350,000 times Monster
Let’s begin the story from the end … 15 January 2021

The Monster reaches a significant milestone in its history with the delivery of the 350,000th model, the Monster 1200 S “Black on Black”, which Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali and the Director of the Ducati Design Center Andrea Ferraresi personally delivered to its owner, the Ducatista Sebastien Francois Yves Hervé De Rose.
The Monster is the biggest selling Ducati model of all time, as well as the longest-serving motorcycle in the range. Its legend was created in 1992 when the company had the intuition of putting on the road a Ducati with a Superbike chassis stripped of the fairings and all elements not strictly necessary. With the launch of the M900 model, the first Monster ever, Ducati was able to give rise to a new segment of the motorcycle market – the sports naked – creating a bike that has represented a true benchmark for several generations.
1993
M900 and 916, THE bikes that made history

M900, the story of a legend
His dad: Miguel Angel Galluzzi
https://www.ducati.com/ww/en/heritage/characters/miguel-galluzzi
Miguel Angel Galluzzi was born in Buenos Aires in 1959 and has always had in his blood a passion for engines as well as an almost visceral attraction for motorcycles. His father, his uncle and even his grandparents were riders.
He began studying engineering at the University of Miami (Florida), but after two years he discovered that there was a design school in Pasadena (California) and enrolled there. His first job in the automotive world, for the German company Opel, led him to settle in Europe. He then accepted the offer from Honda, which intended to open a design laboratory in Milan, therefore he moved to the capital of Lombardy (Italy).
https://amcn.com.au/editorial/how-i-created-a-monster
“the first thing I did when I came to Milan was to buy a Ducati! I found a dealer with silver and red 750SS for 7.5m Lira ($6300), which was a lot of money, but I said, if I don’t do it now, I never will. I remember riding it to Honda for the first time and Mr Ikeda (Hitoshi Ikeda, the designer of the CB750 K0) came to my desk and asked me why I didn’t buy a Honda. I said because I like Ducatis. He told me to go with him and I thought ‘oh man, I’m in trouble’. We went to the parking lot and he put the key in and started the engine and suddenly his face changed. He went vroom, vroom, with the throttle and then he turned to me and said, ‘you know what, this bike has a heart. We Japanese are never going to be able to make something like this.’ And from then on every time he’d visit the office he’d take the key to start the Ducati, blip the throttle, and then come back with a huge smile!”
Galluzzi left Honda in 1989 for Cagiva/Ducati.
“While I was working at Honda, we used to receive magazines and one arrived with pictures of the first 851 Ducati stripped naked. They’d simply removed the bodywork in order to take the side-on shots. I made an A3 colour photocopy and said to myself, this is the bike I want to make – it’s what I’d like to ride myself.
Forget about all the race bodywork and stuff that is completely pointless on the street. I want to build this bike just as it is.”
“So I got an 851 frame, the 900SS wasn’t selling very well, so there were ready supplies of its air-cooled desmodue motor, and not having a radiator was a good thing. I decided to use the desmodue motor with the 851 frame that had a rear suspension link, not cantilever like on the 900SS.”

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“Then towards the end of 1991, somebody told me they were having the big meeting of Cagiva importers. I convinced Claudio Castiglioni to bring the bike into the meeting and the Cagiva importer for France, Marcel Seurat, was there, plus Germany was there, England, all the big ones. The meeting lasted for three days and on the last day Claudio said, ‘We have something to show you, and we’d like to ask your opinion.’ We took them into a big room, removed the cover, and everybody was like – ‘Wow, what is this??! The guy who reacted quickest was Seurat – he said, ‘Claudio, we’ve got a winner here. Let’s get this thing going – I’ll buy the first 1000 bikes!’
“So we launched the bike officially at the 15th IFMA International Bicycle and Motorcycle Show in Cologne in October ’92 and to say it was a hit was an understatement – it just took off – so all the other importers increased their orders. It will become a masterpiece of visual minimalism, where everything superfluous has been abandoned:
“All you need are: saddle, tank, engine, two wheels and handlebars”
Miguel Galluzzi
IFMA, Internationale Fahrrad und Motorrad-Ausstellung, today INTERMOT, was one of the world’s largest motorbike, bicycle and accessories exhibitions, the 15th edition was held from 29 September to 4 October 1992 in Cologne, Germany, and was attended by some 250,000 people, 40,000 of whom came from 80 foreign countries.
With the Monster comes the modern concept of naked, real sports bike deprived of the bulky fairing but which at the same time retains all the components typical of superbikes, which will represent the phenomenon of the 90s and subsequent ones.
The success with the public was such that on March 5, 1993 production began and in May of that same year it was already in the dealership showroom, initially with the 904cc engine alone.
There was an immediate boom in sales, so much that one of the Monster’s many merits must certainly be that of having saved Ducati from the crisis that gripped it in the 90s.
In 1999, the M600 was the best-selling motorcycle on the Italian market: the first time a Ducati had achieved such success.
Monster chassis no. “000001”, a red M900, was assigned to Ayrton Senna of whom Castiglioni was a passionate admirer.

Over the course of almost thirty years the Monster will be declined in different displacements ranging from 400 to 1200cc, with carburetors and injection, 2 and 4 valves, air and liquid cooling, in different configurations and special series for a total of over 50 variants. It has changed, improved and evolved from a technical and aesthetic point of view, but without ever losing sight of its main goal: to be a fun-to-ride bike for motorcyclists from all over the world and inspire new generations of enthusiasts. From the legendary Monster 900 and 600, which opened the Ducati world to many young motorcyclists, to the second generation with the 696 and 1100 models, passing through the 4-valve versions, up to the most recent 797, 821 and 1200, the Monster represents an extraordinary success for the brand and for the Ducati company.
Monster: the genesis of the name
“I heard many stories about why we called it the Monster, most completely untrue! The real reason is because I was spending hours on a design that didn’t have a project number, the financial controller needed a name to which to allocate the costs. Around that time, they had a craze in Italy called ‘Monster in My Pocket’ for young kids to collect.

There were about 300 different rubber monsters, and each night my two sons would ask me ‘Dad, did you buy us a monster? Monster, monster, monster?’ And each weekend we’d go to the store to buy three or four boxes of them to add to their collection. So I said ‘why don’t we call it the Monster?’ So Monster it became – never the Italian word, which is Mostro, because that’s not what it said on the boxes.
The Monster (r)Evolution
1993
1st
Monster 900
The “Pompone” (the big pump), the origin of the species.
Its first appearance at the IFMA (International Bicycle and Motorcycle Show) in Cologne in October 1992. Pipes trellis frame of 851/888 series mounts the 904 cc Pompone of Supersport origin, air / oil cooled.
Specs
Engine | 904 cc, air-cooled desmo V-twin, 2v, SOHC |
Power | 80 hp @ 7000 rpm |
Torque | 78 Nm @ 6500 rpm |
Weight | 185 kg |
Full speed | 190 Km/h |





Ducati Monster M900 1993 @ Ducati Museum
1993/1994
2nd
Monster 400
In Japan, in the early 90s, for legislative reasons, large-displacement motorcycles are not encouraged and those under 400cc depopulate. In the 90s in particular, there was a boom in superbike with reduced displacement which gave rise to a real cult.
The 400cc was developed specifically for the Japanese market
Specs
Engine | 398 cc, air-cooled desmo V-twin, 2v, SOHC |
Power | 41 hp at 10000 rpm |
Torque | 33 Nm @ 7500 rpm |
Weight | 174 kg |
Full speed | n.a. |

1994/1995
3rd
Monster 600
The baby Monster
The Monster 600 uses a smaller 584cc, a 5-speed gearbox instead of the six, the oil bath clutch instead of dry (the engine derived from the Pantah of the small series), the single front disc, the ‘absence of the oil cooling radiator and finally for tires reduced size. It proves a massive hit all across Europe, thanks in a large part to its budget €6000 price tag.
Among the most important changes (later also extended to the M900) there was one as banal as it was indispensable: the bevel of the silencers in the part closest to the ground. In the first models, in fact, the high bend possibilities often led the exhaust system being filed on the asphalt, which in extreme cases also caused some slips to the most daring pioneers of “monsterism”.
Specs
Engine | 584cc, air-cooled desmo V-twin, 2v, SOHC |
Power | 53 hp @ 8250rpm |
Torque | 47 Nm @ 6000rpm |
Weight | 175 kg |
Full speed | n.a. |






1996
4th
Monster 900 Special Edition
The appearance of the front fairing

1996
5th
Monster 750
Single disc at the front, non-adjustable fork, steel swingarm, no carbon and the 4.5 “rear rim. The color associated with this engine was a beautiful metallic gray which was subsequently also proposed in the other displacements.
Specs
Engine | 748 cc, air-cooled desmo V-twin, 2v, SOHC |
Power | 64 hp @ 7500rpm |
Torque | 63 Nm @ 6500rpm |
Weight | 178 kg |
Full speed | n.a. |



The M Family: 600, 750, 900

1997
6th
Monster 900 “small valves”
The M900, perhaps guilty of being too riotous in the delivery of the torque, it was made more manageable and fluid especially at low revs with an unusual work of depowering. For the first time on a production Monster, the front fairing appeared, actually a bit clumsy compared to the shape of the bike, but useful for differentiating the larger displacement version at a glance.
Specs
Engine | 904 cc, air-cooled desmo V-twin, 2v, SOHC |
Power | 71 hp @ 7000 rpm |
Torque | n.a. |
Weight | 184 kg |
Full speed | n.a. |
1997
7th?
Monster 900 Solo
Who saw it?


1998
In 1998 Ducati definitively left the Cagiva universe and the decade of TPG (Texas Pacific Group) control began.
7th
Monster 900S
This is the standard Monster of a few years earlier, with large valves, but equipped with the 41 mm Showa fork, the Brembo floating front discs with cast iron track, the floating rear caliper, and an abundance of carbon fiber details, including mudguards.
The 1999 M900 S version is, to date, one of the most wanted models and without a doubt the best carbureted 900 ever built. Compared to the previous year, in fact, it was even equipped with a steering damper and Öhlins monoshock.
Specs
Engine | 904 cc, air-cooled desmo V-twin, 2v, SOHC |
Power | 74 hp @ 7000 rpm |
Torque | 78 Nm @ 6500 rpm |
Weight | 183 kg |
Full speed | 205 kmh |




1998
8th
Monster 900 Cromo
Produced in small series and characterized by the chromed steel tank with embossed logos. The engine is the “small valves”, but the bike is enriched by black colored rims and by all the imaginable details in carbon fiber (seat cover included).
Specs
Engine | 904 cc, air-cooled desmo V-twin, 2v, SOHC |
Power | 73 hp at 7250 rpm |
Torque | 81 Nm @ 6000 rpm |
Weight | 185 kg |
Full speed | 190 kmh |

9th
Monster 600 Dark
The lucky move
Monster Dark, initially proposed only in the 600cc variant. Characterized by the matt black coloring and the choice between various colors for the frame (black, gray, bronze, red and yellow), the Dark was proposed as an entry model, simplified to the maximum in components and fittings, as well as ready for customization. The success of the Dark 1998 version was such that, in 1999, the 900 and 750 cc variants were proposed only with black chassis and bodywork, a color that, shortly thereafter, will become the standard also for the 600.
Specs
Engine | 583cc, 90-degree, air-cooled desmo V-twin, 2v, SOHC |
Power | 51 hp at 8000 rpm |
Torque | 50 Nm @ 6000 rpm |
Weight | 175 kg |
Full speed | 175 kmh |


1999
10th
Monster 900 City
Made with the intention of making the bike more comfortable for utilitarian use and therefore attracting additional customers. The City was equipped with a higher handlebar, aimed at a less inclined riding position, an efficient, rather extended transparent fairing, a more comfortable saddle also for the passenger, as well as two semi-rigid side bags from the Mandarina Duck. The City version is available in 600, 750 and 900 displacements and in the special Dark version, and also in the new metallic blue color.

2000
11th
Monster 900S i.e.
First Monster to switch from carburetor to electronic injection.
Specs
Engine | 904cc, 90-degree, air-cooled desmo V-twin, 2v, SOHC |
Power | 78 hp at 8000 rpm |
Torque | 73 Nm @ 6250 rpm |
Weight | 189 kg |
Full speed | 205 kmh |

12th
Monster 620 ie
Specs
Engine | 618cc, 90-degree, air-cooled desmo V-twin, 2v, SOHC |
Power | 60 hp @ 9500 rpm |
Torque | 53 Nm @ 6750 rpm |
Weight | 177 kg |
Full speed | n.a. |

13th
Monster 750 ie
Specs
Engine | 748cc, 90-degree, air-cooled desmo V-twin, 2v, SOHC |
Power | 64 hp @ 8750 rpm |
Torque | 62 Nm @ 6500 rpm |
Weight | 179 kg |
Full speed | 190 km/h |
2001
14th
Monster 900 S4
The first water-cooled 4-valve Monster in history.
Specs
Engine | 916cc, liquid-cooled desmo V-twin, 4v, DOHC |
Power | 101 hp @ 8750 rpm |
Torque | 92 Nm @ 7000 rpm |
Weight | 193 kg |
Full speed | n.a. |




Monster S4 Foggy Edition
2003
15th
Monster 1000S
The first 1000.
Specs
Engine | 992cc, air-cooled desmo V-twin, 2v, SOHC |
Power | 84 hp @ 8000 rpm |
Torque | 84 Nm @ 6000 rpm |
Weight | 189 kg |
Full speed | n.a. |

16th
Monster 800
The first 800.
Specs
Engine | 803cc, air-cooled desmo V-twin, 2v, SOHC |
Power | 73 hp @ 8250 rpm |
Torque | 69 Nm @ 6500 rpm |
Weight | 179 kg |
Full speed | n.a. |


17th, 18th, 19th
Monster 620, 620 Dark, 620 Capirex
Specs
Engine | 618cc, 90-degree, air-cooled desmo V-twin, 2v, SOHC |
Power | 60 hp @ 9500 rpm |
Torque | 53 Nm @ 6750 rpm |
Weight | 177 kg |
Full speed | n.a. |



2004
20th
Monster S4R
The first single sided swingarm appears.
Specs
Engine | 996cc, liquid-cooled desmo V-twin, 4v, DOHC |
Power | 113 hp @ 8750 rpm |
Torque | 95 Nm @ 7000 rpm |
Weight | 193 kg |
Full speed | n.a. |


2005
21st
Monster S2R 800, S2R 800 Dark
With longitudinal band, which crosses the fairing and tank.
Specs
Engine | 803cc, air-cooled desmo V-twin, 2v, SOHC |
Power | 76 hp @ 8250 rpm |
Torque | 72 Nm @ 6500 rpm |
Weight | 173 kg |
Full speed | n.a. |



2006
22nd
Monster S2R 1000
Specs
Engine | 992cc, air-cooled desmo V-twin, 2v, SOHC |
Power | 95 hp @ 8000 rpm |
Torque | 94 Nm @ 6000 rpm |
Weight | 178 kg |
Full speed | n.a. |

23rd
Monster S4RS Testastretta, S4RS Tricolore
The first Testastretta Monster. New Marchesini 5 split-spoke rims, Ohlins upside-down fork with TiN treatment, fully adjustable Ohlins single shock absorber with “piggyback” tank, braking system with 320 mm discs and 4-piston radial calipers. A special version was also produced in 2007/08, the S4RS Tricolore, characterized by a color inspired by the Italian flag and an even richer equipment than the standard model.
Specs
Engine | 998cc, liquid-cooled desmo V-twin, 4v, DOHC |
Power | 129 hp @ 9500 rpm |
Torque | 103 Nm @ 7500 rpm |
Weight | 177 kg |
Full speed | n.a. |


2007
24th
Monster 695
With the adoption of the CAN power line, the wiring and clamps disappeared from the trellis frame
Specs
Engine | Four stroke 695cc, 90 degrees L twin cylinder, SOHC, desmodromic 2 valves per cylinder |
Power | 72 hp @ 8500 rpm |
Torque | 61 Nm @ 6750 rpm |
Weight | 168 kg |
Full speed | n.a. |


2008
25th
Monster 696, 696 ABS (2010)
It represents the next generation and what Ducati calls “the final word in urban excitement”. “Less is more” is the claim that Ducati has chosen for the new generation Monster.
After more than 15 years of success and hundreds of awards worldwide for design and technology, the ‘naked’ par excellence is renewed at the end of 2008 with a total redesign of mechanics and chassis and a whole new line.
The symbol of this work is undoubtedly the tank that hides various technical solutions and houses the famous interchangeable covers.
Specs
Engine | Four stroke 696cc, 90 degrees L twin cylinder, SOHC, desmodromic 2 valves per cylinder |
Power | 79 hp @ 9000 rpm |
Torque | 69 Nm @ 7750 rpm |
Weight | 161 kg |
Full speed | n.a. |



2009
26th
Monster 1100, 1100 S, 1100 S ABS
The 696’s big sister is the Monster 1100. The two bikes are very similar, but the difference is not only about performance but also for the single-sided swingarm, which clearly characterizes the rear. The fork is fully adjustable 43 mm upside down Showa and the Sachs shock absorber is adjustable in spring preload and hydraulic brake. The S version features fully adjustable Öhlins.
Specs
Engine | Four stroke 1078cc, 90 degrees L twin cylinder, SOHC, desmodromic 2 valves per cylinder |
Power | 94 hp @ 7500 rpm |
Torque | 103 Nm @ 6000 rpm |
Weight | 168 kg |
Full speed | n.a. |



2011
27th
Monster 1100 EVO, Diesel 1100 EVO (2013)
The new exhaust system has a 2-into-1-into-2 type layout, with the manifolds and twin tailpipes on the right side. The Brembo-Bosch ABS is standard and is part of the Ducati Safety Pack, which included four-level adjustable traction control.
Specs
Engine | Four stroke 1078cc, 90 degrees L twin cylinder, SOHC, desmodromic 2 valves per cylinder, air cooled |
Power | 99 hp @ 7500 rpm |
Torque | 103 Nm @ 6000 rpm |
Weight | 169 kg |
Full speed | n.a. |



Ducati Monster Diesel 1100 EVO

Ducati Monster Diesel 1100 EVO and Renzo Rosso Diesel founder / owner
28th
Monster 796/796 ABS, Hayden / Rossi Moto GP Replica
The Monster 796 is a natural town expert but also very enjoyable on twisty B-roads.
Specs
Engine | Four stroke 803cc, Four stroke, 90 degrees L twin cylinder, SOHC, desmodromic 2 valves per cylinder, air cooled |
Power | 87 hp @ 8250 rpm |
Torque | 78 Nm @ 6250 rpm |
Weight | 167 kg |
Full speed | n.a. |





2013
2014
29th
Monster 1200, 1200 S, 1200 S Stripe (2015)
The fork is a 43 mm Kayaba, the mono a Sachs adjustable only in preload and extension. The S version features fully Öhlins suspension, fully adjustable.
Specs
Engine | Four stroke 1198 cc, Testastretta 11 degrees L-Twin, DOHC, 4 Desmodromically actuated valves per cylinder |
Power | 144 hp @ 8750 rpm |
Torque | 124 Nm @ 7250 rpm |
Weight | 182 kg |
Full speed | n.a. |




2015
30th
Monster 821, 821 Stripe
Beautiful, powerful and easy
Specs
Engine | Four stroke 821 cc, Testastretta 11 degrees L-Twin, 4 Desmodromically actuated valves per cylinder |
Power | 112 hp @ 9250 rpm |
Torque | 89 Nm @ 7750 rpm |
Weight | 179 kg |
Full speed | n.a. |


2015
31st
Monster 1200 R
A real MONSTER!
The most powerful Monster, with a fearsome 159 hp at the rear wheel, it makes over twice the power of the original air-cooled Monster M900.
Specs
Engine | Four stroke 1198 cc, Testastretta 11 degrees L-Twin, DOHC, 4 desmodromically actuated valves per cylinder |
Power | 159 hp @ 9250 rpm |
Torque | 131 Nm @ 7750 rpm |
Weight | 180 kg |
Full speed | 248 Km/h |

2017
32nd
Monster 797
Reference to the origins, evidenced by the tank, the trellis frame, in addition of course to the air-cooled twin-cylinder
Specs
Engine | Four stroke 803cc, 90 degrees L twin cylinder, SOHC, desmodromic 2 valves per cylinder |
Power | 75 hp @ 8250 rpm |
Torque | 68 Nm @ 7750 rpm |
Weight | 175 kg |
Full speed | n.a. |

33rd
Monster 1200, 1200 S
Inspired by the past.
Specs
Engine | Four stroke 1198cc, Testastretta 11 degrees L-Twin, DOHC, 4 Desmodromically actuated valves per cylinder |
Power | 150 hp @ 9250 rpm |
Torque | 126 Nm @ 7750 rpm |
Weight | 209 kg – 185 kg (1200 S model) |
Full speed | n.a. |



34th
Monster 1200 25° Anniversario
25 years, happy birthday Monster!!!
Specs
Engine | Four stroke 1198cc, Testastretta 11 degrees L-Twin, DOHC, 4 Desmodromically actuated valves per cylinder |
Power | 147 hp @ 9250 rpm |
Torque | 124 Nm @ 7750 rpm |
Weight | 184 kg |
Full speed | n.a. |



2018
35th
Monster 821, 821 Stealth
Newly revised benefits from some trickle-down engineering from the Monster 1200. A new tank, tail section, headlight and double exhaust muffler, combined with agile handling by virtue of the 24.3-degree rake and 3.67 inches of trail with a stiff, 43 mm usd fork front end. The Testastretta L-twin with 109 horsepower is under control thanks to safety systems helping the rider.
Specs
Engine | Four stroke 821cc, Testastretta 11 degrees L-Twin, 4 Desmodromically actuated valves per cylinder |
Power | 109 hp @ 9250 rpm |
Torque | 86 Nm @ 7750 rpm |
Weight | 180 kg |
Full speed | n.a. |


Ducati Monster 821 Stealth @EICMA fair 2018
2021
On 2 December 2020, the Borgo Panigale manufacturer presented the new generation of the Monster to the public, with a frame derived from the Superbike and a high-performance engine perfect for road use, in dealerships from April 2021.
Just fun!
The story continues …
