The 2021 Ducati Monster Faces Its Competition

Despite having the lowest engine displacement of the quartet, the Triumph Street Triple RS is the most powerful bike in this power-packed comparison. In fact, the lumpy Kawasaki Z900 with its inline-four engine makes just 2PS more. Triumph has worked upon this engine quite a bit to improve its mid-range performance, thanks to its exploits in Moto2. Plus, there’s the aural ecstasy of its exhaust note replete with the characteristic whistle and growl.

While the rest might remain stuck to the tail of the Brit naked on a race track, out in the real world, the other three might just gain the upper hand. Firstly, the torque deficit to the Monster and the Yamaha MT-09 SP is 14Nm and the large Duke has 6Nm more at its disposal. And since all four of these bikes weigh nearly the same, the 890 Duke R is sure to leap forwards like a predator hunting down its prey.

All four motorcycles here have an exhaustive suite of rider electronic aids. Multiple rider modes, traction control, switchable ABS and a bi-directional quickshifter are present as standard on all four. It is the Triumph that misses out on IMU-aided aids, making it the least fussy bike in terms of electronics. The rest three have their strong suits and are a rung above the Triple here. We just feel that in the real world, the Ducati’s hydraulic clutch with a radial master cylinder will make life a lot simpler for the majority of riders.

Underpinnings