Ducati Monster 795: First Ride

by Adil Jal Darukhanawala Posted on 07 Mar 201236658 Views0 Comments

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There is a genial monster coming to Indian roads - red, hot, cheerful, easily controllable and a hoot to ride all around. Adil Jal Darukhanawala gets in the saddle of the made-for-Asia-to-a-price Ducati 795 monster and says that it is irresistible!

Now many among today’s bikers and/or motorcycle enthusiasts know that one of the greatest success stories for sports bike maker Ducati was a reviled and derided design so far removed from the core central to the brand that not many wanted to do anything with it? Well, that was how everyone looked at a creation which Ducati’s very talented bike designer Miguel Angel Galluzzi was working on in 1991. Having set to work using the firm’s 900SS sports bike as the basis for something that only existed in his head, the tangled heap of metal, plastic and rubber, cut and welded chassis and weird peg and handlebar positions meant that everyone knew this would always remain WIP if not RIP! Galluzzi was someone who I had met personally at an IFMA event in Cologne (yes, years before it moved to Munich) and he had come across as a young man who had very definite ideas about what the brand could have around its core sporty offerings. Think then of the Monster in much the same avant-garde manner in the Ducati line-up then as perhaps the Cayenne in Porsche’s portfolio – both causing much consternation for the pundits and purists but then both models seemed to run away to the bank and their respective makers are yet laughing their way in spite of everything said about their designs and how could they commit such a sacrilege?

It is yet about running and laughing to the bank that is at the heart of a welcome new move by Ducati to think about markets it has never been in and this includes not just volume but also affordability. Yes, Ducati has been in India and China and also Japan where it has something of an absolute and obsessive cult following. However one can understand Japan and this line of addiction. One can also understand China thanks to the absolute nature of the boom and boom in disposable incomes there. In India, Ducati via its distributor Shreyans has sold about 300 units over the last three plus years it has been in the market and on the face of it this might seem par for the course, when one compares the fact that Harley-Davidson has pushed over 1200 units in under 15 months and even the likes of Hysoung has managed to nudge close to the 1000-unit mark, but it was apparent that Ducati needed to think laterally. Not just for India but also for other India-like markets where pricing was key without damaging the basic core values and strengths of the brand.

Say hello then to an all-new creation cobbled together by the explicit means of rummaging through the parts bin at Borgo Panigale. Throw in some of the most experienced product planners within the firm to unravel legislation in the developing world and put together a product that was easy to do, didn’t cost the earth and more importantly played true to the firm’s sporty performance oriented creed. The bike which then emerged from this nifty piece of dancing to a well orchestrated tune is the Monster 795, a bike which is pure Ducati, pukka Monster and delectable to own and ride. First the bare bones of the machine, which you see, draped all over this feature. Finished in Italian racing red, the bike looks fiery and purposeful and has that 'come hither, let's scrap' look about it which has always been the sterling hallmark of Galluzzi’s legendary design. First off for beginners, the very manner in which the bike has moved from 796 to 795 for Asia is class personified and while the exotica of a single-sided swingarm, different spec tyres, small tasty bodywork on the instrument cowl and seat unit have been dispensed with, the rest of the machine is all finely developed muscle and lithe and agile yet not giving away anything in performance to the higher priced 796. If this is the way Ducati is going to do its business here in India (and in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, China, etc) I think it just has to keep on adding more to its numbers every year. In fact, I also see the Monster doing brilliantly in its 795 avatar even in markets like Oz and NZ plus South Africa because the lure of the Ducati brand at a mouth-watering price is irresistible.

Ducati Monster 795 Gallery