IN PICS: The most affordable Ducati

At Rs 7.5 lakh, the Ducati Monster 795 offers some serious eye candy with performance to match, writes Faisal Ali Khan of MotorBeam.com.

Ducati is to 2-wheelers what Ferrari is to four. Both companies are Italian and offer very desirable products. With the focus shifting to emerging markets, Ducati has developed an Asia specific model, called the Monster 795.

This motorcycle is the most affordable Ducati on sale today and can be yours for less than Rs 7.5 lakh. The 795 is very important for Ducati India as this is the bike which gets them the volumes.

So how does the Ducati Monster 795 perform on Indian roads?

The Ducati Monster 795 is a cheaper alternative to the Monster 796. Ducati has made a hybrid of the Monster 696 and Monster 796 to come up with the Monster 795.

The frame is from the 795 while the engine is from the 796. The smaller 696 body makes the Monster 795 well-suited to Asian riders (where the average height is around 5 feet 7).

The styling of the Ducati Monster 795 is very muscular. The bike looks beefy and has every bit of Italian delight in it.

The Monster 795 is a naked motorcycle and the high attention to detail makes the vehicle a complete eye grabber on the road. The round headlights, exposed engine, twin exhausts and big tank (with air vents on either sides) are easily the exterior highlights.

The instrument cluster on the Ducati Monster 795 is all digital, which is split into two parts. There is a large tachometer, which shows a reading till 12,000 RPM along with various tell-tale lights around it.

The speedometer is easy to read on the go and quality of the console is top notch. Even the switchgear (which is a bit basic) carries excellent quality with buttons having a robust feel to them.

Powering the Ducati Monster 795 is a 803cc, V-Twin engine (Ducati likes to call it L-Twin). This engine does duty on the Monster 796 and generates 86 BHP of peak power at 8250 RPM and 78 Nm of peak torque at 6250 RPM. Each cylinder has one injector unlike most twin-cylinder bikes which get two injectors per cylinder.

Thus the 4-valve engine is quite different in characteristics than other similar capacity bikes. The Desmodromic unit belts out performance which is pure savage.

What really helps the performance of the Monster 795 is the low weight of 167 kgs, lending it an insanely good power to weight ratio of 465 BHP per tonne. With so much grunt under its belly, the Monster 795 blurs scenery faster than you can think.

A slight twist on the right wrist is enough to send you to insane speeds. Performance is just addictive. To put it in numbers, the Monster 795 will do the 0-100 km/hr sprint in a mere 4.2 seconds, while 150 km/hr takes only 8.2 seconds.

Fast, not really; super fast, you bet.

The 6-speed gearbox is not the smoothest although the hydraulic clutch offers a light feel. Gearing of the 795 is quite spot on and you will see 90 km/hr in first gear and 135 km/hr in second gear.

Top speed is 210 km/hr and thus the Monster 795 is just too fast for Indian roads.

However the lack of a windscreen makes the wind too obstructive past 150 km/hr. Performance is more than you will ever need.

The fantastic engine has superb mid-range and once you rush past 4500 RPM, the 795 pushes you back and literally takes off.

Redline comes in quickly at 8500 RPM and the motor does feel a bit juddery at low RPMs with some vibrations being felt on the handle. The best part about this engine is the vocals; the Monster 795 emits pure melody at high RPMs which makes riding it even more exciting.

Expect a mileage of 20 km/l from the bike when ridden sanely.

The Monster 795 uses a trellis frame along with 43 mm Marzocchi upside down forks and a Sachs monoshock. Ride quality is a bit stiff but still compliant enough for our roads.

The suspension setup is quite mature and you can push the bike aggressively through corners, although it does tend to run a bit wide, it is quite predictable.

Riding the Monster 795 through traffic is easy as the steering turns in quickly. The Monster 795 does feel a bit heavy at low speeds though and the steel handlebars are not very welcome on a Ducati motorcycle.

Braking performance is very good but ABS is sorely missed.

The Monster 795 costs Rs 3.8 lakh less than the Monster 796, making it a very value for money performance machine.

The motorcycle pleases on various fronts. Not only does it look gorgeous, it even performs extremely well. The way the Monster accelerates is truly mind boggling: it's fast, hair raising and heart thumping.

Those twin exhausts belt our aural nirvana while the dynamics are very good for our market. All this makes the Ducati Monster 795 a terrific package which delights thoroughly.