P112
RIDE REVIEW I 2021 DUCATI MONSTER
really sure why you need that. I'll
trade that any day for cruise con-
trol, which is sadly missing from
the Monster's electronic arsenal.
A nice feature is when you go
to change the settings, the 4.3-
inch dash gives you a little image
of the bike's part you're altering.
For example, if you're adjusting
the traction control, the bike's
rear wheel will be lit up in red.
Changing the wheelie control?
The front wheel gets lit up. So
easy, even a monkey like me can
figure it out.
This latest line in the Monster
saga has seen Ducati engineers
do away with the playbook they
held so dear to their hearts in
the steel trellis frame, which has
now been replaced by the front
frame design that came to market
on the first Panigale V4. This,
combined with sundry lighten-
ing practices in the swingarm,
engine, wheels and the GFRP
(Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer)
subframe, has seen Ducati lop an
outstanding 40 pounds off
the dry weight of the motorcycle.
Forty pounds is around one and
a half 30 blocks of water you'll
get from your local supermarket,
and when you consider manufac-
turers often find it difficult to get
even five pounds of weight off
the incoming model (especially
given the rigors of Euro5 compli-
ance and the extra weight of the
required catalytic convertors), it
makes Ducati's feat all the more
impressive.
Everything is smaller and
narrower with the new Monster,
with engineers paying especially
close attention to space between
Tidy looking back
end if we do say so,
especially with the
seat cover.
Ducati's trend, started with the
original Scrambler, of making
interchangeable bodywork parts is
now commonplace on many models.
The Monster gets two graphics
styles—Pixel kit (pictured) and GP
Kit, each available in Ducati Red,
Aviator Grey and Dark Stealth.
