The Ducati Monster 696, Redesigned Supremely

The Ducati Monster 696, nearly 15 years ago, Ducati's aptly named Monster was credited with introducing the 'naked-bike' look – frame and engine proudly on display – that other manufacturers would scramble to mimic. Unfazed, the gabled Bologna, Italy-based marque – whose flaming-red motorcycles recall a certain automotive legend located up the road in Maranello – rode the Monster to unprecedented sales and unmatched marketplace cache.

'We knew we needed to head the Monster in a modern direction, but it's so iconic that we had to keep that shape, that behavior,' says a Ducati spokes person. 'We took out a clean piece of paper, but in the back of our heads we were always thinking, don't mess this up.'

The new Ducati Monster 696 is currently available at the Thai dealers, boasting an improved 'Hybrid Trellis' frame mated to an aluminum sub-frame that improves handling, while retaining that distinctive birdcage look. Also on-board are Brembo 4-piston brakes, an uprated L-Twin engine capable of 80 horsepower, and a multi-function digital instrument cluster replacing the old analog numbers.

One cosmetic change that seems pulled from the mobile-phone world is sure to initiate debate among the faithful: colored, plastic gas tank covers that can be swapped with a screwdriver. The changes and additions put the old Ducati Monster on nearly 7 kilo diet, while the price will increase less then 10 percent.

The stats, however, don't begin to explain why the Ducati Monster has had that huge-success. Some answers are found in the low-slung seating position, the wide fuel tank, beefy tires, and slit-eyed, side-view mirrors. Others erupt from the twin exhausts, rumbling blasts of an Italian sinfonia...