Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

2006 Ducoti Monster S4Rs Ducati Monster 54Rs Lrsr pRrcE................................$r4,995 D|SPLACET'|ENT..........................998cc ENGINE TYPE..................Liquid-cooled V-twin Iour-stroke BORE x STROKE ............100 x 63.5mm coHPRESSTON R4TrO.............. r r.4: r CARBURETION,,,,,,,,,.,,,,..EFI sOMM rhrottle bodies lcNlTlON ..............................E1ectronic TRANSMlSSlON....................Six-sPeed STARTING SYSTEM ................Ele.tric FUEL CAPAC|TY........................3.5 gal. wHEELBASE..............................56.7 in. RAKE/TRA|L............................24196ff'm sEAT HEtGHT............................3 r.s in. FRONT Tt RE ...................... 1 20 1 707R 1 7 REAR TrRE.......................... r80/55ZRl 7 FRONT.WHEEL TRAVEL .......... 5.I in. REAR-WHEEL TRAVEL ...,,,,,,,,,,,5,8 iN. FRONT BRAKE..........Dual 320mm disc REAR BRAKE............Sin8le 245mm disc FTNAL DRrVE................................Chain CLAIMED DRY WEIGHT .,,,,.,,,,390 Ib. D ment that made the bike sing. The bike was easy to set up and then ollered excellent damping throughout the Ascari circuit's wide array of comers. Once dialed in with enough preload, the suspension felt incred- ibly communicative, giving ample feedback while feelinS plush at the same time. The bike's turn-in is excellent, and flop- ping it from side to side is very easy due to the liSht steerinS, no doubt enhanced by the lightweight Marchesini aluminum wheels. Once on the side ofthe tire atfull-lean angle the S4fu is very stable, holdinS the intended line with ease on or off throttle. The brakes on the bike are as Sood as they come. Up front is a l9mm Brembo radial master cylinder pumping fluid through braided stainless-steel lines. The calipers are radial-mount Brembo four-pis- ton, four-pad units with 320mm rotors mounted on aluminum carraers. The rear brake is a twin piston caliper with a 245mm rotor. StoppinS power from these Superbike-spec binders is amazin8. They have so much power for the relatively light Monster that I rarely used more than one (For left) Anolhcr ltorthcriri whed odomr the leor of the bike, bul it ir ottorhcd to o Fodcmork single.sided swingorm. (lefr) Note how much clconcr qnd unclult rGd the new rqdi- otor pipes look qnd rhe fqct thot morl oI th! wiring ir now hidden. tricky corners that required trail brakinS, as the power is so stronS that I was wor- ried about losing the front. One thing that yqu may have noticed about previous Monsters or naked bike5 in general is that most of the wiring and fluid hoses are out in the open and iather clut- tered looking. This is one area that l"lonster product engineer Giulio MalaSoli and his team worked verl hard to clean up. Wiring that was previously tied to the frame has been thoughtfully routed or.tt of sight. The radiator hoses have been replaced with aluminum pipes that look cleaner and less iumbled. The radiator and fans are reshaped for better aesthetics. From a styling standpoint. the S4Rs has been restyled with plenty of carbon fiber ador.ing the bike. New graphics and paint look fresh and stylish, includint the new pearl white with red stripe, red frame and white wheels; Ducati red with white stripe, red frame and black wheels; gloss black with liShtgray stripe, black frame and black wheels. The retail price on the S4fu ir $14,995 and truly fits the naked Superbike moniker. Cll i t- I I I I t. I I 34 MARCH B,2006 CYCLE NEWS Monster Overkill! lfthe S4fu isn't overkill in stock form, then the acces- rori2ed Ducati Per{ormance version that I rode for one session at Ascari most certainly is. Monster product enSi neer Giulio Malagoli looked no funher than Ducati's Per- formance catalot to pick out a list of components ro fur- ther enhance the bike's performance and racetmck cagabilities. The enSine performance additions include a Ter- mignoni 50mm full-race exhaust system with tlvin stacked carbon-fiber silencefs. The system eliminates the catalytic converters allowing the bike (o breathe to its full poten- tial. Complementing lhe exhaust is the hiSh-flow air lllter and an uprated ECU. Forget about slightly raspy - on the track, ev€n with earpluts in, the bike was loud. lt sounded wonderful, but definitely makes enough noise to piss off the neighbors. The Per- formance upgrades are said to increase power by another l0 hp, and raise the torque out- put as well. lt's amazing how stronS the bike felt on the track, capable of Pullingwheelies anylvhere at will. The added power necessitated the use of Michelin's Power Race rubber, as the stock tires would have been overly taxed. Comint off the corner the bike's acceleration was awesome, iust as stron8 as any l000cc inline-four. The a\railable torque at any point in the rev rante is addictive, and yet the bike pulls harder into the .ev range be.ause of the ECU'S 1000 rpm hither redline. The bike has almost four-cTlinder top-end, making it a whole lot offun. GettinS into comers is made considerably easier by the addition ofa Ducati Perfor- mance slipper clutch, allowing the bike's chassis to stay comPosed whil€ quickly bahtint down throuth the tears for the tighter corners. The bike likes to wheelie a lot more than the stock version, so an Ohlins steerint damper was transverse mounted in front ofthe tank and behind the top triple clamp. The stock bike did- n't really need a damper, but the way lhe front end dances on the Performance model delinitely requires one The bike has liShrweight front and rear sprockets made out of aluminum alloy in addition to every conceivable carbon-fiber irem you can think ol including the head- light fairinS and front are rear mud- guards. This is, without a doubt, the ulti- mate lYonster. SPECIFICATIONS Et a 'l .,/ \ r1 finger to get the bike stopped. Care had to be taken in a couple of I - L7v .] F\ I I .r/.R i

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