Issue 127 : February - March 2003
Spaghetti Monster
Teutonic Tourer
Jet-powered Tourer
Lightning Muscle
Mountain Men
MAG Campaign Issues
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Spaghetti Monster
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Spaghetti Monster
What this means is that it now has seven models using four engine sizes to give the customer a pretty impressive choice if they are looking for a naked street bike. The appeal of having Ducati's famed handling and their now legendary L-twin motor seems to keep going, so the factory have obliged by offering a whole new range of motors to power not only the Monster, but some of their sports bikes as well. Right bang in the middle of the range is the new 800, which basically replaces the old 750 version, which to my mind was the most underrated model in the range. Obviously quicker and with more power than the entry level 600 and then 620, it was far smoother than the bigger 900 model in the range. It had more torque and was an easy bike to ride in traffic although it did not seem to sell in any great numbers. However, while the buying public may not have appreciated its virtues, factory engineers obviously did because this new 800 model shares all those attributes. Sure you can rev it all the way through the new six-speed box (previously the 750 had five) and reach the 120-ish top speed in a very short space of time. However, that loses you the chance to experience the creamy mid-range of this new motor that has the benefit of a glitch free fuel injection system as well.
Certainly from a practical point of view I do not doubt any of the figures, the motor is a real smoothie and will deliver the goods in the nicest way possible and always under full control. It will trickle through traffic or it will blast through to three figures all from delicate throttle openings.  For basically a naked bike it is surprisingly comfortable at high speeds and what appears to be nothing more than a cosmetic fly screen above the round headlamp must be given some of the credit. The bars are wide and flat and do little to drop you below the blast, so it must be down to the screen. The riding position is very comfortable and should be the same throughout the range as all models now share the same trellis frame. However, cheaper Dark models (£500) of which there is one in the 800 range have a steel swinging arm as opposed to the aluminum one on the bike tested here. The 800S i.e. does have better ground clearance than the Dark version, although both come with the option of lower seat heights if required.
Twin 320mm discs at the front gripped by four piston calipers backed up by a 245mm single disc at the rear mean that you can exploit the bike's potential with little to worry about if the situation ahead changes at the last minute. There is plenty of feedback and they compliment the overall package well! Pillions may disagree that this is a good package as they still get a raw deal with the seat being hidden under a cowling, which has to be removed before they can hop aboard. Then comfort levels are few with nothing to hold onto, but these days that sort of comment can be leveled against the vast majority of bikes on the market. The only other slightly negative point is that due to its exposed engine it does pick up the dirt and debris in a big way and in winter months, is a pain to keep clean. However, despite literally being ridden with most of it under water at times on the test, it never missed a beat, such is the standards of electrical and general weatherproofing from the Italian factory these days! What this new bike is, is what the Monster range has always been, a practical fun bike that you can just get on and ride. It offers very little in the way of frills, but this new 800 motor is as much a peach as the 750 was before it. Hopefully this time it will not be ignored in the same way. Sure the power freaks will want the new 1000cc version with its Dual Spark head, but once again I personally feel that this mid range model with be the most practical of the range. It will be powerful enough for long distances, frugal enough and useable around town also the insurance rates should be better. But the bottom line is the price at £6,500 it comes as something of a bargain for those riders shopping in the naked market place! Check it out at a Ducati dealer near you, it is worth the trip. Ian Kerr  |
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Ducati Monster 800S i.e. Without doubt Ducati launched the largest number of new bikes at this year's Munich show. Now while it is fair to say that many were updates of existing models, the changes were something more than just new graphics or the odd tweak here and there. The now well-established and popular Monster range got a whole new range of engines so that it now starts with an entry level 620 and goes through to the top of the range 1000cc model.
The old motor has been taken out to 803cc with a whole raft of other tweaks that includes a new aluminum clutch basket and lighter plates to go with the new box. They claim it now has an extra 9bhp taking it to 73 bhp, which incidentally is the figure claimed for the original 900 Monster way back in 1993 when it was launched!
At the front end the 43mm inverted forks lack any form of adjustment, while at the rear the Sachs single suspension unit gets only spring pre-load and rebound damping adjustment. Even with this lack or fine-tuning it takes a lot to make the bike misbehave in any way. The steering is light and sharp, which coupled with the low center of gravity, makes the bike quite good fun both through the lanes and at low speed through traffic. Once again the relatively limited steering lock is the main deciding factor in town when looking for gaps in slow to stationary queues of traffic.