Ducati Monster 1100

[Tom Herold]

I received an invite for myself and a guest from the BMW Ducati Triumph dealer in Charlotte, NC, to take a guided test ride on the new Ducati Monster 1100.

Personally, I'm not a fan of Ducati's because I think they're no different than an Italian mother-in-law: expensive and high maintenance. But, for a free 20 to 30 minute dealer guided ride, I'll make the exception.

My riding buddy and I are heading out tomorrow morning at about 6am for the 3 hr ride to Charlotte, we're going to thrash some other people's machines, grab some chow, then ride home.

Not a bad way to spend a Saturday!

I'll take some pics and give my thoughts once I get back.

[Stretch]

My fave local shop, NPR Ducati, is having an unveiling this very evening...

http://www.nprducati.com/calendar.html (http://www.nprducati.com/calendar.html)

[matttys]

My shop is doing theirs tomorrow.  I feel bad going there sometimes as I've done maybe 10 test rides and not bought a bike from them yet.  I do give them lots of parts business though  :D

[Stretch]

That's my thing, parts.  The owner of NPR Ducati used to be one of the big wheels at Atlanta Triumph-Ducati (as I've said before, sorry), so nobody else at any other shop near here has his level of Triumph expertise.  He has helped me by phone before, when he was off at the races doing his own thing.  He's good people, so I support him any way I can.  He's a Parts Unlimited dealer, so I even order dirt bike parts and supplies from him.

[Tom Herold]

Those folks were just plain awesome!

It's unfortunate, with as small of a market as Triumph has in the US, that most of the dealers I've dealt with are horrible to say the least. I've found if the dealer is Triumph specific, I've had issue with them.  If they have a broad spectrum of brands, they're more approachable and supportive.  Maybe it's just me...

Anyway, yesterday was a complete suprise and well worth the 3 1/2 hour ride to just test ride a few bikes.

For starters, there was no pressure to buy anything. The owner, Mark, was just happy to see us there and we had some great conversations about riding and our thoughts on the bikes we rode.

We could've ridden every bike in the place and they wouldn't have cared, they just kept offering and my buddy and I kept accepting!

So, for thoughts on the Monster 1100. I'm impressed with the pure brute force and speed of the bike. We were in triple digits on the guided ride right from the start. It was a 10 mile loop with twisties, freeway and different road surfaces on each run. I made a 120 mph dash a few times, but was disappointed in how many times I hit the rev limiter as I was trying to wring out every bit of horsepower and speed.  I found the usable RMPs to be between 3500 and redline, anything below 3500 and the bike was a slug. The suspension was stiff and the feedback was instant, the ergo's were good, the brakes excellent, but I just didn't like the way it was set up. A fun bike, blindingly fast and you'd better be tucked in and hanging on when you crack the throttle!!!! It's just short of track ready, and not something I see myself buying to keep for more than a year or so.

So I compared it to the Speed Triple 1050.... Now that was a fun bike too, similar specs to hosepower and torque, but a heavier machine. I liked the 1050's useable rpm range; from idle to red line!  The ergo's were better for me and I liked the softer suspension, even in the corners and while at the same 120mph dashes. It just plain felt better. To me the Speed Triple was a better over-all package, and I even think the brakes dealt with bleeding off energy better too. The kick in the pants acceleration took place at any rpm and speed, a great bike and one I'd like to see sitting next to the Tiger.

Then the ride on the Street Triple with the factory mods like the Arrow exhaust and tune, belly pan and fly screen. Now this bike was just plain awesome! For a 675, it just wanted to run as hard and fast as you wanted. The balance, suspension, torque and power curve, ergos, brakes and handling were exactly what I'd hoped to find in the Monster. It didn't have the kick in the pants acceleration the Ducati or Street Triple had, but it was fast none the less. Honestly, I prefer the Street Triple over the Speed Triple for a daily fun bike because it handled so much better.

We also took a Multistrada 1100, a BMW GS1200, BMW F800, a Tiger 1050 and a few others out. We spent about 4 hours there, meeting the parts dept., and a couple of the mechanics who came out to look over my Tiger. They gave me a thumbs up on the mods and overall condition.

I didn't like the BMW's or Multistrada at all. The suspensions were far too soft, and the engines wound out way too soon. I must be just too biased towards my Tiger to be objective here. I guess if I wanted a more off-road than on-road bike, I'd have to give the nod to the Beemer, but it's not as practical as the Tiger is IMHO. The Multistrada was too much work to ride, the front fairing looked cheap and flimsy, shaking terribly under speed and the ergos were off a bit.

In all, I still feel my Tiger is the best bike I've owned to date and I was very happy to be riding it home. I just haven't found another bike that does what the Tiger can do, with the level of comfort, style handling and power. Then add in the ability to carry a ton of gear and the range it can run before a fill up, and you've narrowed the field to just a few.

The guys in Charlotte have become my dealer for parts, pieces, service and sales. I'll gladly ride another 30-45 minutes further than I used to go when trying to work with the dealer in Batesberg-Leesberg, SC, it's that significant of a difference.

[John Stenhouse]

Nice pics, mmm moto porn on a cold winters day! Nothing better.

[Stretch]

Bitchin'!  The Monster 1100 is one sexy mo-sheen indeed.  I didn't go to the local event here.  It's a small shop with a good following, so I figured I'd let the Ducati faithful have their day.  Maybe Paul will let me czech one out a little later.

[HappyMan]

Your smack on with that dealer.  My buddy in Charlotte got his Monster from them and they are a dealer willing to go the extra mile for you.  They deserve your business.  I'm stopping in Charlotte for a quick one off in a few days.  Wish I had time to stop in to that dealership.

[haulin' daze]

Throw a leg over a F800GS while you were there?

[Tom Herold]

edited for double post.

[Tom Herold]

I did do the F800GS while there! I have to admit, I was impressed with the parallel twin! The power band was smoother than the 1200 opossing twin and the light weight was balanced very well.  The seating position was comfortable and the bike handled very well.  You sit tall, like on the Tiger,  but the wind protection from the screen is better; less turbulence and better flow in stock form.

Cons? The suspension felt like a marshmellow. Granted, it's supposed to be more oriented towards off-road than highway running, the knobby tires reflected that. The top end had the bike working kind of hard, the engine seemed happier in the low and mid ranges. I also worried about the underseat gas tank. It's plastic and does not have any shielding from rocks or debris. It sits right above the rear tire and is very exposed. I'm guessing the engineers knew what they were doing......

All in all, if I wanted a more off-road oriented machine, I'd choose this one over the 1200 anyday of the week!!!!!