Ducati has introduced the Monster SP, which is an upgraded version of the standard Monster. The Monster SP features Öhlins suspension, Brembo Stylema brake calipers, a steering damper and other new features that separate it from the standard model. Engine displacement (937cc) and performance (111 HP claimed) is unchanged. Claimed dry weight is 366 pounds.
Here is the press release from Ducati followed by a video introducing the Monster SP:
- The “SP” represents the top of the range Ducati Monster and is designed to enhance the fun in sporty riding and the style of the bike, thanks to the MotoGP-inspired livery
- Benchmark components for those who love sporty riding: Öhlins suspension, Brembo Stylema® front calipers, Termignoni approved silencer, Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV tyres, steering damper and lithium-ion battery
- More efficacy and safety: electronics recalibrated from a sporting point of view and introduction of the new Riding Mode Wet
Borgo Panigale (Bologna, Italy), 15 September 2022 – In the second episode of the Ducati World Première web series 2023, Ducati presented the new Monster SP: a version designed to enhance the fun, thanks to a perfect package of technical equipment for those who love sporty riding.
Presented in 2021, the Monster represents all the essence of Ducati in the most compact, essential and lightest form possible. The recipe is the original 1993 one: a sporty engine, but perfect for road use, combined with a Superbike-derived frame. Everything you need to have fun, every day. The heart of the Monster is the Testastretta 11° engine , a liquid-cooled 4-valve twin with 111 hp and desmodromic distribution. Its Front Frame, inspired by that of the Panigale V4, is an extremely light and compact aluminium frame fixed directly to the engine heads. It is the modern reinterpretation of the recipe that gave life to the Naked segment of motorcycles, which is now making new generations of Monsteristi fall in love with it.
A concept as simple as it is effective, which takes a further step forward with the arrival of the Monster SP. This model is characterized by a series of high-quality components that make the bike even lighter, more effective and fun in sporty riding, as well as more aggressive from an aesthetic point of view.
The sporty nature of the Monster SP can be seen immediately thanks to the livery that incorporates the 2022 colours of the Ducati Lenovo Team’s Desmosedici GP , the golden anodizing of the Öhlins NIX30 fork and the presence of a Termignoni approved silencer as standard. Particularly high-quality details are the red saddle, which is integrated with the tail in the side view, the Monster SP logo on the passenger seat cover and the Ducati logo on the fuel tank, larger and inspired by the Panigale V4 graphics.
Monster SP gives the possibility to enjoy greater efficiency in sporty riding. This version has better braking performance, reduced load transfers, an increased ability to close trajectories and greater precision in all riding phases.
The fully adjustable Öhlins suspension, with the fork 0.6 kg lighter than the one used on the Monster and Monster +, increase the feeling, as well as the ground clearance and consequently the lean angle. The suspension system can also count upon a sportier calibration, which improves the dynamic qualities of the Monster SP when riding on mixed roads and opens the possibility of having fun even among the curbs of a circuit.
Also in this direction, the upgrading of the braking system with Brembo Stylema® calipers and aluminium flanges for the 320 mm front brake discs (0.5 kg lighter than the Monster equipment) makes the Monster SP more performing when braking, but, at the same time, more agile thanks to the reduction of inertia at the front.
The general lightening of the bike also comes with the adoption of a lithium-ion battery, which brings the overall weight saving to about 2 kg in running order compared to the standard model (already a benchmark in the category for lightness), despite the addition of components such as the steering damper and the windshield.
The sporting potential of the Monster SP is further enhanced by the steering damper, which improves stability under acceleration and cornering, as well as by the presence as original equipment of Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV tyres, the manufacturer’s flagship proposal for sporty riding on the road. In addition, the electronics see a general recalibration of all the Riding Modes, and therefore of all the electronic controls, to make the most of the changes made to the chassis, and the arrival of the new Riding Mode Wet, designed to offer greater safety on the bikes on wet surfaces.
The electronic sector of the Monster is at the top of the segment. The standard equipment includes ABS Cornering, Ducati Traction Control and Ducati Wheelie Control, all adjustable to various levels of intervention. The sporty character of the new Monster SP is also underlined by the Launch Control which ensures lightning-fast starts. This top-of-the-range motorcycle equipment allows the Monster SP to safely express its full performance.
The Sport, Touring and Wet Riding Modes allow the rider to shape the Monster’s character according to tastes and needs. Everything is easily managed through the handlebar controls and the 4.3” colour TFT dashboard, featuring racing graphics that echo those of the Panigale V4, with a large rev counter and a complete set of information on the left, including that of the gear engaged.
The Ducati Monster SP will arrive in dealerships starting from January 2023, also in a depowered version for riding with an A2 license*.
Nice bike. Sat on one and it seemed very comfortable. Great specs.
God, most of you guys are never happy with any new bike, are you? It’s like listening to the two old curmudgeons in the balcony, on “The Muppet Show,” bitch about new motorcycles.
It seems like almost every comment involves some version of, “It’s ugly. It looks like an insect (or Transformer). If it looked like an XYZ-750 from manufacturer so-and-so in 1982 they’d sell a million of them. Why don’t bikes cost what they did 25 years ago? Who needs that much power? Why doesn’t it have an 8.3 gallon tank? What if you want to tour?” and so on…
It seems like a cool upgrade to a nice light weight, relatively comfortable, commuter bike. Can’t we just appreciate a bike for what it is and not be such party poopers?
I don’t really care about the upgrades. All that race stuff is wasted on a street bike. OTOH, I think it looks great. Amazing what a little color splotched in the right places will do.
I’d like to see the finished product of a motorcycle designed by the MD comment committee.
I’m sure the first thing the committee would do is find out when I’ll be dirt biking in the middle of nowhere to choose a date to meet. Then the fur flies as the committee decides which 1974 bike to emulate. Then they blow a giant wad trying to figure out how to get 8.3 gallons of uncompress able liquid into a perfectly beautiful seamless gas tank that only displaces four gallons.
I wonder how many of them would actually buy the finished product.
Looks like a Japanese bike with good suspension.
The bike would look uniquely cool if what ever shape the covers are, paint them the same red as the rest of the noncontiguous color scheme.
Comment #3 to see if they show up eventually.
I must say the front end is less insectoid than a lot of current bikes, but these increasingly steep Peyronie-ish up-curved seat “stalks” are getting out of hand. I know you guys use it when you are flying around on the back wheel and doing wheelies and trapeze-type pogo-stick stuff, just sayin’. But there are still a few of us who still like girls and there’s no place for her sit on that upturned thing.
“Peyronie-ish” LOL
It is a Decepticon!
I really like the red stripes on the mufflers. A very simple and subtle idea, to balance the overall appearance with the red front fender and the black everything else.
PS. If I owned this, I’d change the oil much more often than every 15,000 km.
Hope it has a side stand.
I like it, and I like these kinds of bikes in general. The engine covers, which I’m sure are there to help meet noise regulations, are a bit of a bummer, but I’m sure the aftermarket will come up with some blingy farkles to replace them with.
Do you remember all the generations of Monsters that were achingly beautiful? Pepperidge Farm remembers….
The first generation was really cool.
$15,595 really for a twin?
That hauls ass.
Do we pay by the cylinder?
I would pay for a 1200cc W5 with oval cylinders and a flat seat.
Sounds expensive, especially the flat seat part..
That is for sure. More cylinders – more technoligal complexities in terms of equipment. Manufactures deceives customers placing such a high price tag for two cylinders.
bike looks fine. elbow down looks rediculous.
As observed with their bikes before, road dirt just doesn’t exist in Ducati-land.
The covers on either side of the engine are “unfortunate”. I think I get what they’re going for – necessary covering with a mechanical/industrial look but really think if they’d just done smoother coverings and offered a practical reason for them (ex. reduces heat felt by rider, noise, etc..) they’d be more easily forgiven on what’s supposed to be a “naked” bike. These look over wrought like they’re trying too hard to hit a style that isn’t really important to the end user.
Unfortunately they haven’t improved its looks. The left side of the engine looks like an industrial air compressor or something you’d find under the hood of a lawn tractor.
Looks like an awesome bike, competing directly with the KTM Duke 890. It has the right mix of weight (both on the scale and visual), profile, etc. I know the monster faithful are mixed at best on this new iteration’s looks and spec but time marches on and Ducati must know who’s eating their lunch (everyone’s taking a bite).
The covers on either side of the engine are “unfortunate”. I think I get what they’re going for – necessary covering with a mechanical/industrial look but really think if they’d just done smoother coverings and offered a practical reason for them (ex. reduces heat felt by rider, noise, etc..) they’d be more easily forgiven on what’s supposed to be a “naked” bike. These look over wrought like they’re trying too hard to hit a style that isn’t really important to the end user.
THAT looks like fun!
Amazing isn’t it? After the massive range of versions and capacitites the Monster design has progressed through over the years, they produce this one and give NO indication of engine size! Where’s the bragging rights with that? Since this motor is probably the bigger 939 version of the one in the HyperMotard and ‘Strada, it will certainly do the job very well but it’s a mysterious business, marketing!
I find it refreshing. Engine size really doesn’t “matter” if the class and general power output is known. It’s just a number that’s been marketed to us over generations so we tend to look for it as though it tells us something truly important about the experience the vehicle delivers.
First paragraph says it is 937cc.
Thanks for pointing that out, but it was in Dirck’s preface, not the lengthy Ducati screed. It smacks of dumbing down, where only the pathological nerd wants to know such details about internal workings. Or am I getting confused with geeks?
Nick
Lol, I couldn’t say. You’re right though – no mention of displacement in Ducati’s lengthy release. I don’t think so anyway. I have to admit I only scanned it because I have a pretty low tolerance for marketing dribble these days. You’d have to go to their website if you really wanted to know I suppose. Maybe displacement isn’t as important to selling the bike these days? Perhaps it is much more interesting to today’s buyer that the engine is 11° and 111 HP? I don’t know. Motorcycles have gotten too expensive and too far away from the things I appreciate to care much these days.
Plain ol’ ugly! Looks like a melted model of a motorcycle I once built….just saying.
I AM NOT WORTHY. (BOWS RESPECTFULLY)
My brother in law has a 1200s. It is sweeeeet. I wish for a gas gauge instead of a little red light
that is ugly! looks like a plastic model that sat in the sun too long……