I’m 72 years old, have owned my dealership for twenty five years now and am as thrilled as I was at 25 years old in 1977 when I purchased my first brand new motorcycle. I am bubbling over with enthusiasm and excitement over my new Ducati Monster SP.
Time made me forget how much fun it is to ride a sport bike. I spent most of my motorcycling life riding sport bikes. I raced, commuted, and toured on them. Bikes like my Honda 750 K2, Honda CBX, Honda 1000 Hurricane, Ducati 916, Ducati 999R and Triumph Daytona were all super fast, great handling, and fantastic rides.
I stopped riding sport bikes some years ago mainly due to the comfort factor. These types of bikes are great at what they do but are less comfortable to ride. That is why the bikes in my garage, the ones I own and ride, don’t tend to wear me out and make me sore after some time in the saddle.
After a weekend of riding the Ducati Monster I was hooked. This SP weighs only 390Lbs WET and is a little111 hp rocket ship! It’s so light, nimble and goes around corners like a dream. The Ohlins suspension and Termignoni exhaust are stock, but I put on bar end mirrors, tank bag, Rizoma levers, flush LED turn signals and my tail tidy is coming in next week.
This bike is amazingly comfortable and so much fun to ride. Some people think that high performance motorcycles are not as safe to ride but that is not correct. Sport bikes have better handling, suspension and brakes and this SP has electronics like cornering ABS, traction control, launch control and three riding modes. Their capabilities make them as safe as any motorcycle can be.
The trick is to stay in control of your “brain to throttle” connection!
Leave it to Ducati to make a bike that makes an old guy like me feel like a young man again! My garage now has my three loves: my Triumph Tiger 900 GT Pro, Triumph Bonneville 1200, and my new Ducati Monster SP.
Yes, I am the luckiest man!
MOTORCYCLE NEWS
New Speed Twin 1200 RS & Next Generation Speed Twin 1200
2025 Triumph Speed Twin 1200/1200 RS SpecsDespite being a latecomer to Triumph’s Modern Classics lineup at its launch in 2019, the Speed Twin 1200 hit a Goldilocks zone for customers, striking a balance between the retro appeal of the Bonneville and the modern elements of the Speed Triple that clearly hit a chord with customers. The Street Twin lineup has gone on to become the most popular of the Modern Classics and for 2025 the Speed Twin 1200 gets the biggest revamp since its launch.
The Speed Twin 1200′s success comes largely from its broad appeal, able to play the role of the relaxed retro roadster but without the compromises in terms of suspension and technology that come from going too far down that path. For 2025 Triumph widens the bike’s net even further by taking the standard Speed Twin 1200 in a more comfort-oriented direction, but simultaneously adding a new Speed Twin 1200 RS model to the lineup that’s sportier than any of its predecessors.
2025 Ducati Panigale V4 S
First Ride Review
The 2025 Ducati Panigale V4 is the most forward-looking mass-production superbike of the modern sportbike era, but I can’t help but look to past versions as I throw a leg over the new bike. The last Panigale V4 I rode was a 2023 V4 SP2 during Cycle World’s superbike shootout. It was stunning, fast, and had an obvious electronic edge, albeit with the temperament of an ornery bull that had little intention of letting the rider off easy. The rawness and brute force allowed for a fast lap time, but you weren’t getting there without working for it.
Ducati recognizes that the Panigale’s exactness has always been a fly in its otherwise stellar ointment. Engineers softened the edges following the launch of the potent but overly stiff 2018 Panigale V4, first in 2020 and later in 2022. If those model year updates were Ducati showing that less can be more, then the 2025 model is it going all in on the belief that the fastest motorcycles are the ones that are easiest to ride. And the 2025 Panigale V4 S is a very, very fast motorcycle.
Top Six Results for Haarup and McLellan at Penultimate Round of MXGP
Monster Energy Triumph Racing travelled to Shanghai in China for the 19th round of the FIM MX2 Motocross World Championship, and it proved a very successful trip with Mikkel Haarup placing fourth and Camden McLellan close behind in sixth.
The racing format was changed for the penultimate round as extreme weather was forecast for the planned race day of Monday, September 16. This meant that a one-day schedule was introduced with the usual Qualifying Race to determine gate position replaced with a Time Practice session to seed the riders onto the start gate. Mikkel, who was celebrating his 23rd birthday today, went fifth-fastest with Camden eighth.
A mid-pack start for Haarup in the opening moto saw him just inside the top 10 at the end of the first lap. The Dane was into eighth a lap later and held that position until mid-race, when he put on a charge to move into sixth, before making a solid, last-lap pass on Andrea Adamo to ultimately secure fifth.
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*PLEASE NOTE - THE 20% OFF SERVICE VOUCHER IS GOOD FOR ONE USE ONLY AND IS PER CUSTOMER, NOT PER BIKE.