Ducati Monster Forum

What was the original monster an naked version of?

It wasn't a version of anything.

It was a new bike.

You got it backwards... naked bikes come before faired bikes. ;)

not in his experience. ;)

The Monster is the origin :-)

From the Ducati HEritage website

On display is the Monster 900, a model destined to take its rightful place in the history of international motorcycling.
Monstrously beautiful, it is a cocktail of exquisite Ducati components, including the trellis frame from the 851/888 series and the 904 cc air/oil cooled Pompone engine from the Supersport range.

This is what i was wondering. Thank you all.

passionate italian translation of "parts bin special"

 :D

Note that only the 1992 851 had the same frame, so when it is said that it was an 851/888 frame, that doesn't apply to the earlier 851's.  The earlier 851's had a frame that was welded at the front where it was bent on the 888.  The aluminum 888 swingarm was also used for the Monster.  If you park a mid-90's Monster next to an 888 it's interesting to see the similarities in frame and swingarm.  Everything behind the rear engine bolt is different, though.  The Monster has a different sub-frame welded on as part of the frame while the 888 has a bolt-on rear sub-frame.

Wheels and brakes were pretty much the same, but the Monster had cheaper forks.  The 888 has adjustable Showa forks and an Ohlins shock while the Monster had non-adjustable Showa forks and a Sachs shock.

If somebody in the Bay Area wants to ride their 93-95 Monster to Pleasanton, I would be happy to take the fairings off of my 888 and photograph the various parts of the two bikes together to document the similarities.

That's a cool idea, Scott.  mostrobelle n' Enzo are on your side of the bay and both have '94 monsters.   [thumbsup]

I have a Minichamps Ducati Monster and a Tamiya Ducati 888 at my desk.  I can do a quick comparison right before my eyes.   [cheeky]

Oh, forgive the ignorance. I thought the original monster was just a de faringed version of some bike.

I wonder why they combined the 851/888 frame with the air cooled engine?  It definitely looks cool and allowed for the Monster tank to be shaped the way it is.  Why didn't they just take off all the fairings from the Supersport and put a round head light on front and call that the Monster?  Was it cheaper?  Or was it for aesthetics?

Take a good look at a SuperSport frame.  Not nearly as nice looking as the SuperBike frame.

And since all Ducati engines fit the same way in the frame, minus the occasional cross brace, the SuperBike frame was the obvious choice.

If I recall correctly, the engine chosen was not meant to be the original engine, he was going to use the engine from the superbike, but due to the high demand for that engine, he had to take the smaller engine.

but, I also remember reading, when he first built the bike, it was not for production, it was for his own personal use, it was only after seeing the bike (A manager/A CEO, someone like that) that he was asked to develop the concept and make it into a production bike, it almost became a Cagiva Monster, but Ducati's board wanted it more, so they got it.

I don't believe that.  Just like with the Hypermotard, one of the most important parts of the original looks of the Monster was the lack of radiator and hoses.  Now that the water cooled bikes have been split off into the Street Fighter line, the Monsters have returned to their more pure air cooled roots.

Regardless of how fast or powerful the S4 variants have been, I've never felt that they truly belonged in the Monster line because of the radiators and associated plumbing.

I agree the Monster/851/888 frame looks better than the SuperSport frame, just wondering if there was any other advantages.

I never heard that story before.  It makes for a good story if it is true.

+1 [clap]

I thought it was a bit odd as well, I will try to find the article, it was written when the 696 or the 1100 came out (They interviewed the original designer about the Monster) it was in a little sidebar piece, I would imagine that if it were true, Ducati would not like to think there most famous model was by accident, or a parts bin special.

the truth very often hurts.

Ducati in the mid 90's was in a very dire financial situation.
The reason they used existing parts is because they had nio money to develop new parts.
The 916 development almot bnkripted them.


Naked SS? isnt that a sport classic?

Their frames do have some similarities, but if you put the bikes side by side you can see the differences between the SS and the Sport Classic frames.  Definitely not the same frame. 

The ss frame sort of sits above the engine, with bars dropping down to the engine mounts, much like the old bevel frames from the 70's and the Pantah from the 80's. Hence the Sport Classics copy this arrangement. The Monster and 851/888 frames sit more "around" the engine, positioning the tank and seat closer to the ground. Both look good IMHO, but for different reasons. my 2c  ;D

I'd really like to see that. I heard that some of the bracing around the head stem was removed from the from to make room for the airbox. I really want to put them back in and I'd like to compare.

Scott, maybe the next time you have your fairings off you could take some pics in that area for me??  Pleeease...  [beer]

there a very thin gauge tube missing on the monster to accomodate the airbox thats the most obvious difference i didn't pay much attention after that.

if you got to www.ukmonster.co.uk (http://) and search rebuild  i memory serves kato got his frame braced during his rebuild.

The monster is an original bike. But naked bikes had been around before. I have a friend with an old Honda Hawk that always says that the monster is a copy of the hawk.  [roll]

i think the point of the monster being new is that ever since they invented fairings. Sportbikes had fairings. you still got naked bikes but they were not by any means sporty.

The Monster is a naked sports bike. all the manufacturers have them now but until the Monster there were none.

 8)
an no a hardley able son sporters isnt a fecking sports bike

I don't see the Monster as a Sportbike.

I find it hard to believe that the Scrambler did not inspire the creation of the Monster in terms of design at leat....

http://motorcyclepictureoftheday.blogspot.com/2009/03/ducati-scrambler-rendering-wow-what.html (http://motorcyclepictureoftheday.blogspot.com/2009/03/ducati-scrambler-rendering-wow-what.html)

The scramber was not by any means unique to ducati.  The british manufacturers had their versions too.