2017 Ducati Monster 797 Review: First Ride

2017 Ducati Monster 797 Preview

The new 797 really does pay its respects to the original, right down to the very nice aluminum clasp that holds down the front of its 4.4-gallon steel fuel tank. The steel trellis frame is an important design element; the red frame and alloy cooling fins are now a classic combination (or you can go dark and get a black bike with black frame), complete with passenger grab rails which provide a good place for bungee hooks. The single not-quite round headlight incorporates a couple of LED marker lights, which you’ll find in the tail and turnsignal lights too.

There’s a handy timeline right here, which refreshes our memory of the last air-cooled Monster – the 796 of 2010. Ducati says the new 797 is all-new, from stem to stern, sharing only its steel gas tank and headlight with the Monster 1200. (And they’d really rather not mention that its 803cc 90-degree V-Twin is just like the one in the Scramblers, except for engine mapping. And hey, wait a minute! The Monster 796 was also powered by an 88 x 66mm 803cc L-Twin.)

Anyway, the claim is 75 horsepower, and in fact that engine made 69.6 rear-wheel Dynojet ponies at 8500 rpm when we flogged it in our 2015 Scrambler Slam, and 46.5 pound-feet of torque at 7000 rpm: 75 is actually 12 hp less than Ducati claimed for the 796, but it does come 500 rpm sooner in the 797, and the new bike is of course Euro-4 compliant. In any case, why question?

In its unadorned 803cc form, it becomes even more obvious what a great gift Dr. Taglioni bequeathed us in the perfectly balanced 90-degree desmodromic Twin, simply because you wind up revving the smaller version out much more often. Ducati says it’s making 80% of maximum torque at just 3500 rpm, and you really don’t need to spin it that hard all the time. But it’s a lot of fun when you do, and the engine’s happy to hit its 9000 rpm high note as often as you feel the need.

The compactness of the whole package encourages you to let loose, too. Ducati wanted the 797 to be super approachable and unintimidating –“undemanding fun”– much like Triumph’s goal for its new Street Twin, and that’s just how the thing plays out: Its rider triangle is a bit more upright and comfortable than the 796, the seat’s surprisingly cush and low enough at 31.7 inches. Controls and levers really do fall readily to hand and foot in the most cliche way and operate easily, and the nice handlebar and plenty of steering lock make tight maneuvering graceful and confident.

While they were at making the thing Euro-4 compliant, they added a pair of fuel injectors beneath the 50mm throttle butterfly, a thing Ducati says provides really smooth power delivery and better control of the fuel mixture. It works; this one comes into the power really smoothly when you roll it on and makes nice, linear thrust right up to the rev limiter, and enough of it to leave your Triumph Street Twin in the dust. I did squeeze in one quick street blast before the rain came down, and the Monster is a bike you can make rapid progress upon in the curves, quick to dive into corners either on the gas or the brakes or both at once, with full-size Pirelli Diablo Rosso II tires providing plenty of grip at both ends. All systems nice and taut.

Nobody wanted it to rain there on the Cote d’Azur, but it provided a great test bed for the 797 when it did; its supple suspension and sweet power delivery provide a good rain set-up; those things and the bike’s natural ergonomics made it a lot of fun to try to keep up with the rain-suited Ducati test rider on a loop through the mountains. Careful over those wet tar strips, and the Monster is a hoot to ride in the rain, quick and light steering but not too. Easy on the lean angle, stay off the manhole covers, get it pointed in the right direction, and time to roll on the gas again for another L-Twin burst of pleasure. The Pirellis seem to have plenty of grip in the wet too.

The front brakes’ sintered pads almost have too much initial bite, but that’s an easy enough thing to adjust to; the rear has plenty of feel for adjusting your speed through all those stone-wall-lined sharp corners.

I think it was Stefano Tarabusi, Ducati’s product manager, who said “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” With this one, there’s no stinking traction control or any ride modes. Blip the throttle yourself when you want to downshift (the six-speed is typically Ducati excellent, the APTC slipper clutch pull is really light but you barely need it once rolling). You do get standard ABS, though, along with LED lights and an LCD instrument panel that’s Bluetooth ready. Also a USB port under the seat.

Duke’s Den: With Stefano Tarabusi

Like every manufacturer worth Its salt these days, of course there are already quite a few options available: tank and tailbags, exhausts, a 25mm taller comfort seat and a 20mm-lower low-seat option. Not to mention all the truly nice riding gear ensembles the Ducati fashion people have picked out (most of it made in partnership with Dainese) to complement your dynamic Italian-American on the go lifestyle, a slightly different one than the bearded hipster caffeine fiend on the make the Scramblers seem to target.

Fashionable or not, it seems like the Monster might retain its crown when we throw it in against other likely contenders in the middleweight naked bike category, even if at $9,295 it’s a bit pricier than a few of them. If you’ve got the extra dough over a Triumph Street Twin, the Monster does offer quite a bit more power and higher-spec componentry. Those of questionable taste might consider an SV650 Suzuki comparable. The Yamaha FZ-07 is a worthy combatant and way less spendy… sadly, the new H-D Street Rod probably isn’t, but that’s a question yet to be decided by the whole MO crew.