2017 Ducati 1200 Monster review

Ducati’s little M900 Monster was such a sweet little thing, back in 1993. Easy to ride, mellow power, properly unique and a great platform for a whole new swathe of riders to taste Ducati magic. Fast forward to 2017, and we are presented something totally different.

Since the original Monster’s rabid success – particularly for a manufacturer typecast as a sportsbike producer – the competition has piled on. BMW, Suzuki, KTM and everyone else have morphed that originally practical nakedbike into a ‘super naked’ genre, arming fairing-free sleds with quality powerplants, electronic everything, just like the sportsbikes they are based on – and so the Monster has evolved, too.

Standard approach
The two new versions released for 2017 are the S and the standard. Generally, manufacturers want you to test the uber-flash version because, well, it looks better for them. That’s fair. Ducati, however, was more than happy to hand over the “standard” bike to Bikesales, knowing the $20,990 non-S model (the S is $24,790) is well equipped and more than capable of representing the line-up.

It is that, because it includes the Ducati Safety Pack electronics package, including cornering ABS, multi-mode traction and wheelie control, rider modes, the same frame and 1198cc Testastretta 11° DS engine and the quality colour TFT dash.

It lacks a quickshifter, though you can bolt one on, and the S gets Ohlins suspension in place of the Kayaba/Sachs combo, as well as a different wheel and brake package, using Brembo M50s in place of the still-good M4.32 brakes on the standard 1200.

If your budget can’t stretch to the bling version, though, don’t fret – you are still getting a hell of a lot of motorcycle.

Backroad mauler
That engine, also seen in the new SuperSport, is a backroad mauler. Punchy when it needs to be, it’s also flexible enough for you to ride lazily in one gear on the kind of roads that let you flow yourself back into your own head after a long week at work.

I really like this bike’s apparent mildness, because that easy-revving, torque-rich, yet well-contained power delivery is the perfect companion when exploring new roads. Not quite downshifting enough gears won’t leave you floundering mid-corner waiting for the engine to catch up, it can gently get you back on track with its grunt, or can catapult you right back where you need to be with some agro gear-shifting and getting on it.

So while the M900 is a distant memory when comparing spec sheets – in particular that mild 80hp output, it’s around the 150ps mark now – the new Monster has enough civility in it to remind me of how sweet that original bike was to ride. It still feels like a Monster, only with crisper, gruntier and much more accurate power. Then there is the chassis.

The bike is actually heavier than the bike before it – like many new models these days. Larger exhausts are needed to meet the tough Euro 4 emission standards, but what a bike weighs doesn’t necessarily equate with how it feels on the road, and this bike feels stubbier and more Monster-like than the model before. It has a compact feel, despite weighing around 4kg (claimed) more.

That stubbiness doesn’t translate into a lack of stability, however, instead taking me back to that M900 and its pocket-sized manoeuvrability and chuckability, albeit with a crap load more power.

No doubt the up-spec Ohlins on the S version work well, they are generally awesome, however I really like the KYB fork and Sachs has lifted its shock game, too. The pair is well balanced, handling the braking forces from the Brembos one second, then dealing with the Testastretta motor’s demands the next.

There’s none of the compromises in ride position, either, with more logical bar, peg and seat placement than previous Monsters. It feels more welcoming to sit on, instead of stiff and awkward. That stubbiness adds to the feeling of security and solidity, but without a reluctance to steer.

Cornering prowess
The bike folds into a corner compliantly, tracking accurately and even handles bumps better than the average Ducati. It actually reminds me of the user-friendly nature of the Supersport range, in that you can feel the road, but it doesn’t clobber you in the lower back with every ripple because, you know, Aussie roads are awesome…

The stubbiness also means when cornering I feel like I can get right over the front end when in push-on mode.

I do love my M50 Brembos, however the “lesser” M4.32 versions are up to the pace and use of the Monster 1200, if you aren’t stopping quickly enough, work on your technique, don’t blame the brakes, pads, tyres…

This Monster comes with an IMU-controlled cornering ABS set-up, which simply means the bike recognises you are leaned over, so increases the sensitivity of the super-fast anti-locking function. This doesn’t mean you can utterly stuff up corners because your ABS brakes will fix it, it just gives more flexibility in to how the ABS system works and can help keep you rubber side down.

How do you test cornering ABS? Carefully… Honestly, I didn’t take it very far, because what if it doesn’t work..? There’s no reason to think it doesn’t, but it’s a great parachute to have on the road in case you stuff things up.

It is a wide six-inch rim on the back, probably a nod to style more than anything else, but it does look good and the bike’s steering isn’t obviously compromised by having to roll so much rubber over its centre.

DUCATI 1200 MONSTER SPECS

While this Monster has muscled up from last model and certainly since the first, the idea of the original Monster was to provide a practical, fun, sexy alternative to a sportsbike and this bike remains one you can tear apart your local scratching road with, but leaving the chiropractor’s waiting room empty.

The seat is adjustable, something we will see more of, as seat height actually has an influence on whether people buy a bike or not. Personally, I can’t see seat height being a major factor on whether I like a bike or not – your feet don’t need to touch the ground to ride the things, the whole point is not to – but the Ducati at least allows you an inch of butt-room to play with.

Wide bars, quality levers, nice grips, a comfy seat – everything you touch is sweet to use and adds up to a nice place to sit while listening to the engine do its thing. The clutch is a slipper, so bumbled downshifts are less messy than they could be, and the hydraulic ratio is nice. Despite the niceties of swapping cogs, the S version’s powershifter would be on my shopping list if I owned the standard bike, just because a powershifted V-twin has that world superbike feel about it -- and I like to dream. Don’t we all?

Quality hoops
The days of rubbish original tyres are over, Pirelli’s Diablo Rosso IIIs a good fit for this do-anything bike, though it didn’t rain during my all-too-short test period. I have ridden them in the wet before, however, and they continue to amaze me in how far tyres have come on wet roads.

So $20,990 gets you a bike that is light (claimed wet weight of 213kg and feels about right), grunty (“only” 147hp, but with a road-taming 124Nm at 7750rpm), superb throttle response, adjustable seat height, good touring range, looks magnificent (though I’m not overly taken by the ceramic-style paint options, might be showing my age there). Does all that add up?

For Ducati fans it sure does. All the reasons you like a Ducati are there, well presented and with a healthy dose of looking awesome, so Monster lovers from way back will have plenty to salivate over. For non-Ducati fans, who have options aplenty for a grunty naked – KTM Super Duke, Triumph Speed Triple, and even cheaper options such as the excellent Kawasaki Z900 (which is heaps cheaper at $12,499) – it’s not as obvious a choice.

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It’s not the most powerful, it’s not the lightest, but it is one of the classiest, with a long history of being one of the most desirable bikes in the naked line-up, thanks to a formula this bike replicates well – Italian class, a stump-pulling 1198cc V-twin in a compact chassis and now an electronics package to rival a sportsbike. I would even love to get the thing on a track, particularly one like Lakeside or the old Amaroo Park, because that grunt and those brakes would make it a trip into the fantastic.

Buy the red one, splash out on a set of Termis and ride the wheels off it – café, back road, commute, the odd track day, this bike will do it. Don’t feel any shame at not getting the S version, the standard feels anything but, and the way this bike makes you feel is true Monster-spec, and not all bikes can match that.