Ducati Monster S4R

* Ducati Monster S4R :
* Price: £8,250
* Engine Type: liquid-cooled, DOHC, 8v, 90° V-twin
* Displacement: 996cc
* Claimed Max Power: 113bhp @ 8,750rpm
* Tested Max Torque: 70ft/lbs @ 7,600rpm
* Cycle Parts Chassis: Steel tube trellis
* Suspension Front: 43mm USD telescopic forks, fully adjustable
* Rear: rising-rate monoshock, fully adjustable
* Brakes Front: Dual 320mm discs, four piston calipers
* Rear: 245mm disc, twin-piston caliper
* Rake/Trail: 24°/95mm
* Wheelbase: 1,440mm
* Dry weight 193kg (425lbs) :
* Insurance group 14 :
* Issue tested: October 2003
* Contact: Ducati UK 08451 222996

At last, a Monster with some go to match its show. Ever since it hit the streets in '93 this particular Duke has been thought of a bit of a poseur's tool, aimed primarily at the fashion-conscious set. That's not to say it wasn't a decent enough bike – and it must have been in many folk's eyes as it's become Ducati's best selling bike. It's just that it never really had enough in the way of performance to get people excited.
But that's changed with the introduction of the S4R. This is a bike that you can ride hard and get a big buzz from while you're at it.
That's primarily down to the 8v, 996cc liquid-cooled engine whipped from the old 996 Superbike. There's enough peak power on tap with 113bhp claimed from the Latins. But more importantly, it's the way those dobbins are arranged that makes the S4R such a ripper. Being a V-twin, the motor's grunt starts from nothing, builds fluidly and smoothly into a huge wheelie-inducing rush of torque not long after, and then fizzles out gently at 10,000rpm. This equates to a highly useable rev range. And thanks to its breadth, you don't have to resort to pinning the rev counter needle in or around a sweet spot to get good throttle response when you tug the cable. If the Duke's motor is revving, it's making decent and useable power.
The Monster's chassis is pretty keen to give you a laugh too. And, as soon as its wheels are revolving it feels up for a bit of a quick one. In fairness Monsters haven't ever really been poor handlers, but stuff like suspension quality and ground clearance have always limited their progress prematurely. With a tucked in set of pipes, and uprated forks and shock which perform really well, those two issues have been sorted and the S4R can get a right old move on round the corners. And combined with a set of decent brakes the Duke has a complete package to go hooning down backlanes. Though at the other end of the speed scale, town work is still spoilt a little by the snatchiness of the motor at very low rpm, heavy clutch action and restricted steering lock
Not really short of style anyway, the S4R has been modernised significantly. And with its new single-sided swinger, twin-pipe upswept exhaust system, curved rad and oil cooler, carbon-fibre bits and fancy paint job, not only does the S4R go a lot more quickly and competently than all previous Monsters, but it looks a lot better too. Though the bread-bin sized silencer box needs to be ditched to get full marks.