Ducati's Monster gets the SP treatment

A lot has happened in the 30 years since Ducati launched its first, now iconic Monster. In a time when we weren’t all super-glued to our cell phones and social media, struggling Italian manufacturer Ducati came up with the idea of producing a very simple air-cooled V-twin featuring a trellis frame and beautifully designed fuel tank – and not much else

- Adam ‘Chad’ Child

Ducati Monster SP

This agile and minimalist Ducati was in many ways a parts bin special, produced from Ducati stock cluttering up the storeroom shelves – but it worked. Thankfully for Ducati its sales success helped sustain Ducati through some difficult financial times. When Carl Fogarty won the World Superbike Championship on the exciting new 916, it was Monster sales that funded his campaign. And the rest, as they say, is history.

I’ve been lucky enough to have ridden almost every incarnation of Monster from air- to water-cooled and rode my own early Monster 600 to Italy when I was young enough to know no better. Now all those trellis frames and air-cooled engines are long gone because Ducati only produces one Monster, an entry-level naked that was launched in 2021 that uses the 111hp/82kw 937cc Testastretta V-twin. At least it was until now, and the much-anticipated arrival of the Monster SP which is new for 2023.

The Monster SP doesn’t get lighter wheels like other SP models in Ducati’s range (see box out) but it does benefit from Öhlins suspension at both ends; improved Brembo Stylema brakes; a decrease in weight that’s mainly due to a lighter lithium-ion battery; and road legal Termignoni silencer, which, incidentally, doesn’t improve performance and is simply added for aesthetic reasons and sound.

Power continues the same as the standard Monster, but there are other small but significant tweaks such as new steering damper, and Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV rubber instead of Rosso III. There’s also exclusive styling, including a small fly screen and that attractive SP-only livery.