What’s the best-selling Ducati model of all time?
This article’s title and lead photo may have given the answer away. Ducati’s built over 350,000 Monsters since the line debuted in 1993. Monster is still a terrific name for a motorcycle, in my opinion.
The latest model focuses on shaving weight, adding power, and carrying the Monster legacy into its next generation. That means some radical changes for a recipe that has largely stayed true to its roots, even if the entire Monster concept came from a desire to break away from tradition.
“[It is] all the essence of Ducati, all the essence of the Monster, in the most compact, essential, and light form possible,” says Ducati’s Product Marketing Director, Giulio Malagoli. “Its name goes straight to the point: Monster. Nothing else.”
Engine
The 937 cc Testastretta engine sits at the heart of Ducati’s newest offering, producing 111 horsepower and 69 foot-pounds of torque. A lightened clutch reduces hand fatigue in urban riding. The big story with the engine, however, is its new desmo service interval. Ducati has focused heavily on extending service intervals over the last few years to combat consumer concerns about frequent and expensive servicing. The new Monster joins the ranks of Ducati’s lower-maintenance machines with its 18,600-mile desmo service interval.
Frame and chassis
In a decision that’s almost as sacrilegious as a Multistrada without desmo valves, the 2021 Monster loses its trademark trellis frame in favor of an aluminum twin-spar design. The enduring battle between trellis frames and twin-spar alloy frames dates back even before the original Monster. Manufacturers have utilized both types of frames with success, and even swapped like Ducati just did, in pursuit of perfection. Ducati claims they pulled inspiration from the Panigale V4 for the ultra-compact “front frame” design that connects the headstock to the engine with a stubby, twin-spar frame design. Nearly 40 pounds have been shaved off the Monster when compared to the old Monster 821. The bike’s overall weight is 416 pounds wet.
Some of that comes from the front-frame design, but the frame under the seat was also redesigned. It now uses a glass-fiber-reinforced polymer subframe to shed additional weight over its predecessors. Expect more composite frame components in the future as manufacturers embrace the lightness and versatility of non-metallic materials.
Ducati spent a significant amount of time talking about seat height in their presentation. Many riders value the ability to get one or both feet fully flat when stopping, and Ducati’s response with the new Monster is a variety of seat height configurations. The bike starts out at 32.3 inches, then drops to 31.5 inches with an accessory seat, with a lowest configurable height of just 30.5 inches with an accessory lowering spring.
Design and technology
Change the engine if you must, or even the frame. The Monster’s stripped-back styling must remain. Ducati streamlined their naked model even further for 2021 but stopped well short of erasing the Monster’s identity. There’s a revised headlight with a circular DRL, new bodywork, and new wheels to shave off some more weight.
In the tech department, there’s a TFT display, auto-cancelling LED turn signals (check out the front flush-mounts), cornering ABS, traction control, wheelie control, launch control, an up/down quickshifter, and three ride modes. The new Monster is awfully tech-heavy for such an elemental model, but features like these are table stakes for the class now, and Ducati has proven that they can implement them unobtrusively. They’ve come a long way from building radios a hundred years ago, huh?
The Ducati Monster ($11,895) and Monster + ($12,195) will be available in Ducati Red, Matte Black, and Aviator Grey. Plenty of adhesive graphic kits and plastics packages are available if you’d like to change the look up even further. 2021 Monsters will be available starting in April 2021.
2021 Ducati Monster
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Price (MSRP)
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$11,895 base, $12,195 Monster +
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Engine
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937 cc, liquid-cooled, four-valve, L-twin
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Transmission,
final drive
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Six-speed, chain
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Claimed horsepower
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111 @ 9,250 rpm
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Claimed torque
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69 foot-pounds @ 6,500 rpm
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Frame
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Aluminum front frame, GFRP subframe
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Front suspension
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43 mm USD fork; 5.1 inches of travel
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Rear suspension
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Monoshock, adjustable for preload; 5.5 inches of travel
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Front brake
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Dual Brembo M4.32 monobloc four-piston calipers, 320 mm discs, ABS
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Rear brake
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Brembo two-piston caliper, 245 mm disc, ABS
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Rake, trail
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24 degrees, 3.7 inches
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Wheelbase
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58.0 inches
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Seat height
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32.3 inches, lowering accessories available
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Fuel capacity
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3.7 gallons
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Tires
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Pirelli Diablo Rosso III, 120/70R17 front, 180/55R17 rear
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Claimed weight
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416 pounds (wet)
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Available
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April 2021
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Warranty
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24 months
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More info
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