UK Monster Owners Club Forum - View Single Post

slob · 06-07-2016, 06:23 PM

Entering Firenze in a pack of 20 plus Ducatis is quite an experience. The traffic makes central London look quite sedate. Passers-by encourage you rev your engine and take photos on their phones. I wish I could stay in Italy forever instead of returning to the nanny-state.

Day four: since we where taking a 250Km mountain route to cover the 30-odd Km between Firenze and Mugello my passenger decided to give the slippery seat a miss and travel in our support van, allowing me to explore the true performance of the R.
As I tried to keep up with our guide in the rush hour leaving Firenze, leant into a bend at 70KPH in a 30 zone, a suited scooter commuter comes around the outside of me on the wrong side of the solid white line, I mentioned this to one of the Italians who said "Limit? ees more a suggestion... like a red light"
Clearly a very fast bike, even two-up, solo it's a screaming psychopath: Allowing me to run near the front of a group of highly experienced riders.
The flat bars maketurning very easy, I was able to easily gap 959s out of tight uphill turns and close up on them on downhills, where the pain of clip-ons starts to become a bit of a disadvantage.
I also started to notice the the ABS kicking in due to reduced rear traction as we made our way up the Muraglione Pass.

We were given a day off at Mugello, so what would any sane person do with a set of scrubbed Supercorsas sitting in the car park? I went off and found the Futa Pass, where the factory test riders evaluate bikes. It's every bit as good as I hoped, if you ever get the chance to ride it, do so!

Our last day on the road was a less than direct route from Mugello to Misano, this clearly confused the Swiss Multistrada rider and his M821 riding companion who got caught up with our group at our first petrol stop and spent a couple of hours chasing hard through the curves and turns, heading away from their destination before they realised what was going on. The other road that UKMOC weekender regulars should try is the SS72 which skirts the North side of San Marino, it's like Fish Hill on steroids.

I spent the last couple of days at WDW, mostly using the bike as a mild mannered commuter but taking time out to visit a UKMOC dinner in Tavulia, thrash along the SP44 between Gabiche and Pesaro a couple of times and riding up the hill to Coriano to look at the Simoncelli mural. Then back up the autostrada to Bologna to return the beast to the factory. Now I just need to wait and see if I triggered any radar traps whilst the bike was in my care as I'm sure the factory will pass the fines right along,

I think the bike is seriously good looking with a slimmer seat than the other 1200s, even die hard 'original models only' fans should soften to it. The mirrors aren't too bad, the indicators are unobtrusive and the number plate bracket looks like an aftermarket tail-tidy. The pipes look and sound okay and will get through trackday noise testing. I honestly don't think I'd change anything other than maybe adding a triboseat to stop the occasional passenger from screaming when you gas it over bumps.

Massive thanks to Ducati for the loan of the bike, they've made a sale, I seriously need one of these, possibly the best Monster yet. If you haven't test ridden one yet, do it! but be warned it could get expensive...

06-07-2016, 06:23 PM	#3
slob . Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: East London Bike: Multiple Monsters Posts: 9,714	Entering Firenze in a pack of 20 plus Ducatis is quite an experience. The traffic makes central London look quite sedate. Passers-by encourage you rev your engine and take photos on their phones. I wish I could stay in Italy forever instead of returning to the nanny-state. Day four: since we where taking a 250Km mountain route to cover the 30-odd Km between Firenze and Mugello my passenger decided to give the slippery seat a miss and travel in our support van, allowing me to explore the true performance of the R. As I tried to keep up with our guide in the rush hour leaving Firenze, leant into a bend at 70KPH in a 30 zone, a suited scooter commuter comes around the outside of me on the wrong side of the solid white line, I mentioned this to one of the Italians who said "Limit? ees more a suggestion... like a red light" Clearly a very fast bike, even two-up, solo it's a screaming psychopath: Allowing me to run near the front of a group of highly experienced riders. The flat bars maketurning very easy, I was able to easily gap 959s out of tight uphill turns and close up on them on downhills, where the pain of clip-ons starts to become a bit of a disadvantage. I also started to notice the the ABS kicking in due to reduced rear traction as we made our way up the Muraglione Pass. We were given a day off at Mugello, so what would any sane person do with a set of scrubbed Supercorsas sitting in the car park? I went off and found the Futa Pass, where the factory test riders evaluate bikes. It's every bit as good as I hoped, if you ever get the chance to ride it, do so! Our last day on the road was a less than direct route from Mugello to Misano, this clearly confused the Swiss Multistrada rider and his M821 riding companion who got caught up with our group at our first petrol stop and spent a couple of hours chasing hard through the curves and turns, heading away from their destination before they realised what was going on. The other road that UKMOC weekender regulars should try is the SS72 which skirts the North side of San Marino, it's like Fish Hill on steroids. I spent the last couple of days at WDW, mostly using the bike as a mild mannered commuter but taking time out to visit a UKMOC dinner in Tavulia, thrash along the SP44 between Gabiche and Pesaro a couple of times and riding up the hill to Coriano to look at the Simoncelli mural. Then back up the autostrada to Bologna to return the beast to the factory. Now I just need to wait and see if I triggered any radar traps whilst the bike was in my care as I'm sure the factory will pass the fines right along, I think the bike is seriously good looking with a slimmer seat than the other 1200s, even die hard 'original models only' fans should soften to it. The mirrors aren't too bad, the indicators are unobtrusive and the number plate bracket looks like an aftermarket tail-tidy. The pipes look and sound okay and will get through trackday noise testing. I honestly don't think I'd change anything other than maybe adding a triboseat to stop the occasional passenger from screaming when you gas it over bumps. Massive thanks to Ducati for the loan of the bike, they've made a sale, I seriously need one of these, possibly the best Monster yet. If you haven't test ridden one yet, do it! but be warned it could get expensive...