it was going to be the Ducati 796 for me,
if ever I had the money, but now a new contender for me has
been announced over here, the Ducati Monster
821 which in sports mode delivers 112bhp, there are three modes, in the
slowest mode output is limited to just 75bhp, changing mode also alters the
traction control and ABS braking settings, it is essentially a
smaller-engined version of the recently released Monster 1200, powered by the
821cc engine that was introduced last year in the supermoto-styled Hypermotard,
the 821 shares most of its chassis, including the tubular steel frame, with the
1200 but has a shorter, twin-sided (instead of single-sided) swinging-arm, the
reduced wheelbase aids manoeuvrability, as do the 821’s slightly lighter weight
and narrower rear tyre, the engine itself is a dohc, (double overhead
camshaft), liquid-cooled V-twin, it is mechanically unchanged from it's bigger
brother apart from a new clutch with a 'slipper' function to ease down-shifts,
a larger airbox and new exhaust system give a slight performance boost
throughout the range, it is said that the engine is notably more responsive
than the old air-cooled Monster 796 at low and high revs, the surprise for me
is that the 821 is liquid cooled, which brings me back to a conversation I had
with a friend Rob in the early 1960s who had a 1936 Scott Flying
Squirrel which was a 596cc water cooled two stroke twin,
I remember asking him, 'what is the advantage of have a water
cooled motorbike' to which he replied, 'there are three, it freezes,
boils and leaks!', the 821 is available over here for
479,900 in red, (at today's rate $14,221. £9,088.), so 796 or 821?
oh the agony of choice!
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