Monster on the boulevard: Ducati Monster review

I wasn’t a biker till 2012 and never even intended to learn to ride even as my friends scolded me for being a fattu! As a child though, the idea of revving up a motorbike always gave me a high of a different kind. My father had a Rajdoot and I used to make sure that my seat was up front on the fuel tank. The maximum hooliganism I used to do was to rev up the accelerator on empty roads. I was never into the minute details of bikes, like what the dry or wet weight of a bike was, how the gears worked or what did 150cc or 200cc mean for a bike.

But ever since I discovered the biker in me, I have got chances to ride many bikes, from the 300cc Mahindra Mojo to 1800cc Indian Roadmaster. But here came the Ducati Monster 821 and instantly reminded me of those ruffian rides with my father.

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It was the Monster’s howling sound that hit me hard. The raw growl of the naked sports bike was enough for the people around to look back and adore it. But isn’t that what all these Italian giants are meant to do? It’s like our cover girl, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. You wouldn’t use Google to search anything about her. You just know that she is the hottest of them all. The case is same with the Monster 821. This Ducati baby snarls the loudest. It reeks of the red blood of Ducati and rides like one too. Just one push and it makes sounds that can put even the loudest to shame. It has been made to bring out the hooligan out of you.

On just another solitary Sunday evening, I decided to spend my Christmas on the ceremonial boulevard of Delhi, Rajpath. I put on my biking gear and set sail towards the busy India Gate hexagon. Despite heavy traffic, the Monster’s handle didn’t disappoint in manoeuvring through the cars. The three modes of driving, Urban, Touring and Sports give option for every kind of ride. I mostly used the Urban and Sports on Delhi roads and the street-naked Monster seemed comfortable in those two. Talking of speeding up, the vibrations on the handle get strong on higher RPM. That was my only concern!

The Brembo monobloc brakepads do an excellent job of killing the speed and bringing the bike to a definite halt in no time. As the shoot got over and the photographer wanted to pose with the bike as well, I discovered that there was an amazing photographer in me too! But that’s a story for another time. Till then, let me savour the monstrous rides!