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Ducati Monster SP Arrives for the 2023 Model Year

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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.

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Reviews

What It’s Like to Ride the 2021 Ducati Monster, A Review

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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.

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Reviews

Gone Riding: Ducati Monster

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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.

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Bikes

Ducati Monster “Braida” Concept by Tex Motorbike

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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.

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A&R Pro

15 Minutes with Miguel Galluzzi

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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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Bikes

Limited Edition Celebrates 25 Years of the Ducati Monster

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This year marks the 25th year of the Ducati Monster, one of the most iconic motorcycles ever to come out of the Borgo Panigale assembly line. To commemorate this 25-year mark, we have the aptly named Ducati Monster 1200 25° Anniversario.

A special edition version of the Italian naked bike, only 500 Anniversario models will be produced for the world’s market, with the highlight being the machine’s tricolore livery and gold frame and wheels.

Mostly an aesthetic exercise, the Ducati Monster 1200 25° Anniversario comes with some top-shelf parts, and a number of pieces to make this a unique member of any Ducatisti’s garage.

Key features include Öhlins suspension, forged Marchesini wheels, and Ducati’s up/down quickshifter mechanism. A bevy of carbon bits are also included, as well as pieces from the Ducati Performance catalog, made by Rizoma.

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Bikes

Ducati Monster 797 – The Air-Cooled Monster Returns

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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.

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Rumors

Ducati Monster 939 Almost Certainly Coming for 2017

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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.

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Bikes

Air-Cooled Engines Returning to the Ducati Monster Line

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Ducati’s 2017 line seems to be getting the full monty this week, with yet again more spy photos emerging of the Italian company’s upcoming motorcycles. Today’s installment sees us looking at the Ducati Monster line, which appears to be getting a third variant for 2017.

As you can see from the photo above, the Ducati Monster lineup will see the addition of an air-cooled model, likely one that shares the same 803cc lump that is found in the Ducati Scrambler.

This so-called Ducati Monster 803 will slot in below the other Monster models, which will likely include a Ducati Monster 939 and an updated Ducati Monster 1200.

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Bikes

A Panigale-Powerd Ducati Monster Looks Really Good

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I’m not a fan of the Monster line from Ducati. There, I said it. There is just something about the Monster models over the years that has failed to strike me as appealing, though I must say the latest crop of liquid-cooled Monsters has certainly been a step forward for me, visually.

I’m more of a fan of the Ducati Streetfigther lineup, and I still hope that Ducati has a new Streetfighter design somewhere on its design boards. Ideally, such a machine would have a Superquadro engine at its heart, and accordingly make big horsepower numbers that rip our eyeballs from our sockets.

The fate of the Streetfighter line remains to be seen though, and with each passing model year I expect to see the Streetfighter 848 finally leave the Italian company’s lineup. It would seem the Streetfighter is kaput as of the 2016 model year. -JB

As such, the Monster line could be Ducati’s only naked bike model, any year now. So, if time is really against us, and if the Monster really is to be the only naked bike from Ducati, I hope the future iterations take a lesson from this concept.

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