2021 Ducati Monster review | The trellis frame may be gone, but the Monster's DNA can still be felt

Brakes are fabulous - great power and feel on the way into turns. Despite its non adjustability and the absence of premium branding, the suspension strikes a surprisingly good compromise between comfort and control feeling well set up for bumpy B roads (I’m 11 stone).

Love the way it makes power off the bottom, and then surges to the red line - all with L twin immediacy and distinct mechanical character. Can be a bit clattery below 3k, but easy to avoid. Clutch feel, and gearbox great, quick shifter best with revs and load.

100% reliable so far after a year and 3,000 miles. Some annoying corrosion on the exhaust header, but finish otherwise great.

Unknown not yet had to service it.

Usual bewildering array of electrical gizmos. I just leave it in “sport” - where the traction, anti-wheelie, and abs are remarkably unobtrusive in operation, and the throttle response is acceptably sharp.

It feels light and agile which makes it a joy to ride along fast A and B roads, but its also easy to ride around town at low speeds.The seat and the bike itself are narrow near the tank, which will be an advantage if you’re a shorter rider, as it should make it easier to get your feet flat(er) on the ground. Also the low weight and lack of ‘top-heavy’ feel makes it feel more confidence inspiring than a taller/heavier bike.I’m a smidge under 6 foot tall and ~80 Kg and it fits me like a glove. It feels like you’re sat in it, rather than on it, which I really like. Initially I thought the pegs were a bit high, so I feel like I’m squatting rather than being sat upright, but its surprisingly comfortable despite this, and the semi-sporty position means you feel relaxed when just cruising or pootling about, and you can quickly shift to a more aggressive position if you want to channel your inner Bagnaia.It copes well with Bristol and Somerset’s ever increasingly pot-holed roads.The pillion riding position is surprisingly good, despite the modest seat size. I’ve been informed that its more comfortable than being on the back of my Scrambler Icon.There does seem to be some vibration through the handlebars.It’s not much fun on motorways due to wind buffeting, but its a naked bike, so this is to be expected.The seat is comfortable but I find that after about 2 hours of riding I get a bit of ‘numb bum’, so I need to stop and stretch my legs, but this tends to coincide with the the ‘low fuel’ light coming on, so its usually time to fuel up anyway.Brakes are very good, just warn your pillion how good they are before you start a ride, otherwise they’ll be constantly bumping into the back of your helmet.

Unless you’re a track day veteran or a hooligan, it has more performance than you’ll ever need.Overtaking is a delight and the engine noise, oh the engine noise! (NB - standard exhaust cans, not Termis).But its not a super aggressive beastie that wants to be revved hard all the time (say, like a KTM), instead its docile at low speeds, and when you want to crack on it’ll pull like a train.The engine sounds ‘clattery’ at low revs - I think think this is just a characteristic of the Desmodromic valves and is normal (my pillion described it as sounding like a “bag of hammers” which I thought was a little unfair).

There are no exposed wires to be found anywhere and every component looks to be well designed, manufactured and put together.The handlebar levers and switches ooze quality, they have a solid feel and are perfectly positioned.The only reliability issue was picked up during the 1st annual service: the front discs had warped and were replaced under warranty, but I hadn’t noticed any degradation in performance.

Annual Servicing costs: £255 - Initial 1000km / 622 miles service (2022) £213 - Annual service (2023) I’d say it’s good value considering the build quality, looks and performance.It maybe a bit pricier than its rivals, but I suspect the residual value will offset this a little.Plus there’s that feeling you get when you go in the garage and there’s this beautiful object standing there waiting to be ridden and you know you’ll be smiling all the way - I don’t think I’d get the same feeling from a KTM, Yamaha or a Triumph.Fuel economy is good (~56 mpg).

Despite its modest size, the dash is clear, easy to read and gives you all the info. you need. In dark conditions it switches from a white background to black, so again easy to read at various light levels.Handlebar switches aren’t backlit, but I don’t ride much at night, so not a problem for me.The quickshifter/auto-blipper work flawlessly, but if you try to shift from 1st to 2nd at less than ~3000rpm, the bike will lurch forward.I’ve had the Ducati heated grips fitted and they’re pretty effective, although they can’t do anything to reduce wind blast on your knuckles on really cold days.The fuel tank could be bigger - the warning light comes on super early, just after the gauge dips below the halfway point, which gives an indicated ~45 miles range remaining, so there should be plenty of time to find a petrol station.There are limited options to fit pannier racks and the ones I’ve seen attach to the rear foot pegs and look silly, so I use a Kriega US-40 Rackpack. NB - don’t make the same mistake I did and try to combine this with wearing a rucksack, because you’ll have to crouch forward which is uncomfortable.

Once the springs were right ride quality was great. The bike handles like a dream and is so light you can really push it into the corners. The brakes will stop on a dime, just make sure you are ready.

No issues.

I daily my bike and ride it hard when i gey the chance, so in year 1. 2 sets of tires (not included in cost) Replaced the front and rear springs to get it setup correctly.($300) 2 oil changes. Initial oil change was $600 at the dealer and the second was $300. Dealer prices at least in the US have gotten really high.

The electronics are great. The one thing they missed is a cruise control option. I take this bike on long trips because I love to ride it. That is the one feature I wish it had for long straight roads.

Great handling and more than enough power for road riding

Termignonis are a superb addition. Transforms the bike

Excellent. Commuting to work on a daily basis (around 50 km). The bike runs hot, that's the only complaint I have (reaches 100 to 101 C in traffic). Otherwise, it is super responsive and super dynamic. I can go from 90km/h to 120km/h quickly while I'm in 5th gear. It is also a safe back. No surprises, very responsive, excellent brakes.

Excellent. Love the sound of the engine. Runs hot, but I won't penalise for that.

9000 km and no issue to report. Knock on wood. Build quality is excellent and solid. Regular maintenance is far and between (first one at 1000 km, where they tweak your bike and it becomes more powerful) second one at 15000km or one year after the 1st one.

Low maintaining cost

Suspension is extremely predictable and has never felt unstable even riding over large bumps on rough Chicago roads.

Torque everywhere and power really comes on after 7k rpm.

10k miles and absolutely nothing has had to be done except the break in/annual service, chain maintenance and a rear tire replacement after a puncture.

Roughly the cost of the annual maintenance, which should be all you need. Tire wear has been shockingly low with my original set of front tires still showing decent amount of life after 10k miles. Rears also had maybe 40% life left when I punctured them on a nail at 7k miles. Probably a result of the low weight of the bike(~415lbs)/myself(160lbs with gear), half my rides taking place in the cooler months (only stored my bike Jan-March, ~100mi weekly commute other months in Chicago), and a relatively smooth riding style (of course I occasionally squid but I always roll on throttle and brake).

Heated grips and rebound/compression adjustable shocks should have come standard. That being said, the stock shocks are tuned extremely well.

Great brakes and suspension setup very good, Highway expansion joints will rock you, however. Comfortable ergonomics and seating.

Versatile and characterful.

Shouldn’t be bad

Latest evolution of the 937 smoother and has qualities that reveal themselves with use. Great match.

Like rideing something on steriouds..

150 for first service knly just put 600 miles on it nxt service around 7or 8 thousand .

see how it ages

Feels strong with good feedback

Love it

Only 600 miles but feels solid

Quite cheap for Sweden

Would be nice to have cruise control

Feels awesome, strong breaks, suspension good even for a stock non adjustable suspension.

So flexible, power everywhere. I can't understand why anyone would need quicker

Brand new hard to say yet

Great standard features. Misses cruise control but I'm not too bothered.