May 2009
Ron Lieback
When I heard we’d be test riding the Ducati Monster 1100S, I knew the air-cooled, two-valve per cylinder Desmodromic engine with 95 horsepower and 79.5 ft-lbs of torque would be very tame considering my taste for liter bikes from the Big Four. But after five minutes on the beast, I realized Ducati’s intentions; the 1100S was created for one major reason many people love motorcycles, “the fun factor”. And fun it was…although extreme excitement in motorsports sometimes equals a few broken laws here and there. I won’t lie; when I say AAB’s owner Julian Taylor and I put this bike to the test, I just don’t mean some canon ride and a few miles paying attention to the speed limit on the freeway. I’m talking full leathers, speeds a little bit higher than normal, some canyon rides north of Pittsburgh that rounded out the tires quickly, and also the closed road for some knee dragging and wheelies. Taylor and I traded between the test bike and his 2006 Ducati 999, which, by the way, is the bike most of the high speeds came from…if you’re going to test a slower bike like the Monster, might as well test it along side one of the quickest.
But the 1100S pulls hard due to its L-Twin, the same 1078 cc motor that muscles the Ducati Hypermotard 1100. The engine is a bit lighter compared to the old DS 1000, having vacuum die-cast crankcases that shave off 7 lbs. And yet another 2.2 lbs. disappear from the use of aluminum front brake disc carriers, which help reduce rotating mass, and the carbon fiber cam belt covers, silencer guards and front fender. This equates to a dry weight of 370 lbs., making the 1100 S the lightest in its naked class.
Let’s begin with the obvious statement any Ducati rider would expect from the 1100S with its Desmo: it’s a thundering creature with loads of mid-range torque, from 3,000 rpm up to its max output at 6,000 rpm. This was immediately noticed on some third- and fourth-gear canyon rides, where downshifting was only needed for passing (legally, that is). The strong mid-range was also ideal for city driving, especially when careening through the daily commute. On the topic of gears, though, they seem very tall overall, and the only use I had for sixth gear was at speeds over 100 mph. Sixth gear is completely useless for normal driving; even at a normal 65 mph on the highway, it just bogs the bike down, creating a need to downshift.
Grabbing gears comfortable on the street also worried me due to the dry clutch in the Monster, but it felt just like a wet system. The clutch had an easy pull, and finding neutral came with ease. And while thrashing around various canyon roads at max rpm, I was also worried about the efficiency of the air-cooling system. But temperature remained normal through all driving conditions, although viewing the temperature gauge during daylight can strain the eyes; this goes for most of the gauge’s readings.
As it is on most Ducati’s, suspension was very respectable. With the fully adjustable 43mm, titanium nitride-coated Öhlins forks and rising rate linkage Öhlins rear suspension unit featuring adjustable pre-load and return damping, you can tune the 1100S to your own style. And just as expected of a Ducati trellis frame, the bike was extremely agile, even when shadowing right up the exhaust pipe of Taylor’s 999. The short Trellis frame uses the same tube diameter and thickness as the 1098 R, while the rear subframe is derived from Desmosedici RR technology.
And even when we took this bike to a closed road with the sweetest apex that needed a bit of sweeping, it remained agile with a knee on the ground, although with its high ground clearance and somewhat canted-forward seat, dragging a knee took loads of lean. Other benefits to this bike’s agility were the lightweight 5-spoke wheels helping to reduce unsprung weight, and the single-sided swingarm, one that is known for high rigidity in the world of Ducati.
No complaints here about braking. The Brembo braking system, featuring a radial master cylinder feeding four-piston calipers on twin 320 mm discs, provided optimal braking. But sometimes I wished I was employing these stoppers during longer rides on the freeway; the handlebars vibrate when at cruising rpm, not arm-numbing, but enough to kill comfort, and hold on when approaching expansion joints on bridges or bumps on a favorite twisty. We encountered many bumps on some of the canyon roads at speeds above 75 mph that made scrubbing off speed with the rear brake necessary…let’s just say many times I thought I’d be giving a new definition to tree hugging. And as for wind protection…what you see is what you get, and that pretty much equals nothing.But this was just a test to see the full potential of this machine, even if it wasn’t exactly built for what it was thrust into. Obviously not as powerful as the new Street fighter 1098, which will also be road tested by AllAboutBikes.com soon, but with a bit more power than the Monster 626 (15 additional horses and 25.5 ft-lbs of torque), the 1100S is the perfect bike for the middle-minded.
As for the $13,995 price? Purchasers better feel comfortable spending the extra flow for performance that really isn’t all that much over the Monster 626 with its $8,995 price tag. But talk about fun…except for the few issues and higher price, this bike is perfect for just thrashing around, and is actually quite comfortable for daily commutes if a bit of vibration and the lack of wind protection doesn’t bother you. And though we were lucky we didn’t encounter any issues with the law, you may not be so lucky. I mean come on, it’s a Ducati, and it’s known that Italian’s design their bikes to be ridden to at least some of its potential…if not all.
