Is a Ducati Monster still a Monster if it loses its trellis frame? If your feelings on the 2021 Monster redesign are, let’s say, conflicted, then Kar Lee of Kardesignconcepts may just have fixed what was broken with his latest renderings.
Now, to be completely clear, we know that even bikes that don’t grab us visually can still ride amazingly well. We haven’t ridden the new Monster yet, so we have no idea what it’s really like. I’m an outlier who didn’t care much for the looks of the Ducati Scrambler until I rode one. After that, it’s grown on me a bit more. Maybe the 2021 Monster will be that way, too. I definitely hope so.
That said, the 2021 Monster just looks a bit less special than it did before. Ducati may have originally carved out that sport naked category very nicely for itself back when it introduced the first-gen Monster. However, visually at least, they’ve started to blend into the sport naked pack over time. It’s not that the 2021 Monster is outright ugly. I do think it has better lines and proportions than the 821, but it seems like it’s missing that visual punch found in previous generations. Some bits of it look MT-07-y and/or Brutale-y, and that's a bit disconcerting.
Is it just the red trellis frame against the black engine that makes such a difference? Opinions are totally subjective, but with both classic and new fuel tank styles, Kardesignconcepts clearly shows what a difference that frame makes. Putting the single-sided swingarm back definitely doesn’t hurt, either.
What are your thoughts on the new Monster? What do you like about it, and what do you wish they’d done differently? How much are you looking forward to riding the update and seeing what that experience is like?
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