Ducati Monster 821 review, test ride

The exhaust pipes have a bronze-gold finish, and look nice and thick, to end in fused dual cans.

 

The Monster 821’s engine sounds angry, impatient, just waiting to be let loose after you fire it up. It’s an 821cc, liquid-cooled, four-stroke, L-twin powerplant, that uses Ducati trademark Desmodromic valves, actuated positively by lever arms instead of springs. Maximum power of 110.5bhp comes in at 9,250rpm, and the peak torque is 9.1kgm, available at 7,750rpm.

 

Torque kicks in nice and early on the Monster 821, as it pulls hard from off the starting blocks, catapulting you forward with urgency once revs climb over 5,000rpm. The powerband is nice and wide, and meaty too, allowing the Monster 821 to pull rapidly all the way up to 9,000rpm. Once the shift indicator lights up, the instrument cluster glows like a Christmas tree, urging you to up-shift. In simple terms, the Monster 821 is a proper hooligan , that loves being ridden with its throttle pinned open.

 

To keep the front wheel from hopping skywards accidently, the Ducati Monster 821 is equipped with riding modes, for city riding, touring and a no holds barred, Sport mode. As you cycle the modes, engine mapping stays a constant, but rider inputs at the ride-by-wire throttle are electronically regulated, as other safety aids modulate to make the 821 safer, and more exciting to pilot. Although the three modes come with factory settings for the traction control (8-stage) and ABS (3-stage) braking systems, either can be custom set to suit your individual tastes. There’s also a slipper clutch system to keep you in control when braking hard.

 

The Monster 821 exhaust outputs an intoxicating burble and pop audio, that you hear each time the engine revs down, making for pure L-twin music! Gears shift smoothly on the new Ducati.