You’ll hear a lot of arm-chair mechanics throw around a lot of nonsense about what Desmodromic Valves actually are, in reality they’re just valves that are opened and closed by the cam shaft. The engine is a stressed member and acts like a part of the frame, this helps reduce weight and increase rigidity, it also allows easy engine access. This is the primary frame of almost all modern Ducatis, it looks a little like a Salvador Dali impression of a ladder and connects the steering head to the swingarm pivot. I’ll outlay all the most common Monsters you’ll find here, but if you stumble across something rare you might need to do a little research into it (then email me and tell me all about it). It isn’t often that you get the best of both worlds in the world of motorcycling, but with the Monster, you really do.ĭue to the extraordinarily long production run of the Monster, there are a significant number of sub-models, variations and and special editions. The trellis frame, purposeful stance and agressive engine combined with the upright riding position, wide handlebars and well placed foot-pegs make riding a Monster a genuine pleasure – if you want to go fast you certainly can, and if you want to cruise into work you can sit up and enjoy the morning sunshine through your visor. There aren’t many people who’ll argue with you when you call the Ducati Monster a modern classic, in fact I’ve never met anyone who tried. The Ducati Monster would quickly become the best selling bike from the Italian marque and even today, still makes up for over half of Ducati’s global sales. The result of this was a surprisingly well balanced, lightweight motorcycle that was an immediate hit with the motoring press around the world. With a trellis frame from the 851/888 series, the engine from the 900 Supersport, the forks from a 750 Supersport and a newly designed, muscular fuel tank the Monster borrowed suspension components and a slew of other parts from production Ducatis. He struggled to get approval from senior executives to actually go ahead with a production bike based on the original design, but working with Massimo Bordi he managed to find many of the parts needed to build the Monster in Ducati’s parts bin – making the production of the bike far more affordable than initially estimated. The Monster started life as a hand-drawn sketch by Galluzzi, an Argentinian-born designer employed by Ducati’s parent company, Cagiva.
Ducati monster full#
The Monster has been in full production since 1993, making this year its 20th year of consecutive production, a remarkable feat of longevity in the fickle and trend-lead motorcycle industry. He can’t possibly have known when he drew the initial outlines how staggeringly successful his design would go on to become, or how absolutely vital it would be to Ducati as the company entered the 21st century. The Ducati Monster is a motorcycle that was designed by Miguel Galluzzi as his personal interpretation of what Marlon Brando would ride if the film “The Wild One” was filmed in the modern day.