2015 Ducati Monster 821: 7 must-know facts

The Ducati Monster 821 is an important bike for India. It’s not the least expensive Ducati on offer here; that tag goes to the Scrambler. But the Monster 821 offers much more – that alluring Ducati appeal, drop dead gorgeous looks and the performance to back it.

The Monster 821 is all-new – new engine, new chassis, new ergonomics, new swingarm and comes equipped with a host of electronic rider aids as standard. Here’s a look at 7 must-know facts about the Monster 821:

1. Design and styling

The Monster 821 follows trademark design cues of the Monster family, with a muscular, sporty line, rounded headlight flanked by fat 43mm forks, the high number plate and the unique exposed steel trellis frame. The imposing 17.5-litre sculpted metal tank defines that inimitable Monster look, presenting an even more muscular image, emphasized by a narrow waistline and a compact headlamp, with a friendly look.

Despite the bulky size of the new Monster, its proportions clearly point to intentions of a sports bike. The clean and minimal handlebar area continues the naked icon’s essential character with distinctive quality to component finish. Looks are enough to start liking the new Monster – a unique blend of authentic sport character with lifestyle sophistication.

2. Superior ergonomics

Ergonomics on the Monster 821 are friendly, and will be welcomed even by less experienced riders. A longer wheelbase has been incorporated for two-up riding comfort and the raised and pulled back handlebar provides increased comfort.

The brand new seat design boasts of a comfortable 80mm of foam at the deepest point and is equipped with a height adjustable seat to accommodate riders of different stature. In addition to the standard 810mm seat, which can be adjusted to 785mm at the lowest, there are also accessory seats available – at 745mm for the low seat and a tall seat which increases overall seat height to 835mm.

Ducati has spared a thought for pillion riders of the Monster as well, making the seat passenger friendly with a wide surface area. Integrated grab rails and footrests have also been designed keeping in mind passenger comfort.

Despite its sporty looks and design, overall ergonomics are quite friendly, with an upright seating posture that could even entice riders to push the Monster to take on occasional touring duties.

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3. Testastretta engine with desmodromic valves

The Monster 821 is powered by a liquid-cooled, Testastretta 11 degree, 821cc L-Twin, with four desmodromically actuated valves per cylinder.

The desmodromic valves use a different technology for opening and closing of the valves in the engine during intake and exhaust. Where conventional four stroke engines use cams and a return spring to open and close the valves, an engine using desmodromic valves has two cams and two actuators, each for opening and closing without a return spring. This negates valve spring failure and offers more efficiency to valve open and close operations.

In addition to the technology, Ducati has also offered service intervals at 15,000km for the Monster 821, with Shell Advance Ultra engine oil with PurePlus technology (developed by Shell with technical partner Ducati Corse) allowing oil changes also at 15,000 km. Valve clearance checks are claimed at 30,000km. So, that means fewer trips to the service centre and no headache on major maintenance.

4.Chassis, suspension and brakes

The tubular steel trellis frame is attached to the cylinder heads of the Testastretta engine, a method pioneered on the Panigale. Ducati says the new, compact frame design combined with its large diameter steel tubing has effectively doubled its torsional stiffness compared to previous models, while reducing weight.

The Monster 821 uses 43mm Kayaba front forks up front with a  single Sachs unit on the rear, adjustable in spring preload and rebound damping, attached directly to the rear cylinder and operating through a die-cast aluminium, double sided swingarm.

For braking, the Monster uses high quality twin radially-mounted Brembo, four piston Monobloc M4-32 calipers gripping 320mm discs and a single 245mm disc on the rear gripped by a single Brembo calliper.  Brakes are ABS-enabled as standard and an option to disable the ABS is available via the instrumentation.

5.Electronic rider aids and safety equipment

The Ducati Monster 821 uses Ducati’s Riding Mode technology to incorporate three-level ABS and eight-level Ducati Traction Control (DTC) into the Ducati Safety Pack concept.

The Monster offers a choice of three pre-set Riding Modes: Sport, Touring and Urban. Each Riding Mode is pre-programmed to instantly change engine character, ABS and traction control intervention – even while riding. An electronic ride-by-wire system uses Ducati’s innovative e-Grip throttle to administer different mappings to regulate power delivery. It’s an electronic interface between the twist grip and the engine which decides the ideal power response depending on the Riding Mode selected and according to the rider’s throttle input.

The Sport mode provides full 112PS power delivered with a ‘high’ ride-by-wire throttle response, reduced DTC intervention and level-one ABS of sport-oriented intervention with no rear lift-up prevention under hard braking.

The Touring mode also delivers full 112PS power, but with a ‘medium’ throttle response, increased DTC system intervention and level-three ABS with maximum braking stability and rear lift-up prevention.

The Urban mode - developed for less experienced and even new riders – provides 75PS, delivered with ‘low’ throttle response, further increased DTC system intervention and three-level ABS with maximum stability and safety.

6.High-performance engine with slipper clutch

The lively twin-cylinder engine delivers 112PS at 9250rpm and 89.4Nm of torque at 7750rpm, with a six speed gear box. The engine offers responsive acceleration at all rev ranges and delivers 85 per cent of maximum output at 5500rpm.

The engine is a fully-stressed chassis member with Panigale-style attachment points for the trellis frame. The engine features an oil-bath, cable operated APTC clutch with ‘slipper’ function and superlight feel at the lever. The clutch design uses a progressive self-servo mechanism that presses the plates together when under drive from the engine, enabling reduction of clutch spring rates. This results in a much lighter clutch lever at the handlebar, ideal in stop-start traffic.

When the drive force is reversed (or over run), the same mechanism reduces the pressure on the clutch plates, enabling them to provide a race-like ‘slipper’ action, which reduces the destabilizing effect on the rear-end under aggressive down-shifting and provides a smoother feeling when closing the throttle or downshifting under normal conditions.

7.  Price and Value

The Ducati Monster 821 will be launched in mid-June, and is expected to be priced around Rs 9 lakh ex-showroom.  It’s certainly not cheap, considering it replaces the outgoing 795, which will be offered at a special price of Rs 6.25 lakh ex-showroom and at 0 per cent interest too, till stocks are cleared out.

At that price point, the Ducati Monster 821 will be pitted against the Kawasaki Z800 and Triumph Street Triple – and both are more affordable than the Ducati. What the Ducati gets, is more equipment - more technology and electronic rider aids - which neither the Triumph nor the Kawasaki offer.