It was just last week that we saw Ducati North America recalling nearly 6,000 motorcycles from several of its lines, including the Monster lineup, for issues with their rear brake hoses.
And now today, we see another 1,312 Monsters getting recalled for a similar issue (though there is likely overlap on the bike’s affected between the two recalls).
Specifically, this recall concerns the fact that the rear brake hose may be susceptible to heat damage, for a variety of different reasons.
If you bought a Ducati Monster, Supersport, or XDiavel in the past few years, you may have gotten hosed…rear brake hosed, that is.
Affecting 5,909 motorcycles, Ducati North America is recalling the Monster 797 (2017-2020), Monster 821 (2018-2020), Monster 1200 (2017-2020), Supersport (2017-2020), and XDiavel (2016-2020) models because their rear brake hose line may allow air into the braking system.
With industry trade shows like EICMA and INTERMOT having to cancel their 2020 plans because of coronavirus concerns, motorcycle brands are having to get creative on how they are debuting their 2021 wares.
To that end, Ducati has just released its plan, and it involves over a month of stealing headlines with its new model year releases.
I don’t rate the Ducati Monster 821 as a particularly strong motorcycle for the track, but after seeing the latest creation from XTR Pepo, I might rethink that opinion.
The Spanish builder calls this creation “PANTAH” which is an homage to the Ducati Pantah whose form it attempts to replicate.
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Of course though, the styling has that obvious look that Pepo has honed over the years, especially with his Ducati builds, and the effect looks like something that would be perfectly comfortable at a weekday bike night, as it would a weekend track day.
In addition to the Ducati Panigale V4 recall that we saw earlier this week, we have another safety issue from the Bologna brand.
This time it concerns the Monster 821, Monster 1200, and Supersport models from Ducati, which may suffer from the shift lever having been incorrectly assembled, which could possibly result in the shift knob detaching from the lever.
If the knob falls off the shifter, a bike could get stuck in gear, which poses a safety issue to the rider, so a recall has been created with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
In total, 2,705 units from the 2017, 2018, and 2018 model years are affected by this recall.
If I was a betting man, I would put money down that this is the last model year for the Monster 821. I say this because Ducati just debuted at EICMA the Ducati Monster 821 Stealth – a special edition version of the popular street bike.
Beyond the obviously dark paint job, the 2019 Ducati Monster 821 Stealth offers a few improvements over your run-of-the-mill Monster 821.
First up are the adjustable 43mm Kayaba forks (the standard Monster 821 forks are non-adjustable). Then, there is the nose fairing/windscreen. And lastly, Ducati has installed an up/down quickshifter on the Stealth model.
Ducati is set to release five new models at this year’s EICMA show, and it is giving us a sneak peak at one of the first of those machines: the 2018 Ducati Monster 821.
The basic mechanics of the previous Monster 821 remain the same, but for the new year, the Italian brand has revised the Ducati Monster 821 to look more like its bigger sibling, the Ducati Monster 1200.
As such, the fuel tank and tail of the Monster 821 have been changed, along with the bike’s exhaust and headlight. Ducati has also added a full color TFT display to the Monster 821, which shows selected gears and fuel status.
With the spotting of a new air-cooled Ducati Monster motorcycle for the 2017 model year, we can make some logical assumptions about what the Italian marque is up to for next year. One of those assumptions is the new Ducati Monster 939.
A 2017 Ducati Monster 939 was almost a certainty the second we saw the Ducati Hypermotard 821 getting bored out with a 937cc upgrade. Since the Monster 821 and the Hypermotard 821 share the same engine, it only makes sense for the two models to eventually share the 937cc power plant.
What adds fodder to this notion though is Ducati’s move to add a cheap and basic Monster model to its roster, in the form of the air-cooled two-valve model that we spotted earlier today.
Ducati Motor Holdings is happy to report that its 2015 sales are off to a great start: up 22% over the first half of 2014. In total, 32,600 motorcycles have been sold by Ducati since January, the most ever sold by Ducati during that time period.
Ducati is also saying that 9,000 of the machines sold were Scrambler models, making the model the most popular in Ducati’s lineup by a strong margin.
For reference, the sales of the other models are as follow: Multistrada 1200 (4,700), Monster 821 (3,700), 1299 Panigale (3,000), the remaining 12,000 units come from the Diavel, 899 Panigale, Hypermotard, and Monster 1200
Ducati says it grew across all of its sales territories, with the USA still the company’s #1 market, and sporting a 10% growth figure so far this year. The USA didn’t post the biggest numbers though, with following countries showing strong sales growth: Italy (+51%), Spain (+38%), the UK (+36%), Germany (+24%), and France (+23%).
Ducati Motor Holding is reporting another record sales year, and that the Italian motorcycle manufacturer sold 45,100 bikes in 2014. This marks the fifth year in a row that Ducati has shown sales growth, and it’s the third year in a row that the sales figures have been an all-time record for the Italian brand.
Sales for 2014 were up 2% over 2013, with the USA again leading as Ducati’s most important market (8,804 units sold in the USA). Unsurprisingly, the Asian market is growing quickly for Ducati as well, up 11% in 2014.
Another “bold new graphics” model from Ducati, the Ducati Monster 821 Stripe and Ducati Monster 1200 S Stripe add exactly what the name implies, a racing stripe to the naked bike’s sweeping lines.
The double-white side-stripe is painted on the mudguard, fuel tank, passenger seat cover, and fairing/windscreen. Completing the look are carbon fiber belt covers, and a Ducati Performance license plate holder. Huzzah.