Evolution

Evolution

Ducati's biggest Monster cracks 100 horsepower

RELEASE A NEW, MORE-POWERFUL Ducati Monster on Mount Etna, an active volcano on the ancient island of Sicily? Am I making this up? Never. What could be more natural? Sicily isn’t that far from Bologna and it’s packed with fantastic roads—the ideal setting and location, really, for the launch of Ducati’s new Monster 1100 EVO.

An early-release 2012 model, the 1100 EVO combines the best of the Monster 1100 and 1100S to focus development instead on one Monster.

The starter button erupts 1078cc of Desmodue V-Twin, the first Ducati air-cooled, two-valve Monster motor to produce a claimed 100 horsepower. New pistons bump compression a full point to 11.3:1, while revised cams let fuel-injected volatile combustibles enter the engine through reshaped ports. A new 2-into-linto-2 Diavelesque exhaust system houses a catalyst and a back-pressure control valve, and is styled to set the 1100 apart from the lesser Monsters.

One seemingly small but important change are new passenger-peg brackets that hang from an also-new aluminum subframe, doing away with the monstrous low-mount combo brackets of yore that splayed the rider’s heels awkwardly outward.

The EVO now feels narrower between the ankles than previous Monsters, which equates to more comfort, control and lean angle, as I found out for myself by repeatedly riding up and down Mount Etna. The standard-fitted Ducati Safety Pack (DSP) electronics package incorporates Ducati Traction Control (DTC)

and ABS, and was a nice thing to have on those winding roads. I sampled DTC in all four of its levels, but my favorite in these sunny, dry, non-flowing-lava conditions was Off. It allowed me to exploit the gain in power and get a feel for the true grip of the new Pirelli Diablo Rosso II rubber wrapped around the redesigned, lighter 10-spoke wheels.

These changes amount to the most balanced, best-shifting Monster in memory (it’s got a great six-speed box). The

no-surprises V-Twin delivers linear pull to its 8500rpm redline, and the time we spent in the redesigned, narrow saddle was reasonably comfortable, thanks in part to 0.8-inchtaller bar risers that make tucking in a choice instead of a decree.

Moto-ing through Sicily’s decomposed urban-cross-like pavement sections proved the soundness and bumpabsorption qualities of the new 43mm Marzocchi fork and Sachs shock, desmodromic rumbleation echoing through the tight confines of the city walls like a horse’s head repeatedly slapping an Ultra Firm Sealy Posturepedic.

The 1100 EVO offers more bike for the same $11,995 of the previous model. And with desmo valve-adjustment intervals seeming to grow ever longer (this one makes it 12,000 miles between checks), the most volcanic Monster ever should spend less time dormant.

—Mark Cernicky

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