2005 Ducati Monster S2R

I'm past just half through the hundred or so bends of this road, yet I can't help but be impressed by the overall balance of the package between my legs (but he doesn't like to brag). There is such a linear engine pull from 3,000rpm, and it will happily follow you on into almost 10K if you wish, while never catching you off guard, freeing your mind from drive and gear selection worries. Suspension set up is still classic Ducati, stiff and controlled, so when you do throw the M800 about it easily settles into high lean angles without moving around. With such a perfect canvas to paint on, you can't help but enjoy the effective steering and good field of view courtesy of that Supermoto handlebar to the fullest.... Oh, there we go, at it again.... The SM thing.

OK, some things just don't compare. There's no long seat inviting you to shift

I stop at the pass for coffee. There are plenty of bikes and riders in the parking lot and the S2R's boy racer poise grabs its share of attention. That is until a customized XB12 and an S4R pull in, shoving the S2R back into its place. The extreme Buell shows that with all due respect to Monsters, the decade old design is showing its age. Next to the smart XB12, the M800 looks almost vintage. The gossip in local press is that the M series is about to undergo a major redesign, and it wont be a moment too early. The bigger S4R reminds me that although 77 hp are kind of nice, why not 120 or at least the 85 of the M1000? When I swing my leg over the S2R again, it seems to read my mind and answers: 'Cause with my 77 horsies I have the perfect balance for these roads and you are not Christian Pfeiffer (Ducati's awesome stunt man), at least not yet...

The M800 is stronger that the anemic, entry level 620 and it has the aforementioned advantages in looks and seating position over the M1000. A nice middle of the road point in the Monster range and as it turns out, I am not the only one to see it that way. In the last few months, M800 sales have surpassed Ducati's previous bestseller in Italy, the M620 while bringing all time Monster production numbers to the 150,000 mark. Also in terms of accessorizing, the M800 hits a middle ground of sorts. Never mind the classy swingarm, the front calipers are twin piston floating Brembos. They might not look like much, but power and feel were very good and I found myself doing some of my longest rolling stoppies ever with this one. The non-adjustable inverted fork might look good, but it got on my nerves from time to time. Nevertheless, the overall suspension setup is okay and offers good control, but it feels like the fork valving is not very sophisticated. Over some higher bumps it felt like the fork was locking up and jolts were transmitted straight to the wrists. However, even that can't hamper your full trust in the M's manners. The triangulated frame is that stiff. On my way down, a situation that always arises to exacerbate front-end feel, the M800 seems to say "trust me". When rolling into the throttle at the bend's exit, the friendly power doesn't cause you to run wide, as might happen with say a Tuono or S4R. Play with the gears for some extra pull, or leave it in third-fourth and concentrate on feathering the tire's edges.

All we (the M800 and I) want to do is to come back here tomorrow. Luckily, it's Saturday. See ya Sunday. At the end of the day, I don't know if I convinced anybody with my new and weird definition of an open road supermotard. It's a lean, narrow and friendly sit-up-and-scratch thing, a scalpel on the right roads while still letting you cover distance without pain. What does matter is that with just a few touches here and there, this more than decade old design is as relevant as ever, even in front of Japan's attack in the naked middleweight segment. Riding a Monster is still a rather special experience, even if the thing is far from being tops on an outright performance scale. This M800 could do so much good to someone climbing up the displacement ladder or looking for a friendly tool to hone their cornering skills. It could be a nice relief for someone who's gotten off frantic 600 supersports or going back to my claim, someone who's really into nimble and minimalist things but doesn't want to make all the concessions required by a single cylinder powerplant. If there's one problem to this Monster, then it's its price. At a 15% premium over a 599 or Z750, Ducati isn't going to sell them by the truckload. So what's someone to do: pay more for something that on paper looks like less? Don't always go by the spec sheet, because it won't tell you about frame stiffness. Even so, that special Monster charm is worth the premium for quite a few souls. After riding the S2R, I can surely understand them.