Ducati says it plans to reveal a total of 5 new 2018 bikes early next month in Milan. The first of those has already shown up in the form of the 2018 Monster 821. Available in three color schemes, including the iconic yellow shown, several changes were made to the new Monster 821.
In terms of styling, the fuel tank is new, borrowed directly from the Monster 1200, and carrying a lock mechanism similar to that found on the original Monster 900. Also new this year is the headlight and tail section, as well as the double barrel exhaust.
An all-new TFT color instrument console is loaded with new information, such as gear position and fuel usage. It also displays the different riding modes, ABS and traction control settings, which are part of the “Ducati Safety Pack”.
The model continues with the 821cc liquid cooled twin making a claimed 108 horsepower at 9250 RPM. With a claimed dry weight just under 400 pounds, this is a very quick machine. Thankfully, healthy Brembo disc brakes are also on hand.
After you read the Ducati announcement below, take a look at the website Ducati has set up for this new model for additional details and specifications.
Concept
The Monster 821 inherits the purest Monster essence from the first Monster 900, perfectly combining performance and ease of riding.
The richness of the standard outfitting, low ownership costs and the extensive catalogue of accessories make the Monster 821 the ideal everyday companion, while retaining the unique character of the true Ducati sport naked bike typical of every Monster.
That’s why #welovemonster
Essential, sporty, hi-tech but – most importantly – fun. In one word: Monster.
With its supremely sporty performance and agility, the new Monster 821 has been designed for maximum riding pleasure. The performance of the 109 HP Testastretta 11° engine is enhanced by the Ducati Safety Pack (ABS and Ducati Traction Control) and the Riding Modes, which guarantee maximum safety always and everywhere. In addition, the Ducati Quick-shift up&down system is available as an accessory. The new TFT colour display provides the rider with all of the necessary information at any time. Over the last 25 years, we’ve never got tired of telling the Monster story. A story made of passion and innovation that has been written together with thousands of people who continue choosing it.
See more of MD’s great photography:
“Iconic Yellow”
Really.
The Monster much like the Sportster is getting a little long in the tooth.
The first Monsters are still the best looking ones. I think the problem is, if they went back to the better looking, timeless design, people would call them “retro”…
From the rear of the tank forward, excepting that stupid location for the horn, this new Monster looks really good. Like most here, I prefer the yellow for this one.
From the seat back, it’s nearly all bad. The seat is poorly shaped, the rear bodywork is not just plain but Older Suzuki Sportbike homely, and the tail light and dangling plastic appendage both suck. The muffler is rather hideous too, looking cheap and bland.
The wheels look great, and Triumph could take a few lessons from Ducati on how to tuck in the headlights nice and tight on a naked bike.
I think the horn is in a great place. Plenty of space for adding a bigger/noisier one.
I also like the tail (finally a bike butt without a stinger) and think those pipes are the best looking of that style I’ve seen yet.
I see that they have considered the often voiced complaint of the riders right boot heel resting against the muffler body.
In the 1200 they shifted the muffler support further back.
A different arrangement has not helped very much here on this new M 821 as the evidence is shown at 0:38 on the Duc video.
The rider who is wearing Ducati street shoes & very short socks with 2″ of bare skin showing that he still has a burning heel problem and he is still not (or will not be) riding yet on the balls of his feet.
Not fixed Ducati as per the M 1200.
Sorry Guy’s when I downloaded pictures of both the 1200 and this one and put them side by side on the PC screen, I looks like they share identical frames, muffler hanger and muffler.
So my above comment is incorrect, but I can’t fix it up now
My Apologies.
Are we looking at $12,500 les tax, license and dealer mark-up cause it’s new and everybody wants one???
Are the gas tanks steel or still fiberglass? If fiberglass, stay away.
Q: Are the gas tanks steel or still fiberglass?
A: tanks now come with “max seamage” free of charge.
I have a MY 15 Monster 821 and they are steel. So E10 is fine, but I always put Shell premium (ethanol free) in my region.
I had a 848 and that leaked within a year of buying it as it had a plastic tank. There was a class action lawsuit against Ducati and they replaced it with *ahem* another plastic tank. But by that point, I found a station that sold ethanol free gas.
The swelling acerbis tanks havent been an issue since the 1098/SportClassic/original streetfighter days.
Funny they affected my son’s year 09 M696, but that is one problem he hasn’t had for some reason. Had a bunch of other problems, but not that one.
re: “but that is one problem he hasn’t had for some reason”
no worries, the reason is your favorite son doesn’t have the acerbis tank, those were an update to the older/original Galuzzi kit. what your son has is a MKII Monster with the interchangeable panels over the “black plastic tank” (for lack of a better description).
sorry i don’t know the chemical names for the 2 types of plastic used (poly nylon something or another?) but the acerbis plastic is white in color, it was also much thicker/denser whereas the black is much thinner, and seemingly more flexible. i suspect this black plastic is the same formulation that BMW has used for years (without incident) on the old K12LT and K1200RS/GT models. they too were designed with a “plastic panels over a fuel cell” set up.
while those swelled and shifted when removed from their fixings for service, they did it to a far lesser degree and their inherent flexibility meant refitting after having been off the bike for a few days was not something to dread. just sip some tea and “git-er-done”.
good to know Norm.. Thanks!
I am really liking the looks of the new Monster…I rode and truly loved a 2004 ST4s for many tens of thousands of trouble free miles, but the frequency and exorbitant expense of valve maintenance finally ruined our relationship and I went back to Yamaha.
I would seriously consider buying one of these IF AND ONLY IF the new Monster does NOT have the extremely annoying blinking wrench (service) icon on the dash that can only be cleared by paying the dealer or buying some OBDII tool and matching wiring harness….
the 821 has an 18000 mile interval for both belts and valves.
Wop bikes have come a long way since VW bought Ducati. My ’15 Monster 821 has been as reliable
as a Panerai watch. I will certainly be updating my bike to an “18 Monster 821.
Whatever bag of idiots decided bikes were ruining the planet with already-reasonable emissions and noise and took things to Euro 4 levels should be forced to get their mouths around some Euro 4 pipes for say 20 minutes apiece. Chewing will never be the same. That’ll learn ’em.
Well you can blame eurocrats in Brussels for that issue. Luckily, where I live the Euro 4 has no impact on me. We still get the under the engine pipes for the baby Ducati Panigale instead of the side mounted versions
Yeah my question was rhetorical. We had one over here for awhile that really tried his best to wreck stuff, too.
hmmnn, first time i’ve ever liked the yellow option over the red…? my 900ss used to be classic yellow before the refinish. i would prolly repaint the frame though to match the swinger, and dare i say i might actually keep the order of “curly fries” (which i’ve hated since the Monster Evos).
I’ve had four Ducatis and a total of one recalled voltage regulator worth of trouble from them.
Owned three…..the only issue has been the fuel level sensor on my 2014 Multi.
Mabe my bikes were the exceptions, but 40,000 miles on my 2, a 2001 Ducati ST2 and a 2007 Multistrada 1100S were very reliable and enjoyable. Be interesting to see if mt Bonneville T120 is as much fun and reliable. My several Hondas and Suzukis were good bikes, just not as much fun.
Ah these monsters are getting little boringgggg.
I agree. Same ole same ole
Still better than the origami/transformer look coming from Japan Inc.
Ducati has been building some interesting bikes over the last 10 years. This may contribute to there resurgent interest in the market. I cannot speak for there engineering / manufacturing. I’m a current owner of a 2012 Monster 1100 EVO. It has returned 14,000 trouble free miles, and is very entertaining to ride over the Appalachian foothills where I reside. My Ducati is not the only bike I own. Would I purchase another 1100 Monster EVO ? Yes. I like the simplicity of the Ol’ Air / Oil cooled 2 valve motor.
I had a Ducati S2 ( last of the bevels) and a Pantah SL500 (first of the belts), my Ducati experiences were bumpy and even though it was a long time ago I’m not sure I can trust the Ducati brand again.
If you saw what those were worth now you might think again!
Haahaha. A lot has changed since those days.
Yellow one looks good. Muffler looks rather Kawasaki-ish.
I sometimes lust for a Ducati because they look and sound good, but my son’s experience with his 696 Monster has not been a particularly good one, with a total electrical failure, an intermittent oil leak that can’t seem to get fixed by the dealer, a rear brake that squeals like a banshee, and a transmission that locked up all within the first 6,000 miles (although it has been behaving itself as of lately). The other problem is, any time something goes wrong, it takes a 2 hour trailer ride each way to the nearest dealer to drop it off, a 2 week wait to get repaired, and a 2 hour trailer ride each way to go pick it up.
They do look and sound good though
The liquid-cooled Monsters do look good – on the right side.
Question, what do you suspect is the reason for those many problems?
It’s definitively not just you, every MD Ducati post is accompanied by the stories of bikes poor reliability.
Well they do make better promo videos than most of the Japanese companies if that’s any consolation.
lol
My Honda/Yamaha dealership is 2 blocks from my house. I can ride from the upper Great Plains of North America to the Pacific coast and find a dealership every 100 miles. I guess if you’ve got to be seen on the latest equipment out there, you best stay home, cuz it’s not if it’s going to fail, but when. My Jap bikes are reliable. 26 bikes later and still counting….
How about those false neutrals, still part of the package?;)
Love that yellow. Had a 2000 Duc ST that color. Wondered if they’d ever bring it back. Looks killer against the black frame and engine.
Might be a Duc owner again!
Ducati is making some beeyatch’n bikes.
For my larger frame, I’ll take this motor in the Hypermotard flavor, Alex. I love the lower reciprocating weight of modern smaller displacement state of the art Bologna motors v. the older big bore air/oil cooled bikes.
Strange place for a horn.
Not a problem, cos there’s obviously no such thing as rain or mud on roads in Ducati-land, as proved by the way they continue to expose all the expensive bits to whatever might be thrown at them. Mudguards/fenders: what do we need them for??
The horn location is a bad decision. What other bad decisions are there on this bike if the location of the horn is so poorly thought out? Never-the-less, 108 ponies and under 400 pounds gets my attention.
Well you want the straightest path for the sound waves when the front wheel is in the air.
The spinning tire in front of it distributes the sound waves so you get surround sound.
For some reason the mental image of people riding around sounding their Monster horns to experience this effect is pretty hilarious.
They just stripped the new Supersport and said, Meh, looks fine