• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Bike India

Best Bikes in India | No.1 Two Wheeler Magazine

Pulsar NS400Z – CHALA APNI

  • Home
  • News
    • Upcoming Launches
    • Latest News
    • New Bike Launches
  • Reviews
    • First Ride
    • Road Test
    • Comparison
  • Features
  • Our Bikes
  • Videos
  • Subscribe
  • NG Auto
    • AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA
    • CAR INDIA
    • COMMERCIAL VEHICLE
  • Brands
  • AUTHORS

Monster on the loose

April 22, 2015 by Team Bike India Leave a Comment

It also benefits from outstanding instrumentation. Like several previous Ducatis the Monster has a digital display that changes with riding mode, in this case switching between three elegant, iPhone-like screens. Urban displays the speedo and clock prominently, Touring adds the tacho and other info including fuel consumption, Sport is purposefully minimalist with revs to the fore. Each display can be customised, and settings are saved when the ignition is turned off.

DuMon12S_090 web

I began in Touring mode as we headed eastwards along Tenerife’s north coast from the launch base at Buenavista, and was immediately impressed by the Ducati’s easy speed and manageability. Worries that the liquid-cooled motor would lack Monster character were soon forgotten. The eight-valve desmo unit doesn’t have the air-cooled V-twin’s rustling charm, but there’s plenty of exhaust rumble and a pleasantly long-legged feel that made the bike fun to ride at a fairly gentle pace.

Low-rev response was very strong, with usable torque from below 3,000 RPM and notably more grunt right the way through the range. In fact, by just 3,500 RPM the eight-valve unit is already making 105 Nm, slightly more than the 1100 EVO unit produced when it reached its maximum at 6,000 RPM. As that suggests, overtaking traffic on the coast road was simply a question of tweaking the very precisely metred throttle, with barely a down-change required through the smooth six-speed box.

1-099 web

Switching to the Sport mode was a simple job of pressing and holding the indicator switch, and closing the throttle. Immediately the throttle response was notably more immediate, the Ducati leaping forward with a snarl from the twin silencers by my right boot, and a more urgent jolt of acceleration.

When you’re riding harder the 1200S’s advantage isn’t just that it’s still piling on torque after six grand, when the air-cooled unit would be running out of breath. As I discovered on a short burst of motorway to La Orotava, the eight-valver carries on revving smoothly to 10,000 RPM if you want it to, whereas the SOHC unit’s limit is 8,500 RPM, so requires more frequent gear-changing. The 1200S just kept on charging, heading for a neck-straining top speed of around 240 km/h.

DuMon12S_020 web

I didn’t approach that because it was soon time to turn off for a short built-up stretch, where Urban mode showed its benefit with a softer, smoother still throttle response that would be particularly welcome in the wet. Switching mode also alters settings for the DTC traction control and ABS braking, optimising them for lower grip. It’s a shame that, unlike the Multistrada, changing mode doesn’t also adjust the suspension.

bikeonline@nextgenpublishing.net'

Team Bike India – who has written 899 posts on Bike India.


Email • Twitter

Related posts:

Ducati SuperSport 950 S Review – Hidden Gem

Indian Chieftain PowerPlus Limited First Ride Review

Matter Aera 5000+ Review - Does it Matter?

Pages: Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5

Filed Under: First Ride, Review Tagged With: 1200, 1200S, 2014, 2015, 821, bike, ducati, India, monster, power, speed, sportsbike

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

AlphaOmega Captcha Classica  –  Enter Security Code
 ⟲    ➴
 


* Copy This Password *

* Type Or Paste Password Here *

Primary Sidebar

Follow Us

LATEST ISSUE

Pulsar NS400Z – CHALA APNI

19TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

Bike India - India's no. 1 two-wheeler magazine

Triumph Street Triple 765 R and RS Review | The Best Street Triple Yet

Ducati Diavel V4 Review | Devil of the Mountain

Royal Enfield Hunter 350 first ride | Aspi Bhathena

SPECIAL Featured Story

Yamaha FZ-S Fi Hybrid

Yamaha FZ-S Fi Hybrid Launched

The Yamaha FZ-S Fi Hybrid has been launched at Rs 1.45 lakh (ex-showroom). Yamaha claim that this is India’s first sub-150-cc hybrid motorcycle. 

More about this.

Recent Posts

  • JULY 2025
  • Ducati SuperSport 950 S Review – Hidden Gem
  • Indian Chieftain PowerPlus Limited First Ride Review
  • Matter Aera 5000+ Review – Does it Matter?

Car India

Car India Magazine - Get your Digital Subscription

Footer

Latest News

CRA Motorsports Launch Student Moto Tech Challenge 2026

ABS as standard and Two Helmets Mandatory for Two-wheelers from January 2026

Ultraviolette Expand To Europe

Reise Helden ECE-certified Helmet Launched at Rs 3,499

Pulsar NS400Z – CHALA APNI

Pulsar NS400Z – CHALA APNI

Bike India: India’s no. 1 two-wheeler magazine

BIKE India covers the two-wheeler industry in its entirety, both from the local and the international perspective. Also delivers the most definitive verdict on machinery and performance by explaining the hows, whys, and whats on every new bike in a lucid and user-friendly manner. BIKE India is the India’s most authoritative two-wheeler publication, a magazine for people with a passion for bikes and everything to do with their history and heritage.
SiteMap

Copyright © 2025 · BIKE INDIA INDIA’S NO. 1 TWO WHEELER MAGAZINE, BY FAR! ·