Test Ducati M 750 Monster

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Test Ducati M 750 Monster

In the middle

Ducati is striving towards monstrous times: Flanked by the 600 and 900 Monster, the M 750 is now paving a way.

The name – how did Ducati come up with that silly name? Monster. Of course, you got used to it over the years, but that doesn’t make things any better: Monster is really bad. Does not fit – with all goodwill, and there is certainly no lack of balance in the M models. Because they have it, have what so many of their conspecifics miss: charisma.
One sees such an undisguised Ducati for the umpteenth time and is surprised by this sight for the umpteenth time: no familiar shapes, no imitations, no comprehensible whole that could get stuck in the memory tunnel. A monster doesn’t look like this or that, but every time different and in every case very, very extravagant. People like that, as the sales figures show, that’s why the Monster makers recently created an M 750 that fits seamlessly between the M 600 and M 900.
Undoubtedly the best thing about the new one is that it costs around 3,000 marks less than the 900s. On the other side of the coin, however, there is a surcharge of 3,000 marks compared to the 600. Very nasty, this train, the 750 has little more to offer than the cookie monster, from which the entire chassis could be taken over unchanged. Certainly there is still the engine, the plus in horsepower, but here too Ducati didn’t have to reinvent the wheel: The Desmo-V2 comes from the 750 SS. Well, at least you know what you have.
What comes to mind after the problem-free start-up process, however, brings back few memories of the last 750 series tested: it certainly did not plot so cautiously. The tones of the M 750 no longer have much in common with the legendary Ducati sound due to the increasingly sharper noise limit.
Otherwise, however, everything takes its usual course: The clutch – exactly, there was something – hydraulically operated and still more difficult to move than a rusted door handle. Noise – oh yes – first gear, drives in as if to smash the gearbox. Now the familiar jerking up to 2500 revolutions. That dry spell during which the cylinders are desperately trying to get in line. Who would have thought that one could miss that. And then, at 3000 rpm: the knot burst. How seriously the engine starts now, dashes and pushes and pulls and makes and does without loss of pressure through the middle area – pure joy. And how it then penetrates into the highest regions, where the rev limiter can only stop it – an addictive substance.
Everything that drives in front of the engine should confidently start course towards Mullheim. Starting with the upside-down fork, which – apart from looking important – can do very little. Small bumps in the road surface do not cause any reaction. Only really rough asphalt faults move the stubborn spring element to respond. Under adverse circumstances, this insensitive behavior can cause such a hideous thing as slapping the handlebars. Now the 41 fork is not only lacking in sensitivity, but also in steadfastness: not a single one of 120 millimeters of spring travel is left when braking hard. No more fun is when braking in an inclined position, when the fork is submerged by the enormous righting moment of the 120/60 front tire, which can ruin everything, not just the line.
There is also little good news to report about the brake system itself, it can neither serve with a clearly defined pressure point nor with a convincing effect. Of course, the M 750 only has one disc in the front wheel, but this is not a sufficient explanation for the fact that a motorcycle weighing just 191 kilograms runs away like an old Camembert when braking.
The weaknesses of the M 750 decrease towards the rear: the adjustable shock absorber does not bother in solo operation, and what it does under double load does not really matter, since two-person operation should be avoided out of Christian charity. Ducati didn’t really mean the pillion seat seriously. Only those who measure under 1.60 meters feel like a person back there. However, the monsters are generally closed to tall people, because the management position was also tailored to the body: those who are over 1.85 meters long don’t have to laugh too much on the Ducati, the rest of the crowd can, for once, grin their fingers . Yes, you too, with your short legs: a seat height of 780 millimeters can even be managed by running meters.
And don’t panic: the thing is bursting with handiness. A slight pull on the wide handlebars and it goes in the desired direction. The M 750 does not make any complaints on well-maintained lanes, the roads get worse, but their good behavior is noticeably lost. The nervous poking around with the fork causes a certain unrest in the chassis, which makes finding the line much more difficult. It’s not really fun, but not really bad either.
W.The monsters only take on really dangerous moves in small and small businesses. Turning, for example, can degenerate into a horror tip: Zack, no sooner have you turned the front wheel than the fork slaps against the steering stop, and Italy’s pride is down. Then there is this side stand that folds back as soon as it is relieved: another very nasty trap. You shouldn’t put too much trust in the control lights, they flash according to the pleasure principle. But you feel stupid to list all these points over and over again, only to be told later that you just don’t have it under control, that you are completely wrong instead of in the middle.

My conclusion

To the middle, please: After the power output collapse of the M 900, almost as strong as this one and at least nine horsepower richer than the M 600, the M 750 could develop into a boss monster. The 750 engine is my favorite anyway: At low revs, not quite as rough as the 900 engine and overall not quite as good as that of the M 600, it hits the proverbial golden mean. On the chassis side, however, the monster drifts off the path of virtue. The telescopic fork belongs to the lousy variety, and the world has seen much better front brakes. Deficiencies that Ducati could eliminate without a lot of pen reading. A small facelift, in the course of which you could perhaps put your hand on the side stand, the steering lock and the control lights: But please: stay away from the external appearance. The design of the monsters is inviolable.

Three models, one face: how the monsters differ

The three monsters resemble each other like one egg to another. To be able to tell them apart, you need a second and third glance. Outwardly, the M 600 differs from the M 750 solely in that it does not have an oil cooler. Internally, the two separate nine horsepower and the price is 2,650 marks. Smart foxes now know: The 600 costs 13,690 marks including everything. An M 900, which is the only representative of the Monster family with a double disc brake and, most recently, an adjustable telescopic fork, comes to 19,390 marks. In terms of performance, the 900 has been looking bad since the beginning of this year. Due to increasingly strict noise and emissions regulations, the giant monster of a nominal 80 horsepower only 67 remained. With that, the main argument for buying an M 900 will probably have been shattered. So: make way for the middle class M..

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