Quick Ride

Quick Ride

DUCATI M750 The little Monster that could

SEVENTY-FIVE-HUNDRED dollars might not seem like enough money to purchase a Ducati, but it is. That sum won’t buy you a 916, or even an M900 Monster, but it will get you a new M750. A Mini-Monster, if you will. A bike that’s so close to its bigger brother, you could take the emblems off the sidepanels and few would ever notice the difference.

Ducati’s new-for-’97 M750 has the same chrome-moly steel trellis frame and minimalist bodywork as the 900, and its engine looks familiar, too. It should: It’s basically a 1979 500cc Pantah motor bored and stroked to 750cc, with the rear cylinder head spun around 180 degrees to locate both carbs in the crotch of the Vee. In fact, it even has the original Pantah’s wet clutch and five-speed transmission, rather than the updated 900’s dry clutch and sixspeed ’box.

The M750’s wheels, brakes and suspension are also very similar to the M900’s. Only a nit-picker would notice the smaller bike’s single front disc, lower-spec inverted fork and narrower front tire. But buzzing down the road at a good clip, who’d ever notice?

The little Monster is a little cold-blooded, its lean jetting needing some engine heat to get the mixture just right. Once warmed, the engine’s smooth, torquey pull is potent enough for everyday riding; it’s only when you compare it to the latest sport-Twins that you notice something missing right off idle, and a lot more on top. Don’t be fooled by Ducati brochures proclaiming a 2horsepower difference between the 750 and the 900, either; on the CW dyno, the smaller bike made 58 bhp at the rear wheel, 17 fewer than the bigger one.

In spite of its limited suspension adjustability (the only adjustments are for shock spring preload and rebound damping), the M750’s ride is pleasantly taut. The twin Brembo disc brakes haul you down from speed in no time (though our testbike’s rear brake squealed more than we like), and the clutch lever pull, though stiff, isn’t bothersome. The wet clutch clatters less than a dry one at a standstill, but the payback is grabbier engagement. Gear changes between the wellspaced ratios are best done with authority.

Although the M750 doesn’t need to be revved out, doing so produces that sweet Ducati music. And it’s a sweet ride, too, combining all the sportiness you could ever need on the street with a slightly forwardcanted riding position that only feels cramped to those over 6feet tall. It’s the perfect urban motocrosser, nimbly snapping from stoplight to stoplight and dodging errant four-wheelers. And it will ingest all manner of turns-sweepers, doglegs, chicanes and esses-leaving the taste of fun swirling in your mouth.

Pretty nice for a Monster.

Jimmy Lewis