Cycle News

2015 DUCATI MONSTER 821 FIRST RIDE P100 The afternoon sunshine deliv- ered dry roads and the chance to ride the Monster in something ap- proaching anger, a test it passed with flying colors. The slightly rangy 58.2-inch wheelbase and relatively conservative steering geometry deliver impressive sta- bility around long, fast sweepers, but the biggest surprise was how well the bike rode any bumps it found in its way. The relatively budget-spec Kayaba 43mm fork had excellent factory settings – luckily, since it's non-adjustable – and the cantilever Sachs rear monoshock (adjustable only for spring preload and rebound damping) was also set up dead right for my 190 pounds. Its variable-rate spring gives a certain amount of progressiv- ity, which you can feel round- ing a tighter turn at relatively low speeds on the angle, as the rear wheel runs smoothly over even quite big bumps without any chatter or a jerky response. Ride quality is pretty good for a middle- weight streetfighter, though the seat's plush pad certainly does help, as does the extra damping capability of the 60-section rear tire compared to the more usual 55 rubber. The new Ducati steers well, too – it doesn't seem as direct as the original Monsters, but it's more than adequately nimble when it needs to be. It features light initial turn-in aided by the extra leverage from the wide handlebar that helps you com- bat any trace of understeer when you switch on the power via the taller rear tire's increased contact patch. As I said, the steering is intuitive – you don't have to work at all hard to make this bike go around turns. But the best thing about the handling is the fantastic brakes, which are every bit as good as you'd expect the Brembo Mono- bloc one-piece calipers to be - except there's a greater sense of modulation than I've experi- enced before on a radial brake package. Though it stops the Ducati well and hard, there isn't quite the same initial bite you get when they're fitted to a sportbike. May- be Brembo has been working at adapting the mighty stopping power such brakes are well ca- pable of delivering to real-world riding on a variety of surfaces, and their use by less experi- enced riders. Combined with the faultless Bosch ABS, this is as good a brake setup as you'll find on any comparable motorcycle. The new Monster 821 is job well done for Ducati's engineers, who were surely under heaps of pressure from the company's management and their VW/Audi bosses not to drop the ball on this one. This may be the most important single model in the company's entire range, so the ball wasn't dropped. Ducati dealers will sell this bike in droves, thus ensuring the necessary profits to continue underwriting the company's par- ticipation in World Superbike and MotoGP. How's that for a happy ending? CN (Clockwise from top left) Cathcart wishes there was a gear-selector readout on the dash. The 821 gets a cost-cutting twin-sided swingarm. The bike is powered by the same 821cc Testastretta engine that made its debut last year in the Hypermotard. The Ducati is one of the best-sounding bikes on the market with its two-into-one-into two exhaust.

• Cover