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The Ducati Monster lineup will grow by another model for the 2023 model year, as the Italian brand has announced the new Ducati Monster SP for next year.

Available in January 2023, the Ducati Monster SP boasts Öhlins suspension, Brembo Stylema calipers, and a homologated Termignoni exhaust amongst other key features.

With a price tag of $15,595 MSRP for the USA, the Monster SP commands a $2,900 price difference over the lesser-spec’d Monster+.

That extra coin gets you the above-mentioned goodies, along with a “MotoGP inspired” livery, lithium-ion battery, and a steering damper. All told, the Monster SP is just under 5 lbs lighter than its cheaper sibling.

Editor’s note: Breaking my collarbone just a couple weeks before the press launch of the new Ducati Monster in San Francisco, I asked the most discerning Ducatisti I knew to take my place and test this new street bike fro Asphalt & Rubber.

Colin has seen more than a few Ducati’s in his garage over his many, many years, so he knows the history of this iconic motorcycle name, and yet he has enough “other” bikes in his garage so as not to be a complete Italian snob. Enjoy his words, and the properly English accent they were written in. -JB

First a confession: I feel like an imposter. I am neither a moto-journalist nor a professional rider. But, I do have some qualifications.

I own an eclectic collection of Ducati icons from the 80s and 90s, and many other newer Ducatis have passed through my hands over the last 30 years including a beautiful, raucous, guttural, black Monster S4RS in the late aughts.

Now a second confession: that Monster was the only bike that ever really scared the crap out of me.

The ferocious power and torque and no electronics meant the front wheel needed no excuse to leave the pavement; usually when I least expected it and was not paying attention. This was a design feature not a fault.

It was…is…the reason people wanted that Monster. For me, it was exciting but exhausting. It had to go.

The next iteration of an Italian legend, the Ducati Monster sees a clean-slate design enter the very hot middleweight-twin category for the 2021 model year.

The Monster faces steep competition in this space, with plenty of stout offerings coming from European brands, which aggressively balance features against price.

Ducati has given us a strong offering though, with the new Monster making 110hp and costing south of $12,000 – right in line with the other heavy-hitters in the segment.

But what about what is not included in the spec-sheet? Well, that is why we are in San Francisco today, riding the 2021 Ducati Monster on a fun coastal route to see how it rolls in the real world.

A little something to get the week headed in the right direction, here is the “Braida” Ducati Monster concept by Paolo Tesio at Tex Motorbike.

The machine exists only as a digital render (for now), but it has some interesting ideas for a futuristic take on this classic motorcycle name.

We especially like the front fairing design, which just blends right into the front wheel and is fitted with a set of perimeter discs.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Ducati Monster, one of the most important motorcycles in the Italian company’s lineup. To mark the occasion, Borgo Panigale produced the Ducati Monster 1200 25° Anniversario – a machine that is finally set to be in Ducati dealerships this month.

But, what if you wanted another historic paint job to celebrate this silver jubilee for the Monster? That is where this Ducati Monster 1200 Tricolore from Motovation finds its niche. We have posted photos of Motovation’s Tricolore work before, when the aftermarket house tarted up the Multistrada 1200 in an Italian flag livery, and the effect on the Monster is no less.

Back in April, Kevin Dunworth of Loaded Gun Customs ran into Miguel Galluzzi at the Handbuilt Show in Austin and asked him to come to Los Angeles to serve as a judge for the inaugural Golden Bolt Motorcycle Show.

For those of you who don’t know who Miguel Galluzzi is, let me clue you in. He is the designer of the iconic Ducati Monster, the Moto Guzzi California 1400, and the Aprilia Dorsoduro, just to name a few.

Additionally, he is currently running Piaggio’s Advanced Design Center in Pasadena, California. Not only that, he is a lifelong motorcyclist and a heck of a nice guy.

I had a chance to sit down with Galluzzi for about 15 minutes during the Golden Bolt to talk about motorcycles and the industry in general. His insights were illuminating.

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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.

The third amigo to Ducati’s air-cooled posse debuting at EICMA, the Ducati Monster 797 brings back Bologna’s 803cc two-valve engine to the Monster family.

The return of the Monster 797 also happens to add a third model to Ducati’s iconic street-focused Monster line, offering another affordable entry point into the Ducati brand for those who aren’t interested in the Italian company’s scrambler or café racer models.

Your weekly two-wheeled podcast addiction continues with Episode 30 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast. This installment sees us discussing three different powertrains, the motorcycles that they power.

First up is Harley-Davidson’s new Milwaukee-Eight engine, which will power its Big Twin touring models for the 2017 model year. We then turn our attention to Ducati (no surprise there), and discuss the seeming return of the air-cooled Ducati Monster, which was spied last week.

We finish the show with a lengthy debrief on the Alta Motors Redshift MX, as Quentin and I had previously spent a day riding this electric dirt bike in the mountains near Portland, Oregon.

As always, you can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!