New Ducati Monster Senna Edition Review
This week, Ducati announced a new special edition of their Monster naked bike to celebrate one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time, who also happened to be one of the first Monster customers for the Monster 900 when it was first released.
we’ll go through the 10 key things that you need to know about this fantastic-looking bike.
341 Units
Now, this special center edition of the Monster will be on a limited run, of course, and they say there’s just 341 units that are going to be produced.
But the thing is, they haven’t just plucked a random number out of the air because the three, they say, references the number of world titles that Ayrton Senna won, and also the 41 represents the 41 career race wins.
Finish
But the big difference with this particular limited edition versus the standard Monster is, of course, the paint job, which has taken direct inspiration with both the color scheme and the graphical treatment from his famous race helmet.
So of course, you’ve got the yellow base coat with the splashes of green and blue. And also you’ve got a color match fly screen, a belly pan, and a single seat cover.
They’ve even managed to theme the cover on the sports seating the same blue. And as for the details, well, there’s a center logo on the side of the tank there.
There’s some on the tail section, too, and then a small one on the fly screen and one on the seat as well.
Finally, the quote racing is in my blood is across the back of the tank. And overall, for me, I think it’s very nice. Definitely one that will stand out from the crowd.
Weight
But the thing is, it’s not just all style over substance because they’ve actually managed to achieve some fairly decent weight savings with this bike as well.
You see, at the moment, there are currently three bikes in the Monster lineup. So you’ve got the standard Monster, the Monster Plus, which gets a few accessories, and then also the Monster SP, which gets the absolute works thrown at it, including top-notch ONLY suspension and Brembo brakes.
So this, Senna edition, cuts four kilograms off the standard bike and the Monster plus, but also two kilograms off the SP edition, and that gives it an unfueled curb weight of 175 kilograms, with a 14 liter tank, I guess, when it’s fully fueled up, that means it’ll be around the 190 kilogram mark.
Now, part of those savings versus the standard bike are because of some of the same features as the SP models.
So the Terminioni silencer, the lithium ion battery, and the carbon front and rear mud guards.
Wheels
But also, specifically for this bike, you get a set of forged aluminum wheels, and these alone give you a further 1.86 kilograms off that total weight.
Their thing is, though, with lighter wheels, they’re both rotating mass and unsprung mass, and so they’ll have a greater effect on the handling of the bike than if you remove the equivalent weight from the main body.
And so with this particular Senna model, you can expect slightly better suspension performance and also slightly quicker changes in speed and direction.
Now, not only that, but I would say forged aluminum wheels have a certain quality look to them that help to elevate the finish of the whole bike.
And they’ve also colour-matched it with the little tags on the rim there with the yellow, green, and blue.
Engine
Now, elsewhere on the bike, we’ve got the same engine as the other Monsters.
So it’s Ducati’s 937 cc Testa Stretta L Twin. And so for peak power, We’ve got a fairly competitive 111 horsepower at 9,250 RPM.
And also it’s pretty punchy on the torque front at 93.5 Newton meters at 6,500, so plenty of mid-range, and this is plenty quick enough this bike, certainly for road riding.
Exhaust
As part of this Senna package, though, like I said, you do get the Terminioni silencer, and while it doesn’t necessarily add a great deal in terms of performance, it has to be said, it does elevate the look a little bit.
I like the little carbon finishes on the end there. And also for the Senna model, they’ve given it a little yellow stripe as well to tie in with the rest of the bike.
From a sound perspective, though, well, it does add a little more depth, but I think they’re fairly limited on what they can do just because it’s homologated.
So it’s got to be reasonable in terms of volume levels for them to be able to still sell it. Anyway, like I say, rode the Monster SP last year, got some good sound clips.
Suspension
On to the suspension, though, and it does get absolutely top-draught stuff. So same as the SP, you’ve got an Ohlins Nix30 upside down, fully-adjustable fork up front, and then also a fully-adjustable shock from Ohlins as well at the rear.
And so I’d absolutely be expecting the same top-notch ride quality from this center model as well.
One difference versus the standard Monster, though, with the SP version and this version, is that it does get a slightly longer shock, and that gets the bike up on its nose and quickens up the handling because that affects the geometry slightly as well.
But the only downside is it does jack the seat height up. So both the SP and the center edition are 840 mill, which is slightly on the tall side, I’d say, for a naked bike.
But again, in the plus column, it gives you more height and therefore ground clearance and therefore lean angle.
Now, another little bonus over the standard Monster is the Ohlins steering damper that’s mounted there in the cockpit.
And Ducati say that this ensures greater precision through the turns and in acceleration, as well as best ability on uneven surfaces.
So maybe green-laning or something like that Perfect bike. Don’t take it green-laning we’ll get onto the price in a moment.
Brakes
Now, again, with the brakes, this gets four piston, radially mounted Brembo style Emma calipers, which are their best of the best.
And Again, same upgrade that you get on the SP. But with this particular bike, they’ve painted the calipers yellow at the front there to fit with the theme.
And I’m wondering, is this actually a bit of a step too far with the yellow? Maybe if they just done the Brembo right in and left the calipers bare metal, it might have looked a bit more subtle.
Brembo style look really pretty nice as they are, so maybe it didn’t need this.
Tech
From a tech perspective, the Monster gets a really competitive electronics package.
So you’ve got three riding modes, cornering ABS with three levels, and you can switch it on for the front only so you can slide the back end about.
There’s Ducati traction control with eight levels, Ducati wheeling control with four levels, launch control, adjustable through three levels.
Their Ducati quick shifter, which works both up and down the box. And of course, this is all controlled through a lovely little color TFT display.
Now, the only upgrade of note here is that you do get a specific center animation when you switch the bike on on the screen there, although there aren’t any pictures in the press kit, so we’ll just take their word for that one.
Price
Now, if this bike isn’t already special and distinctive and visually loud enough for your taste, then you’ll be pleased to know there’s a plaque up on the handlebars and the limited edition number of your particular bike is going to be etched into it.
Also, you get a certificate of authenticity, so you can’t just spray your own Monster yellow, blue, and green and call it a center.
And then you also get a special bike cover, too. The small The small issue of the price, though, it’s £23,500, which is more than double of the £11,295 of the standard Ducati Monster.
Quite the premium, and I’m not sure it would be much different to ride than the SP.
But then again, on the flip side, for a limited edition Ducati, it’s not actually that much.
In fact, one of their bikes recently topped our most expensive bikes for 2024 list.