Church Of MO – 2005 Ducati Monster S2R
For this week’s Church feature, we check back in with our pal Yossef Schvetz. The year is 2005 and his travels find him somewhere in Italy, pondering the ideal motorcycle for this particular adventure. A 450 Supermoto would be an ideal mount for the twisty pass he’s occupying, but the drone to get to this magical area would be torture. The remedy, he reckons, is Ducati’s Monster S2R. An interesting choice considering there are faster, more brutish Monsters in Ducati’s lineup. Well, Yossef has a reason behind his particular mount. Let’s have him take it from here. For more pictures, be sure to check out the original story’s photo gallery.
2005 Ducati Monster S2R
Brothers & sisters, I feel your pain. You are enticed by the idea of a wet-and-wild supermoto, but you are not into racing a motocrosser with street tires in a parking lot, oh no. Kerouac had his highway 66, but the one road I call my own is the SS427, a winding leg between the village of Varzi and the Del Penice pass. Unlike Jack, I have no philosophical or existentialist motives here, just a simple adrenaline addiction.
Well, I know I’m pushing the proverbial envelope with supermoto community members, but I think I’ve found the remedy in a rather unexpected mount. Look at the pictures and read my thoughts. A Ducati Monster… what the hell does that have to do with a supermoto? Am I high on inhaled race gas fumes? Well no, this divine revelation didn’t land on me all of the sudden. After ten days with Ducati’s S2R, I came to the conclusion that it’s the “supermoto” of sorts that I would like to spend my day on. A day with a good mix of open highways in search of classy bends and then tearing, scratching and storming up and down gnarly passes. It’s a bit surprising really, considering the fact that the S2R is not even the Monster’s flagship. Higher up the ladder you’ll find the powerful S4R and of course the classy M1000. On the face of it, the S2R is a poseur: macho S4R looks but with a “puny” 77 hp engine. So why do I allow myself to come out with such a bold statement? Read on.
The 800cc mill is not that well known and needs some introduction. During the general upgrade of Ducati’s air-cooled mills a few years ago, the 900 was bumped to 1000cc’s, the 600 to 620 and the unpopular 750 to 800. Just like the other two engines, the 800 mill received heavy updates to its combustion chambers, head and lubrication system, but it doesn’t have the twin spark DS system. This setup is more critical on big bore engines such as the 1000cc unit. The one important goodie that the 800 does have over big brother, is the new APTC clutch which reduces effort at the lever as well as supplying an antilock action. This is a welcome improvement, as Ducs have notoriously heavy clutches which can be a pain in stop and go traffic.
On to the city streets, first thing to get noticed is the reduced effort at the clutch lever. Not down to oriental levels, but a serious improvement nevertheless. After your body settles down on the new triangle dictated by the handlebars, seat and pegs, you also notice that the somewhat strange riding position of old monsters has changed. There is less weight on the wrists and the footpegs are now in a much more proper position, so everything feels way more balanced. Mmmm… more supermoto I hear myself thinking… Additionally, I must add that the revised Duc is more rational and adapted to city dwelling.
About a mile into my ride, I realize that I left my wallet at home. U-turn time in a double lane street and…Shiite! Mid turn, I realize that there’s no way I am going to make it and I almost crash into a parked car’s door. I’d forgotten the Monster line has a history of limited steering lock and this bike’s maximum steering angle is simply pathetic! Foot down and save the bike from an embarrassing fall at 0 mph.
Saturday morning I hop on the Milan-Genoa highway and the M800 has no trouble at all keeping a steady 100 mph and for a short and furious stretch.
I’ve seen 125 on the speedo. Obviously, as with any full on naked, regardless of cc’s, droning at 80-90mph makes much more sense, and at those speeds the 90° twin is pumping out power in a relaxed and smooth fashion. Another relaxing trait is that the retouched riding position more evenly splits the load between legs and bum cheeks. The mildly redesigned bikini fairing does an OK job in deflecting windblast from your chest and has stronger attachments, but it still flexes and vibrates quite a lot, reminding you that this is a Ducati after all.
Troy's been riding motorcycles and writing about them since 2006, getting his start at Rider Magazine. From there, he moved to Sport Rider Magazine before finally landing at Motorcycle.com in 2011. A lifelong gearhead who didn't fully immerse himself in motorcycles until his teenage years, Troy's interests have always been in technology, performance, and going fast. Naturally, racing was the perfect avenue to combine all three. Troy has been racing nearly as long as he's been riding and has competed at the AMA national level. He's also won multiple club races throughout the country, culminating in a Utah Sport Bike Association championship in 2011. He has been invited as a guest instructor for the Yamaha Champions Riding School, and when he's not out riding, he's either wrenching on bikes or watching MotoGP.
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