Ducati Monster 821 and Monster 1200 in comparison test

Ducati Monster 821 and Monster 1200 in comparison test

Which offers more monsters for the money?

The two finally herald the new era for Ducati’s bestseller: Ducati Monster 821 and Ducati Monster 1200 push the Monster series into a new performance class thanks to water cooling and four-valve technology. Only: which one offers more monsters for the money?

Because of small – with measured 107 PS sends the D.ucati Monster 821, from now on the entry into the monster world, more power to the rear wheel than the old, air-cooled 1100 Evo. Should be enough for the speedy roadster. Does the Ducati Monster 1200, which is 2800 euros more expensive, even need? This question is entirely justified, especially because at first glance the two water monsters are like one egg to the other. The same powerful lines, the same beefy proportions. The Monster series has remained true to itself for over 20 years, and the two newcomers continue this beautiful tradition, regardless of the loss of cooling fins and water pump hoses.

Ducati Monster 821 and Monster 1200 in comparison test

Which offers more monsters for the money?

Ducati Monster 821 more bang: 377 cubic meters, 21 hp and a peak of 29 Nm torque lie between the twins.

Both machines exaggerated viciously on the gas

As the twin optics suggest, the ergonomics of the Ducati Monster 821 and the Ducati Monster 1200 are similar. This sporty, forward-sloping seating position, the handles are far apart – that’s still typical Monster, but now that the driver is much closer to the Handlebar sits, much more relaxed and comfortable. Both L-Twins are controlled completely electronically via ride-by-wire and offer three freely programmable driving modes if required: Sport (full power, direct throttle response), Touring (full power, smoother throttle response) and Urban (reduced power, smoothest throttle response) – with a suitable setting for ABS and traction control.

What is immediately noticeable: Except in Urban mode, both machines are overly biting on the gas. The Ducati Monster 821 in particular makes a good leap forward with normal throttle application. That suggests a lot of power, but city trips become a skill exercise. They would not need this dazzling work at all. Even the Testastretta twin known from the Hypermotard 821 and heavily modified for the Monster 821 is a great propellant. Offers great running smoothness, can be driven in the lower gears from 2000 rpm, pushes hard up to 6000 tours, and from then on clicks towards the horizon with great greed and an extra shovel of power. That turns on and is always completely sufficient for courageous gasping.

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Ducati Monster 821 and Yamaha MT-09 in comparison test

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Naked bike

Ducati Monster 821 in the top test

A crowd-puller even while standing

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Ducati Monster 821 is a tad angrier and louder

And the Ducati Monster 1200? If your reactor only really breaks away from a drive beyond the legal speed of country roads, it accelerates similarly early and a bit more well-mannered than the Ducati Monster 821. For those who need it, more is simply more.

The gearboxes don’t help you decide whether you’re big or small: Both are precise, but dry to hard, want to be operated with authority and only allow idling for experienced shifters. But who will dwell on such trivialities with such a soundscape? Ducati Monster 821 and 1200 celebrate all registers of the Vau-Zwei sound construction kit: hammering, roaring, blasting and sizzling that your heart will open. The 821 a tad angrier and louder, the Ducati Monster 1200 with the power of full displacement. In both cases, happiness hormones for the pilot and earplugs for the dear neighbors.

Slight advantages for the Ducati Monster 1200 when braking

Up to this point, the not-so-small of the big ones is sticking close on the heels. And it stays that way in the curve, at least as long as the road is halfway flat. Here the Ducati Monster 821 pleases with neutral turning and good stability. If the surface gets worse, the Ducati Monster 1200 swings the scepter of superiority on the chassis side ice cold. Golden Ohlins dampers are reserved for the S model, which is again 2,500 euros more expensive, but the adjustable USD fork of the 1200s is much more sensitive to unevenness than the simple, non-adjustable counterpart of the 821.

This also dips far when braking hard and thus ensures the righting moment in an inclined position. In connection with the Ducati-typical hard hindquarters, which is overdamped even when the rebound stage is fully open, the Ducati Monster 821 is left behind in the chassis category, and the rear tire with a 60 mm cross-section doesn’t change that either. Slight advantages for the Ducati Monster 1200 also in the section on brakes: The Brembo radial calipers installed on both bikes provide first-class deceleration, but in terms of controllability and lever position, the radial pump of the 1200 series is ahead.

Naked bike

Ducati Monster 1200 S in the top test

The strongest monster ever

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Pros and Cons

Ducati Monster 821.

Ducati Monster 821

more 
• sporty, comfortable seating position
• Snappy, easy-revving engine
• Soundscape
• a lot of monster feeling

minus

• soft, insensitive appealing suspension fork
• Shock absorber overdamped
• aggressive throttle response

Ducati Monster 1200.

Ducati Monster 1200

more 
• Sporty, comfortable seating position
• Lots of pressure in every situation
• high quality spring elements
• Brake
• fine details

minus 
• aggressive throttle response
• Readability of the TFT display in direct sunlight

Technical data and measured values

30th Pictures

Pictures: Ducati Monster 821 and Monster 1200 in comparison test

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MOTORCYCLE

Performance measurement.

Parallel flight: The power and torque curves of the two eleven-degree Testastretta L-Twins are very similar. This is also reflected in the character of the engines. The engine of the Ducati Monster 821 does a little hitch between 4000 and 6000 rpm, but inspires with wonderful revving. The drive of the Ducati Monster 1200 cuts a brilliant figure thanks to its full displacement and corresponding torque in every speed range.

Conclusion

33 Pictures

Pictures: Ducati Monster 821 and Monster 1200 in comparison test

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