Cycle News

Cycle News Issue 44 November 7, 2017

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/897778

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 92 of 117

2018 DUCATI MONSTER 821 FULL TEST P92 Five minutes with Ducati Project Leader Stefano Tarabusi "The community of Monsteristi is one of the biggest communities in the world of motorcycle enthusiasts," Tarabusi told Cycle News. "When we started thinking about the launch of this new Monster, we wanted to make a call to action to the communities of Monsteristi of the world, so we sent out a newsletter. The response was incredible—in less than two days we received more than 1000 responses. We received many, many stories, and it is incredible what the Monster means to people across the world. "The Monster is 25 now—its 25th birthday was less than one month ago and at the end of August, we had sold 353,000 Monsters around the world. This is a huge number for us. It's incredible to see 350,000 Monsters of all dif- ferent models and variations riding around the world. "For 2018, we wanted to create the most balanced Monster yet, because today the Monster family is quite wide—it ranges from the base bike of 797 up to a racetrack bike in the 1200 R. The 821 Monster is right in the middle and is a bike that is very easy, very enjoyable to experience. "The Monster 821 is getting more beautiful because we have changed many elements of its design: the fuel tank, chain, headlight, footpegs, TFT display and the addition of the yellow paint scheme. This is a very tradi- tional Ducati yellow. It is iconic, obvi- ously, because the Monster is prob- ably the most iconic bike of Ducati. There are many designs that make this Monster instantly recognizable— even if you don't read the name on the fuel tank. How many bikes can you recognize without reading what's written on the tank? The Monster is one of them, for sure." changing of the three preset en- gine modes of Sport, Touring and Urban. Sport mode will give the rider the full hit of a claimed 109 horsepower at 9250 rpm and 63 lb-ft of torque at 7600 rpm; Tour- ing will also allow full access to the 11° Testastretta V-twin motor's power but with a more subdued throttle response, with Urban really dumbing down the avail- able throttle response and engine output. Two more additions for the TFT dash are a gear position meter and thankfully a fuel-level meter. Look further into the electron- ics and you'll find the three-level Bosch ABS system and eight- stage traction control, while up front sits a new LED headlight and LED taillight at the rear. I was happy for the addition of the traction control as we navi- gated a 100-mile loop from the Rimini beachfront to the breath- taking castle city of San Leo and back, dicing over patchwork tar- mac that bordered on an enduro track at times. "Sadly, we don't like to put money into our roads," one Ducati employee said to me after the ride. Starting out in Touring mode, the Monster was an absolute de- light as we navigated our way out of the city located about 25 miles south of the Misano MotoGP ven- ue. The Ducati engineers have worked tirelessly over the last few years to improve the bottom-end throttle response, and the 821 is proof their efforts are paying off. In Touring mode, the engine is a delight to experience, so much so I end up using the middle mode for the first 30 miles of the ride without feeling the need to up it to Sport mode until we re- ally started to increase the pace and attack the route. Changing to Sport mode gives a little more snatch from closed throttle, es- pecially in the many tight hairpins we encountered, yet the ride is still miles better than Ducatis of only a few years back. The Monster is one of the best traffic-chopping steeds you can buy thanks to the slim chassis and an engine that will encour- age you to squeeze more out if it Stefano Tarabusi is understandably proud of his yellow baby.

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Cycle News - Cycle News Issue 44 November 7, 2017