Ducati Monster 821

It is not difficult to see why the Ducati Monster was the progenitor and now the epitome of the naked sports bike. In its current iteration, it is the best of old and new. It still carries the signature trellis frame, round headlight, and muscular tank. But the frame is minimal with no excess and the tank and headlight are from the modern Ducati 1200 Monster. There are nods to the old Monsters like the tank clip from the original. Then there are all the small details that you discover every day. The beefy front and the small tail give the Monster 821 a muscular look, there is nothing on this bike that is non-essential. Even the engine acts as a stressed member further keeping the weight low. Upswept exhausts look racy even when parked and will only touch the ground if you fall over. The 17-inch front and rear 10 spoke alloys with beefy 120/70 front and 180/55 rear Pirelli Diablo Roso III tires will make sure that you don’t. The bike is deceptively small with a wheelbase of just 1480 mm. The seat height is adjustable between 785 mm and 810 mm making it usable for a wide range of rider heights. The display uses a full-color TFT LCD that can also be paired with the optional multimedia package allowing you to receive phone calls and play music. There are three colors to choose from – yellow, red, and black. The red comes with our recommendation as it really showcases that trellis frame in all its beauty. Other recommendations include the cover for the rear seat and a hugger to remove that ugly mudguard.

The front gets 43 mm USD Kayaba shocks and the rear gets a progressive linkage with adjustable monoshock mounted directly to the rear cylinder head and an aluminium double-sided swingarm. The 24.3-degree rake and 3.67 inches of trail combined with the stiff suspension makes a cakewalk of hard cornering while keeping the bike stable and tractable. The shocks perform well in absorbing road imperfections too. There are short rise handlebars that give a relaxed nearly vertical riding position with ample room behind the tank to tuck in. The deep scoop seat is spacious enough to allow some knee dragging action too. Wet weight of 206 kg also helps in this too.

Power comes from Ducati’s latest water cooled and fuel injected with ride by wire equipped 821 cc Testastretta, L Twin Desmodromic engine. Peak power is rated at 109 hp at 9250 rpm and torque of 86 Nm at 7750 rpm. There are three different riding modes-Sport, Touring, and Urban - that manages the power levels along with inputs from ABS and traction control system to give optimum performance. The engine is mated to a 6-speed transmission with a slipper clutch. While the redline is at 10500 rpm, the peak torque is available at 75% of the rev range making it more usable. Like all Ducatis, the throttle feels sluggish and jerky at the first few percentages of the throttle but soon becomes smooth as we move further. The gearbox is smooth with tall gearing and the clutch is very light. It also comes with APTC that stops the rear wheel from locking during downshifts. The exhaust note is throaty but not like the air-cooled Ducatis of the old. The mileage is 15.9 kmpl if you are interested.

The front gets dual 320 mm semi-floating disc brakes with radially mounted Monobloc 4 piston Brembo callipers. The rear gets a single 245 mm disc with a 2 piston calliper. Bosch’s ABS 9.1 also comes as standard as does Ducati Traction Control.

While the price is lower than before, this bike will not exactly have the cheapest insurance and maintenance cost. It comes with 24-month warranty and a service interval of 15000 km. While it does hark back to the Ducati Monsters of the old, there is no dry clutch nor is it air cooled. It does not have the blistering performance of its rivals either. But like we said earlier, some decisions are made from the heart.