Motorbikes.pdf

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Ducati Monster The best-selling Italian bike ever made. Fact 61
Mission accomplished FOR A machine that went on to become so significant for Ducati, the Monster had fairly humble and barren beginnings. The key player was Argentine designer Miguel Galluzzi who, after training in California and working for both Opel and then Honda’s car division, joined Ducati owners Cagiva in 1989. Back then, Ducati was very different. Although buoyed by the track success of technical director Massimo Bordi’s sophisticated, liquid-cooled, four-valve 851 superbike, its road bike range was small, focused on the unexciting, air-cooled SS sports series, with sales of under 10,000 machines a year. A new, cheap-to-produce, market-widening product was needed – fast. Galluzzi’s ride-to-work bike was an 888 he’d stripped and streetfightered and he’d been pestering Bordi with his ideas for a naked bike – ideas which Bordi duly honed into a concept. Bordi then came up with another challenge for Galluzzi: design a machine that displayed strong Ducati heritage but was easy to ride... and not a sportsbike. “I was talking to Miguel and asked him to design something like the bike in the famous picture of Marlon Brando in The Wild One,” Bordi revealed later. “It was an iconic image of a bike, with a large single headlight, and I asked Galluzzi to make a bike in this style – aggressive and sporty, but also naked. That’s where the Monster came from.” Bordi’s intent was two-fold. First, he wanted Ducati to enter the ‘cruiser’ or streetbike market with a machine that, while unmistakably produced by Ducati, was also ripe for modification in the same way Harley- Davidson buyers festooned their bikes with a seemingly endless array of accessories. Second, there was a plan to ‘recycle’ existing Ducati components to keep development costs to a minimum. Monster designer Miguel Galluzzi Spurred by the growing popularity of ‘streetfighters’ (typically crash-damaged sportsbikes which owners turned into unfaired, flat-’barred roadsters), Galluzzi pressed on. “What does a motorcyclist need to have fun?” Galluzzi asked later. “All a bike needs is a saddle, engine, two wheels, handlebars and a tank to fill with fuel. The road does the rest. That was the philosophy behind the Ducati Monster.” Galluzzi’s first decision was to use the 888 superbike chassis as the base for the Monster. Its rising-rate rear suspension (the alternative was the SS family’s more rudimentary, cantilever suspension frame) ensured the new bike would have the proper sports credentials required, albeit calmed slightly with slower steering geometry. Engine choice was less clear. Galluzzi favoured the liquid-cooled, four-valve 851 engine, but he was finally persuaded to use the 904cc, air-cooled 900SS motor instead. Bodywork ‘Muscular’ tank designed by Galluzzi joined the minimalist side panels and seat cowl. Although a prototype was shown with extensive use of carbonfibre, on the production version only the side panels and exhaust heat shield survived, although still one of the first production bikes to feature it. Instruments Although the handlebar switchgear was also identical to that of Ducati’s Supersport models, the Monster’s instrument binnacle was new and, again in keeping with the whole project’s minimalist philosophy, was fairly basic. It simply featured a classic, white-faced, analogue speedo, an assortment of warning lights and no tachometer at all. Suspension Front forks were the same as Ducati’s 750 Supersport: non-adjustable, 41mm inverted Showa GD041 forks with 120mm of travel. However, to improve their action the oil quantity was increased by 30cc. At the rear was a German Boge shock offering 110mm of travel. Variations The Monster’s immediate popularity inspired a continuous flow of variants, including a M600 Monster in 1994 (along with Japan-only M400), a 750 (in 1996), lower spec Dark (1997) and higher spec S the following year. Ducati would ultimately offer as many as nine different Monster variations in any one year. 62 Cagiva or Ducati? During development, Massimo Bordi reportedly argued for the new bike to be a Ducati while Claudio Castiglioni, boss of Ducati’s parent company Cagiva, wanted it branded a Cagiva. Bordi won, but not before many of the components on early Monsters, like the fuel cap, were stamped with Cagiva logos…
Page 1 and 2: SUZUKI GSX-R1000 ABS STILL GOT IT W
Page 3 and 4: SUZUKI GSX-R1000 ABS THERE IS NOWHE
Page 5 and 6: SUZUKI GSX-R1000 ABS Showa big-pist
Page 7: DUCATI M900 MONSTER Damn-near perfe
Page 11 and 12: What to look out for Finish Crucial
Page 13 and 14: “The Monster is upright, natural
Page 15 and 16: Still a great ride after 22 years o
Page 17 and 18: You don’t need a track bike for a
Page 19: 7 Sort the suspension Make sure you

Motorbikes.pdf

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?