sharp. The 24 ° rake and the not excessively short 1440mm wheelbase allow it to sweep into corners with little more than a nudge. And it holds a line real nice too. Like its big brother, the 900SS, it’ s a natural line carver and that’ ll please many owners. The brakes are similarly well appointed. The 320mm twin discs and four-piston Brembo combo works well, aided by the braided hoses. Usually braided hoses offer more strength at the expense of feel, but this set-up was perfect. The brake lever( and clutch lever too, with four-way adjustment for span, and a look that was quite‘ factory’ as in racer). was totally wet for the entire test we’ re going to have to reserve final judgement. But the combination of the adjustable 43mm Showa upside-down forks and the monoshock rebound adjustable provided an agreeable and good job in the circumstances. Less so the Dunlop D204 Sportmax radials which really didn’ t want to play at all, coming unstuck countless times. Dunlop make some seriously good tyres these days that’ ll stay stuck in the worst of conditions, so we’ d upgrade on the tyres as a matter of course. The tyres couldn’ t, however, mask the ease with which the chassis was working the twisties. The geometry of the Monster is reasonably
BEST PAL Quite a standout for Ducati was the sidestand, which for once wasn’ t spring loaded and actually felt almost secure in use. Incredible! There’ s a new set of instruments on the beast too, now featuring a tacho. Very nice but I prefer the original speedo-only set up. That’ s a personal observation maybe, but the old mill really doesn’ t need a tacho, with all you can eyeball where it’ s at, and the old set up was pleasingly minimalist, but that’ s me. The indicators for this year have turned ellipsoidal, which is nice. Fundamentally the Monster is a great bike. The ride position is just about perfect – no aches, no pains, and plenty of attitude. It makes all the right noises, oh yes. It also goes damn good for what it is. It looks a peach. And when you ride it, you love it. You care about it, it’ s just your best friend. And whatever you want to do, stunt, race, commute, or tour – like your best mate – it’ s up for it. No fluffing, no bull.
KIWI RIDER 65