Ducati Monster S4
DUCATI MONSTER S4
Quick Ride
Take that, Cagiva!
IS THE DUCATI MONSTER under siege from the Cagiva Raptor? Forget it! Ducati took less than 12 months to answer the challenge posed by the Suzuki TL1000-powered clone. The response is a beautifully conceived and developed evolution of the original Monster concept, with elegant and spirited styling wrapped around a re-engineered chassis and engine.
Creating the Monster S4 was not just a simple matter of shoehorning the 916 sportbike's dohc, liquid-cooled, four-valve V-Twin into the place previously occupied by the tried-and-true sohc, air/oil-cooled two-valver. For one, it required a redesigned frame. The operation was very subtly executed, though, so it takes a close look and maybe even a side-by-side comparison to spot the differences.
The S4 is built around the ST4 sport-tourer, which boasts the strongest structure in the Ducati corral, thanks to high-tensile steel tubing arranged in a typical Ducati space-frame triangulated design. The frame is mated to a new aluminum swingarm to pro duce forward-biased weight distri bution and a 56.7-inch wheelbase. A fully adjustable inverted Showa fork and a Sachs shock comple ment Brembo brakes-320mm ro tors and four-piston calipers up front and a single 245mm rotor and two-piston caliper at the rear. Tires are Pirelli Dragon Evos in 120/65-17 front and 190/60-17 rear sizes. Fat and sticky.
The engine is a spin-off of the 9 16's 94.0 x 66.0mm powerplant. It produces a claimed 101 horsepower at 8750 rpm and 68 foot-pounds of torque at 7000 rpm using an 11.0:1 compres sion ratio, 50mm throttle bodies and fairly mild cams. A carbonfiber timing-belt cover gives the engine a great look, driving one's attention away from the plumbing on the water-pump side, and from the white plastic surge tank tucked within the cylinder Vee. The engine also uses a new hydraulic clutch ac tuator developed by Brembo. Next-generation aluminum muf flers ensure free flow and a very pleasant, baritone exhaust note.
Ducati applied great care in honing and polishing the Mon ster's styling to obtain the best lines possible from what is fun damentally an 8-year-old de sign. The changes, which are highlighted by carbon-fiber fenders, sidecovers, heat shields and the aforementioned timing belt cover, are very classy.
At a claimed 425 pounds without fuel, the S4 is a real lightweight, but it feels even lighter due to excellent balance. In fact, in my opinion, the S4 is the best-handling Ducati ever built. It dives into corners, and feels wonderfully surefooted at speed. It is also very fast, and quick off the line, too. Top speed approaches an indicated 155 mph, and lively gearing should produce quarter-mile times in the mid-lO-second range.
In the end, then, Ducati has once again rewritten the stand ard for naked bikes. And just in time, too. -Bruno de Prato
