MONSTER MASH

Ducati's overlooked superbike-engined sporty roadster is a great used buy.

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Ducati’s Monster was (arguably...) the first truly sporty naked bike when it broke free and escaped out of the doors of the Bologna factory in 1993. Powered by a peppy air-cooled twin, it boasted a trellis chassis that was based around the unit used on the firm's sportsbike (the 888) and came with inverted forks and a minimalistic, weight-saving ethos to give it light handling and a cool stripped-back look.

An instant sales hit, the Monster family formed the bedrock for Ducati’s growth throughout the 1990s and drew its own ‘Monsteristi’ following. But times change, and despite a capacity increase, by the 2010s Ducati’s air-cooled motor didn’t cut the mustard in the sporty naked class (the water-cooled S4 and S4RS models were up for the challenge but quickly became outgunned), so the decision was made to sharpen the big-capacity Monster's teeth...

Unveiled in 2014, the Monster 1200 family is powered by the 1198-derived Testastretta 11-degree DS engine. Water-cooled and boasting power figures that put the Monster back on the performance naked map, the Monster 1200s also added a stack of new tech including ABS and traction control to the party, as well as high-spec chassis components (especially on the range-topping S model) and an elegant look with nods to the bike’s heritage and a stylish single-sided swingarm.

All should have been good, but for some odd reason, the buying public never warmed to the Monster 1200 models, and they were generally overlooked, failing to capture anything like the fanbase their predecessors enjoyed.