I've had my Monster 821 Stripe for 5 months now and have clocked up 2784 miles so far. First and foremost I will start by saying I love the bike. It's great looking and has plenty of power for the many great twisty roads around Northern Ireland. I opted for the Termignoni exhausts, the Ducati tail tidy and an alarm/immobiliser to be fitted when I placed the order, which was quite a few quid extra but well worth it. The noise of the torquey engine is greatly enhanced with the Termignoni cans, the tail tidy makes the bike look so much better and of course the alarm/immobiliser is greater added security. So what's it like to ride? Although the riding position is comfortable, initially I found the foot pegs to be set a little more rearward than what I was used to on previous bikes, but it didn't take long to get used to them. As I said the riding position is great, the wide seat and position of the bars is just right and gives that sporty riding style without having to adopt a racing pose. I also lowered the seat height to lowest setting (30'' inside leg) to allow me to have my feet flat on the ground. So with the riding position sorted it has been nothing but sheer joy clocking up the miles around the province. The bike handles brilliantly, it's light and agile so you can really chuck it in to corners with confidence. The torque you get in all gears and the ride by wire throttle response gives you the power when you want it, especially in the sports mode, and the engine breaking is phenomenal, you barely need to touch the breaks. The three riding modes allow you to chose how you want to ride and as they're all fully adjustable you can set the bike up to exactly how you want it in each mode. You can also adjust the engine power and how it's delivered, the ABS and the DTC, so you can really tailor he bike to your own riding style. I've now got them all set just as I like them, full power with just different degrees of ABS & DTC. The only niggling point I experienced was hitting a lot of false neutrals but after a bit of trail and error adjusting the gear shift, I've now found the right position for me and that along with being a little more forceful when changing up, seems to have solved the problem. Also now having done almost 3000 miles the bike seems to have settled and I'm now getting enough feedback to push it a little harder, especially in the bends corners and roundabouts. In summary, my first Ducati, my first Monster and my new passion, my only regret is that I now wish I'd joined the Ducati family a lot sooner than this!
All Honda's, CB500 followed by 3 CBR6's, the last of which was the Rossi Replica FS. All great bikes, but the 821 is just something special.
Dooh, I've got dyslexic fingers!! lol, Ive also put how, instead of who, before anyone else comments, lol.
Ah, don't listen to me... it's a great write up and it's a forum about Ducati's, not spelling or grammar. Or two stroke Yamahas... I had an 821 as a loaner for a bit while my Scrambler was getting a new clutch done, I'd have happily kept it. Great bit of kit and very versatile.
Cheers, it's perfect for me and puts a big smile on my face every time I twist the throttle and those cans roar and pop like thunder.
Are they half-terms or the full summer holidays? They do sound spot-on! Get some pics up, get your bin in too if you can. Foreign exotic bins from Norn Iron will excite this lot!
