WE'RE looking at every manufacturers offerings for 2021, and continuing our series today is Ducati.
Ducati have a rich legacy for making some stunning motorcycles that never fail to draw crowds, but what do the Italian giants have in store for us in 2021? Quite a lot, from the looks of it.
Ducati Monster 2021 First-look
Nakeds, streetbikes
First up, we have the Ducati Monster which is freshly updated for 2021 - with two model variants, the Ducati Monster and Monster+, and you’ll instantly see it no longer includes the signature trellis frame.
The Monster has been on sale since 1993, and is one of the more instantly brand-defining motorcycles Ducati offer, the Monster is being updated to shed a fair chunk of weight in its quest to become the choice du jour of the naked muscle motorcycle category.
The enduringly popular Ducati Scrambler continues to be mildly rejigged with an ever-growing number of trims and model variants appealing to riders across categories, including A2 compliant versions, cafe racer editions and off-road creations.
The Scrambler range is designed to be effectively it’s own line of bikes within the Ducati range, with individual branding and style options there’s a model version to suit everyone… There’s a handful of new Scrambler models coming in 2021, including the Scrambler 1100 Dark Pro, Nightshift (replacing the cafe racer and Full Throttle), Desert Sled and Icon editions.
The recently launched Streetfighter V4 and V4S, which first hit the street in 2020 gets its own special edition for 2021 with the Streetfighter S Dark Stealth in the works for 2021.
Last on the street list, is the Hypermotard. Another longer term staple in the Ducati stables, the Hypermotard has seen a facelift among some of the changes leading to the 2020 release of the newest iteration, the Hypermotard 950 RVE. This one ticks all the usual boxes for a Hypermotard, but adds a ‘graffiti’ livery (it says HYPE on), a quick shifter and everything you’d need to hoon around your local area.
Sportsbikes, Supersports, hyper-sports
These are the motorcycles most often recognised as Ducati, and often spoken of as their leading-line of bikes.
First, we have the Ducati Panigale, which is another to get a special edition variant - the SP2 - which plugs the gap between the S and R, featuring all manner of stealthy styling mods an obscenely high power-to-weight ratio, weighing in at 173kg but outputting 214bhp.
But if it’s true power ratios you’re after, look no further than the all-new Superleggera V4, which is 152.2kg with the racing kit, and puts out 234bhp with the full racing exhaust. Certainly no slouch, but at a price of around £90,000 it’s certainly wildly pricey too.
We also find the Ducati 950 and 950 S in the Supersport category, and both have received sizeable refreshes for 2021 to give newer riders a firm stepping point in to the supersport ranks, with updated upper and lower fairings to bring the look closer to the Panigale.
Adventure
Ducati has given the Multistrada a big update for 2021 with the introduction of the new V4, which comes in at the top of the adventure-sport-tourer range.
Powered with a tuned version of the V4 engine as found in the Panigale and Streetfighter offering top tech, refined dynamics and more go-anywhere ability at a cost of between £15,000 - £20,000. The Multistrada platform is known for being built to high standards, and is designed to both look good and go the distance with class-leading service interval checks. The Multistrada 950 S also arrives to spruce up the entry point into the range for those unable to stretch to the V4.
Diavel
Not quite a cruiser, not quite a tourer, the Diavel basically carves itself a unique place in Ducati’s 2021 range, and is a stunning look at what can be achieved when an Italian manufacturer looks to go for a mixture of both pure brute power and Italian flair.
We get vibes of movie-villain from this range, but who doesn’t love an anti-hero? Diavel does, after all, mean ‘Devil’ in Italian.
For 2021 the Diavel takes 3 forms, the X Diavel Dark, X Diavel Dark Star, and the limited edition Diavel 1260 Lamborghini - seen in the brilliant video unveiling a shared passion between the two Italian outfits. What a dream.
What is coming up from Ducati in the future?
So what can we expect from Ducati in 2021 and beyond? Well, one thing is for certain, we can definitely expect to continue seeing the Ducati flair and high performance bikes being rolled out. Ducati are really trying to keep their models fresh with updates for 2021, and are clearly shaking things up a little bit in hope they don’t get too complacent.
It’s likely we’ll continue seeing varied versions of the Ducati Scrambler range, while we wouldn’t be surprised if the Multistrada was brought closer into line with the V4 updates further down the range.
The Hypermotard is also a bike worth keeping an eye on as it isn’t in the first flush of youth, with it’s latest RVE edition possibly providing a foundation for a newer version in the future.
The launch of numbered and limited bikes, the Panigale V4 SP and Diavel 1260 Lamborghini, point at a possible future of other releases with added value through scarcity, the design team is likely sketching up the latest collaboration as we speak.
Speaking of the Panigale, the launch of the new Kawasaki ZX-10R means it has gone to the back of the pile where new WorldSBK machinery is concerned suggesting a fairly big update could be around the corner, especially if it doesn’t finally loosen the Japanese firm’s grip on the title.
