My first Ducati Monster impression came 17 years ago at the helm of an S4Rs: a raw, harrowing machine that attacked the Ascari Circuit in Andalucia with mercenary abandon. My writeup at the time remarked that “… a day of wrestling the Monster wracks the wrists, tightens the thighs, and knots up the shoulders.”
I’ll also admit in retrospect that I was a tad greener in my riding career back then, and that the thrill of the 148-horsepower brute, which lacked electronic traction control, was heightened by the fact that the 3.5-mile circuit offered nearly zero runoff around key corners.
