, is it feasible (I'm 24)? I'd probably keep the bike at my parents in the garage (safe area) and get it at the weekends. Can you restrict the cost with limited mileages?

Thanks,
Ross

I think the biggest factor in insurance premiums is the number of years of riding experience. This should not put you off, we all have to start somewhere, a Duke 600 Monster is a good first bike I think. Ring round for quotes, check out MCN magazine and they list hundreds of companies who'll give you a quote. You get discounts for type of security eg DATATAG, which is a must IMHO, costs £50, and get a disc lock and chain too, if you are going to park it up outside at work (get a hardened chain from hardware store together with a quality padlock, chain bought by the metre cost you about £35 for 1.5m, same quality as some £150 ready made ones, both which will only be broken by discutter I'm told). Fitting an alarm would not be worth it in my opinion, you'll get probably a £30 discount for a £300 alarm, pointless. I think it was an extra £20 for pillion insurance, extra £20 for race can, for me....