2015 DUCATI MONSTER 821
FIRST RIDE
P94
BY ALAN CATHCART
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MILAGRO
T
he importance of the Mon-
ster family of models to
Ducati's balance sheet
can't be overstated. Indeed, the
only reason the Italian sportbike
manufacturer stayed in business
long enough to eventually be
acquired by the VW/Audi Group
two years ago was because back
in 1990 designer Miguel Galluzzi
converted a factory 888 Super-
bike into the ultimate in-your-face
Streetfighter. And with that the
Monster was born.
Now some 295,000 examples
in various guises and perfor-
mance levels have hit the market-
place since its 1993 debut – and
it's a motorcycle that has not only
established itself as a style icon,
it's also one that has provided the
financial platform to carry Ducati
to 14 World Superbike Cham-
pionships and an upset 800cc
MotoGP World Championship.
Since it has represented over 50
percent of the company's total
production for the past 21 years,
it really is a case of no Monster,
no money for racing. And no
sportbike supreme like the 916
and its successors.
So when Ducati launches a
new Monster platform, its arrival
has ramifications way beyond the
obvious. Thus the debut of the
all-new 1200 Monster last No-
vember was at the EICMA Show
and was, commercially speak-
ing, just the antipasto to the main
course – the new Monster 821.
The 821 is the downsized version
of that statement of intent that
represents the real roll of the dice
for the Italian company's manage-
ment, who are counting on it be-
coming the best selling model of
any across its six-platform lineup
(Panigale, Diavel, Hypermotard,
Streetfighter, Multistrada and –
Monster).
Indeed, think of it as the Mon-
ster family's equivalent of the
Panigale 899 versus its 1199 big
brother - complete with the same
cost-cutting twin-sided swingarm
versus its sibling's single-sided
THE MOST
The Monster 821 is
Ducati's mid-sized
version of what
has long been the
brand's biggest
seller.
