DUCATI SHOWS TRUE COLOURS
Way back in the 1980s, I spent long hours painstakingly rubbing all the black coating off the casings on my Yamaha RD-LC and then polishing the metallic silver underneath.
Why? The same reason a mate of mine had his LC resprayed bright pink and thousands of other bikers have been painting, customising and generally altering their machines since they were first invented – to make them different. So when self-styled “purists” say that, like a Ferrari, a Ducati should only ever be pillar-box red, it’s like, er, a red rag to a bull.
I was pleased at the end of last year when the
Italian firm announced it was releasing the latest version of its Monster 821 in not just red, but matt black and yellow as well.
A fitting way to mark the model’s 25th anniversary this month. Looks-wise, there’s a re-sculpted tank, a redesigned tail and a big, round-ish headlight.
The new Euro 4-friendly exhaust means the cans are noticeably larger, although if you stretch a little more you can swap them for some beautiful Termignonis.
Overall, the bike just looks more svelte and streamlined. Get on board and the most obvious change is the excellent colour TFT dash, which is beautifully easy to navigate and see.
There are three ride modes – sport, touring and urban. The former gives maximum power via direct ride-by-wire throttle response, sets the traction control to setting one (of eight) and also puts the three-lever Bosch ABS on the lowest option.
Touring allows the same amount of power but it is delivered more progressively and the TC and ABS is stepped up a bit. Urban limits the power to 75bhp and further ups the TC and ABS.
Head off and you soon realise second gear is the most fun, with the others feeling a tad too long and lacking a little oomph.
Handling is light and agile, with a Showa front fork and an adjustable rear Sachs monoshock, and Pirelli Diablo Rosso IIIS maintaining contact with the tarmac. Braking is excellent via the front Brembo calipers – delightfully progressive but superbly powerful.
Overall, this Monster does have bite, but it’s fair to say it’s aimed at the less sporty, more rider-friendly end of the naked middleweight market. Nevertheless, it’s great fun, oozing Italian class and style. I loved it – and if the yellow isn’t enough to make you stand out, there’s also a huge range of tasty accessories available. Ducati Monster 821 L-twin
109bhp @ 9,250rpm
63lb ft @ 7,750rpm
Red; black; yellow 821cc