Ducati Monster 696

The Ducati Monster 696. Refined style and design are the clear motivations behind the new Monster and the continued perfection of the Desmo engine ensures that its ‘saint and sinner’ image will impress any rider. A comfortable and confidence-inspiring chassis combine with the famously smooth and powerful Ducati L-Twin engine to provide the most enjoyable riding experience. The balance of new technologies expressed in stylishly finished materials is shaped around the original cool Monster heritage.

Maintaining its traditional Monster silhouette, the 696 now looks more muscular than ever. Its wide tank tapers to the thin waistline of a comfortable narrow seat ensuring sure-footed confidence when at the traffic lights. The large diameter Hybrid Trellis frame blends stylishly into an aluminium sub-frame and swingarm while minimalist instrumentation and simple controls at the front of the Monster contrast with twin, bold, Ducati-style mufflers at the rear to enhance its urban-ready image.

The chassis of the new Monster is made up of a new Hybrid Trellis frame with larger diameter tubes; attached to a rear aluminium sub-frame. The front brake system is the envy of its class and becomes the new benchmark for the category with two 320mm discs and four-piston radial calipers.

At the rear, the dual-sided aluminium swingarm draws inspiration from Ducati Corse’s finest racing products in this area. The dash instrumentation is now totally digital and continues the tradition of all Ducati’s latest-generation sport models, guaranteeing lightness, ease of use and a wealth of information. The new exhaust system stands out with its re-routed downpipes that give the underside of the Monster a cleaner appearance and terminate with twin, bold Ducati-style mufflers. The headlamp unit is characterized by a new triple arc main beam, while the rear light uses modern LED technology.

The engine of the new 696 is an EVOlution of the previous 695 version. Measuring 696cc it boasts a series of updates and refinements. Power output gets a 9% boost to 80hp and an 11% increase in torque to 50.6 lb-ft. This new engine continues to have the best horsepower per litre ratio of all Ducati’s air-cooled units, and it ensures a smooth and powerful delivery for a relaxed but thrilling ride in all conditions.

Motorcycle USA First Ride

Ducati's Big Gun in the Sales Battle

If you wanted to know just how important the 696 Monster is to the future of Ducati you needed to look at the suits. The suits and the ties. Well, okay the suits, the ties - and the $300 haircuts.

There were three distinct groups gathered in Barcelona for the world launch of the all new Ducati Monster 696. At one end were the journos. Some looking like illegal immigrants trying to sneak into Spain, many sporting freebie clothing gifted by kind, or merely gullible, manufacturers - and a few smart, casual.

Then there were masses of Ducati employees - all sharp and trendy in Ducati corporate clothing - eyes darting, damp hands tense and truly hyped for the start of the big game. And finally, there were the suits and designer ties and immaculate haircuts of the real players. The Ducati financiers, representatives of the city of Barcelona and, incredibly, Ducati had even wheeled out the Italian Ambassador to Spain to speak, very convincingly as it happened, of the Bologna factory's sterling qualities.

All that we lacked was Luciano Pavarotti to sing the Ducati corporate anthem and there would have been a full hand of cards. Come to think of it, probably the ONLY reason Pavarotti wasn't there was because he is dead. Otherwise, Ducati would have certainly wheeled him out.

This was a major occasion - and Ducati wanted us journos to know it.

If you think that the future of Ducati lies in Casey Stoner winning MotoGP, or the next hyper performance bike on from the 1098R or even another batch of Desmosedicis you would be wrong. Completely and utterly misinformed. All these iconic motorcycles are the very blood and soul of Ducati - but the motorcycle which holds the key to the factory's future is the Monster.

Consider these stats for a moment. Typically, Ducati produce around 30,000-35,000 motorcycles a year. This is a tiny, quantum mechanics small, number of motorcycles for a factory of Ducati's status and an amazing credit to the Bologna girls and boys.

Since its launch in 1993, Ducati have sold over 200,000 Monsters - a figure which dwarfs every other Ducati product. At one time, 60% of Ducati's production was Monsters. The new 696 is that important! Better still, the initial Monster was cheap and easy to build and has remained so during its long life. This is mainly good news for Ducati - but with just a touch of difficulty too.

When Ducati produces the 1598 RS-extra-plus-super, or whatever, its buyers will not only accept every new trick which Ducati can throw into the package but they will positively demand them. Suddenly, 180 hp will become the sort of power fit only for scooters or beginning riders on their first day of tuition. Now, real men will need 220 hp or whatever the magic number is for the 2012 riding season.

By contrast, Monster owners want to own a Monster. Technical specification is of far less importance than paying for, and getting, a Monster. In fact, Ducati's launch slogan of, "Full Stop - Fast Forward", was rather clever and summed the job up very nicely.

The new Monster is supposed to be the Armani/Diesel/Gucci/Prada of the bike world. A Ducati not only for the motorcyclist but also for the urban cool. The reason for this new fondness for fashion is obvious. There are an awful lot more potential customers for an urban fashion item than there are who want to sell their first-born child in order to own a Desmosedici.

Gabriele del Torchio, Ducati's CEO, actually made this point. There are Ducatisti and Monsteristi, he noted - and there may not even be much of a crossover between the two. The 30-year-old Marketing Manager, who skis, windsurfs and watches soccer might well add a Monster to his portfolio of toys whereas he will probably never go near a 1098.

The good news for us who are fat, bald, wrinkly, and therefore desperately uncool, but who really do like motorcycles, is that the 696 is actually an extremely fine motorcycle. For my part, if someone wants to buy a 696 as a fashion accessory and only ride it around town, then why not? They may well be missing out on much of what the bike has to offer, but you pays your money and you takes your choice.

So Ducati's problem was to produce a Monster for the 21st Century which looked, felt and performed like a Monster from the 20th Century - only more so. It was a harder task than one might imagine at first sight.

The overwhelming first impression of the new Monster is that it is a 100% pure, thoroughbred Monster. It's not an Aprilia Shiver or Yamaha MT01 or Triumph Speed Triple but totally and utterly Monster. It is also drop dead gorgeous. Although the 696 is the entry door to Ducati's world, with a retail selling price in the neighborhood of $8,500, it does not feel or look like a budget-priced special. On the contrary, it could be legitimately argued that the 696 is one of the most beautiful Ducatis since the 916 - and it is infinitely more attractive than the old Monster.

Although taste is very personal, I just loved the fluidity of the bike's lines with the gas tank oozing into the seat and then curving onwards to the rear cowling. The only element which grates is the gray bar which splits the headlamp horizontally. This looks like an afterthought and makes a stylistically extremely clean front end look untidy.

The launch colors were matte black, shiny black, red and a sort of metallic white, which Ducati calls Pearl. The red is stunning, closely followed by the metallic white. The shiny black is okay if you like black. Only ride the matte black 696 if you win one in a free-to-enter competition.

If you do win a 696, changing it to a decent color might not be that much of a problem. The gas tank is not really the tank at all but a quickly detachable cover covering the fuel cell and air box. Remove this, the front fender and rear seat cowl, and you can have an instant bike change. In fact, as we speak, Ducati is planning a range of accessories, including chrome bodywork, just so that owners can individualize their bikes.

Almost, but not all, of the bike gives an impression of quality. The trellis frame remains and this is bolted to an aluminum subframe from which the double-sided swingarm hangs. More of its performance in a moment but in terms of aesthetics it looks wonderful.

More good things come in the form of the Showa upside down fork, rear shock and Brembo radial calipers. Stand back from the 696 and it's a bike you can enjoy. There is no impression that Ducati has not given its all to this machine and it shows. In short, it is one heck of a lot of motorcycle for your money and it makes Suzuki's SV650 look $3,000 too expensive.

However, the 696 is not perfect. Bizarrely, the front brake lever is not adjustable and the reach, even for a full-size male like me, is far too long. Clearly, with twin 320mm discs, and four-pad radial calipers, the front brakes work fine but all the pleasure of having that power there for the asking is hidden. There were so many complaints at the launch that the word from the Ducati technicians is that fully adjustable front brake levers will soon find their way onto production bikes.

The other major design failure is the shields on the exhausts. The twin exhausts look gorgeous and somehow, despite legislation, sound well too. However, the pillion passenger's legs are protected by two tiny covers which simply do not work. If you have sold the idea of buying a Monster to your loved one so that you can both go for a ride into the mountains on a sunny Sunday, then get ready for the divorce letter from her lawyer because the shield fails to the point of being dangerous. It needs fixing now before the lawsuits start - it's that bad.

What might save the divorce is an offer to buy your loved one her own Ducati Monster. With a 30-inch saddle height and a claimed dry weight of only 355 lbs, the 696 is very manageable. Ducati has also taken care to make the tank very narrow and female colleagues on the launch pronounced it very comfortable. Equally, at 5' 11", there was plenty of room for me without any sense of being cramped.

But now to the heart of the bike - that wonderful 696cc V-Twin. In some ways, this was the most difficult part of Ducati's job. In engineering terms, the motor builds very much on known Ducati practice with the same short stroke, 88mm x 57.2mm, dimensions as the old engine. However, the cylinder heads are new and the camshafts run directly in the head. Dispensing with the bearings makes the head lighter but will demand a premium quality lubricant and meticulous oil changes.

Clearly, fuel injection is essential to meet current emissions but Ducati has been very smart by having an ECU with two programs for differing parts of the powerband and separate, individual mapping for each of the two cylinders. This is super smart, real-world engineering and results in a torquey, smooth and glitch-free power delivery which is excellent.

Power is now a superb 80bhp @ 9,000rpm but what is just as important is the way that the power is delivered. At low revs, the 696 is a real pussycat and totally inoffensive to even the newest rider. Get the revs up to 6,000 plus and it becomes a very perky little motor which provides a lot of fun for anyone - no matter how demanding their tastes.

But the joy of the 696 is the slipper clutch. Even banging in the lower gears really hard into corners on the slippery Spanish mountain roads of the Ducati test route could not upset the clutch - or get the rear wheel near locking. It is brilliant engineering and better than the vast majority of hyper sportbikes.

Ducati insisted that we ride the bike round the streets of Barcelona - through the traffic jams, the stop lights and the Moms wandering across the road pushing baby carriages - in order to see that it was a fun, safe and practical motorcycle. Okay, so it is. The hydraulic clutch is feather light, the engine torquey and the steering lock much improved from the old Monster. Is it as good as a 400cc scooter for urban use? Absolutely not, so let's get it out on to some real riding roads.

The steep, tight and bumpy mountain roads were the real home territory for the Monster. Miguel Angel Galluzzi, the gifted Argentinian who built the very first Monster as his personal toy, designed it to be a mountain road plaything. Fortunately, Ducati still holds to this ideal.

Even driven very hard, the 696 has a wonderfully calm, planted feel which is totally confidence inspiring. The power is creamy smooth all the way to the cut out at a little over 9K, and the engine runs with a permanent grin when it is really hammered hard.

 The Showa suspension is first class, at both front and rear, and was completely unfazed even when a Spanish kamikaze car driver forced me off the road and into a deep pothole. Best of all, the Ducati has the feel of a true thoroughbred, constantly gossiping with the rider through the chassis and motor. It's a bike which just begs to be ridden hard and long and when you stop to wipe the sweat out of your eyes, the 696 exhausts are pinging with the heat - and the bike has a smile on its face as wide as yours. This is not an urban fashion accessory by any stretch of the imagination but a really special motorcycle.

But there were a couple of "if only" moments. If only Ducati had spent another 50 cents on an adjustable brake lever, I would have been able to trail brake all the way into the apex of bends and then squirt the 696 out. The motor was willing, and the chassis would have welcomed the task but you can't brake sensitively if you have to stretch.

The bars are also very straight and this leads to wrist ache. They're like this to improve the steering lock around town. The fix is to reduce the lock slightly - easily done with one spanner - and fit some 'bars swept back by an inch. Then, you could ride the 696 all day.

No one can say for sure if Ducati has another best-seller on its hands with the Monster 696, but it seems like a pretty safe bet to us.
That's another fascinating part of the 696. With a 3.8-gallon tank and extremely comfortable saddle and riding position, this is a bike which really will be fun over a couple of hundred miles.

The gearing is miles too high and when you buy this bike from your Ducati dealer absolutely insist on having a 14 tooth gearbox sprocket instead of the 15t which comes as standard. This is not Ducati's fault - merely a by-product of getting through Euro 3 emission regulations. Unless you intend on competing at Daytona, gear it down.

The 696 needs to be a success, because without it you can forget MotoGP or any road going Ducati exotica. Fortunately for Ducati, and the buying public, it is an outstanding motorcycle and hits, almost, every button. But perhaps best of all it remains a thoroughbred Ducati which anyone of any experience or income bracket will be proud to own. And that's a trick the Japanese still haven't mastered.

Source Motorcycle USA