Test Ride: Ducati Monster 821 2014

The Monster 821 looks cool, is easy to ride yet offers the speed and power to keep you excited. The sound of the bike is just awesome, as soon as it started up we all wanted a ride. Buying the Monster 821 even second hand isn’t practically cheap, but you pay for quality. The 821 is entirely new, different and overall an excellent ride.  Engine This bike offers a liquid-cooled, 821cc, 8v V-twin. As mentioned, the 821 sounds excellent when it starts up. Going round town at slow speed the engine feels a little lumpy, but nothing that’s too much work. The engine has an impressive amount of instant torque and power, which comes in handy darting around bends.  Handling The 821 is an forgiving ride, it has extremely light controls which makes everything a little easier. This is a great bike for a newbie’s first big ride, the ABS brakes are very good and clocks are easy to read while riding along. It’s a nice light bike, having a dry wet of 179.5 kg which you can feel in the steering at slow speeds. The ergonomics feel tight and compact while sitting on the 821, which is ideal.  Seat height The Monster 821 has a fully adjustable at 30.9” – 31.9”, this was a great height for me (at 5.4” tall). I was on the lower setting and I was able to have both feet flat on the floor at stand still. I generally stop on one foot but it was quite nice to know I had the option. The seat itself was a lot more comfortable then it looked! Obviously not a tourer standards, but it could easily spend a few hours at a time on that seat without getting a numb butt.  Weight As I mentioned this is a light bike, having a dry weight of 179.5kg and wet of 205.5kg. Walking with the bike was fine, the bars were higher than I expected at 1061mm but I was still able to manoeuvre the Monster without any problems.  Quality The Monster 821 isn’t the cheapest bike in this category, but it takes you back to the good old saying ‘you get what you pay for’.  Reliability reviews on this bike are excellent, so maybe Ducati have changed their ways?! This bike has a three-level ABS  system, which is adjustable with a closed throttle and can turn completely off if you wish. The Ducatis team have given added ‘Ducati Safety Pack (DSP)’, what more could you want.   We Buy Any Bike Rating :