Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128409
Mon§"tel" Challenge Round II Monsters were out in force the weekend or December 2-4 in Seattle, Washington, as 10 extraordinary motorcycles vied for bragging rights as best of show in the second round of the Ducati Monster Challenge. When the dust cleared, two exquisitely prepared Monsters squared off in a Clash of the Titans reminiscent of the fictional battles between King Kong and Godzilla! In the closest margin of victory of any round of The Monster Challenge, Steve Fowler's glitzy '04 Monster S4R eked out the narrowest of victories over Lance Coffel's exotically prepped '9S Monster 900, earning Fowler the title as owner of the "baddest" Monster in the Pacific Northwest. Fowler, a Microsoft executive, and Coffel, a former body builder from Lake Oswego, Oregon, both earned praise from the three-judge panel, as did the other entrants. One judge, Lee Parks, a moto-journalist, author, riding-school owner and 2001 WERA National Endurance Champion, said he was "incredibly impressed how each bike showed off the personality of the owner, yet still retained the character of the Monster." The dozen entered Monsters were judged in four categories; engine and suspension modifications, overall quality of workmanship, visual impact and creativity. A maximum of I 0 points can be awarded to each bike in each category, and at the final tally Fowler's machine squeaked out a scant three point victory, I 07 total points to 104. Eric Schroeder brought his '04 Monster I ODDS to Seattle from Monroe, WA, and finished third with 99 points. Fowler's S4R had literally been taken apart bolt by bolt, and almost all parts were polished to mirror finish before reassembly, contrasting dramatically with the glossed black body, ceramic-coated exhaust and headlight lifted from a Harley V-Rod. "This bike just dares one to try to tame it," said Fowler. I'm especially fond of the V-rod headlight and the custom bracket we made allowing it to be mounted. I call it the Black Diamond and I believe it lives up to its name. I was very impressed with Lance's bike, and feel very fortunate to have won," he added. Coffel's '95 M 900 featured an extremely well-finished, painted frame coupled with an intricate "Monster" tank lettering that housed numerous pictures of glaringeyed beasts. It was the crowd favorite, inching out Fowler's bike in the public voting. Points were awarded to the "People's Choice" winning bike and added to the total of the points awarded by the judges. "We spent more than 50 hours just on smoothing out the welds in the frame, doing the custom 'Monster' lettering and striping. It's an old bike, and I had a lot of fun putting it together. The judges had a hard job, but I think they got it right. Steve's bike was very well done," commented Coffel. Mota Euro magazine editor Larry Williams also served as a Challenge judge, and credited all entrants with prodUcing well-prepared, creative examples of the venerable Monster. ':.\11 the owners managed to present an eye-catching bike, but did 50 in a way that kept the machine functional. It was very hard to pick a winner, but I gave the nod to the winner (Fowler) because I thought he did the most complete job. These were all great bikes," Williams said. Fowler's victory earns him a slot in the national finals of the Monster Challenge, where the winning bikes in the remaining seven rounds of the event will join him. A 2006 Monster S2R 1000 will be awarded to the overall winner of the Monster Challenge, while the overall second-place finisher will be flown to a round of Moto GP and a $1000 Ducati Performance gift certificate awaits the third-place finisher. For more information on the Monster Challenge, please visit www.ducatiusa.com. To cast your vote, log on to www.cyclenews.com. WEb INSiTE O""--':~..L:=._ 'J_ Cyclenews.com reader poll question of the week i!.~";;'~Jo = What was the biggest racing news of 200S? A. Ricky Carmichael's total dominance of everything motocross. B. James Stewart's poor results. C. Valentino Rossi's dominance in MotoGP. D. Juha Salminen's dominance in GNCC. E. Anything involving the Alessi brothers. F. MotoGP's return to the United States. G. America winning the MX des Nations. H. The shake up in AMA Flat Track. I. The new-found competitiveness in the World Superbike Championship. r Online poll results from last week Was Saturdar night's Toronto Supercross a sign of things to come and a changing of the guard. [al"mic:hael'§ Fil"§"t All the winning had to start somewhere, right? Ricky Carmichael (center) got his first AMA 125cc Supercross win at the Atlanta Supercross in the Georgia Dome on February 22, 1997, in only his third career Supercross event. He is flanked by Tim Ferry (right) and Chad Pederson (left). He went onto win two more Supercross races and finished third in the series. Then RC completely dominated the 125 Nationals in what was his first full season, taking the title with eight overall victories. The rest as they say is history. Now RC has captured the Cycle News Rider of the Year honor for the third time. Yes, Ricky Carmichael's days at the top are numbered. 650 (13.18%) No, James Stewart will give Carmichael a run for his money, but RC stili has fight in him. 3098 (62.80%) Who cares who's on top as long as the racing is that good all year. 1185 Ilti... (24.02%) ~ Total Replies: 4933 CYCLE NEWS • JANUARY 4,2006 133