The Wonder Twins Overview
The 2023 Ducati Monster+ and Streetfighter V2 offer distinct design philosophies and performance characteristics tailored to different riding experiences.
Read Time @10 minutes
The Monster+, ‘+’ means it comes with the colour coded windshield and rear seat cowl, is the latest in a long line of iconic naked sporty bikes, emphasizing versatility and everyday usability. With a lower seat, upright riding position and a focus on agility, it’s ideal for urban commutes and spirited rides through the twisties. Its testastretta engine harks back to another icon, the 2011 996r, and is also currently found in the Supersport 950, Multistrada V2, Desert X and Hypermotard. Here it delivers a balanced blend of smooth manageable power and efficiency, ideal for a wide range of riders, from novices to the experienced. The design retains the stripped down bits n pieces essence of the original Monster with modern styling cues and advanced technology, ensuring a fun fresh ride.
In contrast, the Streetfighter V2 embodies Ducati’s commitment to adrenaline-fueled performance. Derived from the potent Panigale V2, it features aggressive styling and a sportier riding position, emphasizing track-inspired capabilities. Powered by the higher peak performance Superquadro V-twin engine, it delivers warp-like acceleration and precise handling, making it well suited for an adrenalin fix on both the road and the circuit. With advanced electronics and a tied down chassis, the Streetfighter V2 offers uncompromising performance without sacrificing too much comfort or the control afforded by its supersport donor.
Ultimately, the choice between the two models boils down to personal preference and riding style, whether one prioritizes versatility and comfort or raw performance and aggression. But let’s look at some figures that reflect where they really diverge.
The difference in horsepower mirrors the divide in price, yet some figures don’t, especially when sampled on the road. From their similarly great looking cockpits to their *torque and power delivery. The Streetfighter V2 only starts beating its chest once it gets wound up and you’re asking for more than 7/10ths.
Both bikes feel equally punchy out of the gate. The softer sprung Monster+ easily puts down it’s power and lets you know it’s doing it with a squat in the rear and the cupped seat keeping you firmly in the bike and in command. The Street Fighter V2 on the other hand is rock solid as the front gets light and you slide back against the seat’s bumpstop. There’s a definite feeling that you’re perched atop a rocket, Wile E Coyote style. And while you get a fair acceleration rush on the monster+, the Streetfighter V2 has additional high rpm push making it a teleportation device.
Top: Monster+ lower cupped comfy. Bottom: Streetfighter V2 longer higher flatter.
Ergonomics is where you find the first great divergence in their character. Swinging a leg over, one seat is noticeably lower and cupped, making the bars feel higher and the other is longer and flatter for more experienced butts to shuffle around on.
They both have a narrow tank where it meets the seat, encouraging pushing with knees and highlighting their flickability, it also facilitates easy feet down at stops. With my 32 inch inseam, the monster had me flat-footed with knees bent. But from here, things change.
The reach to the narrower bars on the monster is over a seemingly longer tank, reminiscent of previous Monsters. The Streetfighter V2 on the other hand is all wide bars and short fat tank. On top of that tall seat with the info screen closer and out of line of sight, it feels like you’re way up over the front ‘flying’ not unlike its predecessors.
So, oddly the Panigale racer based bike has the higher helmet point and the urban do-it-all Monster has you a little more draped over the tank.
Your first U-turn will remind which is which as the Streetfighter V2’s superbike inspired limited steering lock had us doing three point turns and playing catch-up to the Monster way down the road which can turn back on itself in little over a lane.
That’s enough of how it fits, lets ride!
Is one of these THE Twisty bike for Japan?
After a few days of tootling around town and getting to know their cityside behaviour, we spent a couple of days getting to know the twisty capabilities of these beauties around Tateshina and had a blast. The Venus Line, Meruhen Line and all the ancillaries between were great for putting them through their rubber rounding paces. I fell in love with both of them and at each bike change didn’t want to get off one to ride the other…until I looked at the other.
Ducati really puts soul in their bikes, tipity-tapity puring percussion, chassis feel and dexterous controls all there to create a unique theatre and drama for the loony perched aboard them. Over the past decade or so, they’ve increasingly lavished their bikes with tech, refinement and durability to match the soul. These two passionate reds started every time, sipped fuel on the long highway trudges, enchanted us on the road and at coffee stops and didn’t leave us decrepit pretzels at the end of a long days ride. 580km one day actually.
It became apparent that the Monster+ is the playful and happy to please Jack Russell, sometimes biting off more than it can chew. The Streetfighter V2 is the doberman, always looking the part but rather disinterested until it’s attack time!
The Monster
A big bright screen greets the turn of the key and easy controls get you away and revving before you know it. It tips in nicely with a neutral if a little rear bias and pulls up strong and predictably under brakes. It’s an easy bike to build rhythm and flow on. Seamless and clutchless up and down shifts to keep the power consistent and the chassis stable. Lots of compliance in the suspension means that it takes a fairly bad road to suck away your confidence.
In fact, the way it tips in to corners, holds a line, squats a little putting down its power and has you pining for the next corner, it just eats up road and inspires confidence to burn. It’s only when charging into longer arcing highspeed corners with undulations or mid corner bumps and camber changes that it lets you know it’s working. It telegraphed nice and early that it was nearing its limits and had plenty of adjustability to compensate. Those big Brembos and agile weight transfer are two aces up its sleeve. The smooth throttle control also.
The Streetfighter V2
The drama starts when approaching this one. All angles, engineering and menace. Its intent is fairly clear. It’s racy.
Climbing aboard, the seat is higher but the big bright screen and nice controls are there just like the Monster only closer.
As soon as you move off though, that intent is there. It’s tight! Not harsh, just focused. The chassis telegraphs a lot to your rump and touchy feely bits. Everything is immediate.
It’s intimidating after the Monster’s forgivingness. When tootling about, it almost seemed irked. It didn’t want to flop over at the slightest knee nudge or soften a hamfisted stab at the brakes inching forward at a stop sign. I actually found myself apologizing to it. Haha.
Get a little speed going and it tolerates you. Get a bit more and it all starts to make sense. It’s solid and precise. A scyth for arcing tarmac through corners.
All of a sudden, the intimidation vanishes and you’re leaning into it and your head is swiveling for corners ahead because you know the Streetfighter V2 has the corners at hand IN HAND! The chassis is spot on and the power delivery is immense once you spin it up, which is not usually a big twin necessity. But it revs and happily but still with solid engine braking from the vacuum of those two big pots.
Practicalities
Practicalities… Hmmm, they are both nakeds and out for a good time fast, so it’s essentially miniskirts and boob tubes here.
For their intended purpose they are very well equipped. Pirreli sticky rubber, big Brembos, no complaints seats and fuel tanks big enough to drain your adrenal glands before having to do the empty tank walk of shame.
The Monster has a small cubby under the seat with a USB outlet, all seemingly waterproof. You could probably keep some summer gloves, your bikes paperwork or ETC in there. The Streetfighter V2 has a space in the tail that’s just about perfect for a small pack of cigarettes or a lipstick as one admirer noted. Apparently, an ETC will fit in there and there are adapters to plug into the SAE connector lower on the left side of the bike but we weren’t about to go peeling bodywork to test that. Can attest that the Monster’s USB charged phones and camera batteries sufficiently though.
Both bikes have adaptive headlights, meaning they sense the ambient light and can switch between DRL and main LED headlights accordingly. They both also have manual mode which found a use I didn’t expect and like on the Desert X reviewed earlier, it prevents blinding cars in front at stops.
The headlight on the Monster has a ghost mode where you can turn off the main headlight and just run the DRL ring which has a high and low mode and then you can run the regular and highbeam LED headlight. We found this real handy when following each other on those dark winding roads, no mirror blindings from behind.
The Streetfighter V2 also has auto and manual with similar adjustment but I didn’t try the high/low DRL.
The brake n clutch levers on both are easily adjustable and the hydraulic clutch minimises effort which was noticeable when lifting a beer at the end of the day.
One area that juxtaposes their characters is energy consumption. You’d think with a 17 litre tank on the Streetfighter V2 that it would have the range on the 14 litre tank Monster. Not so. All that high rpm power comes at a thirsty cost. The Monster was consistently drinking a fare bit less but they seemed to be hitting reserve around the same time. It equated to the Monster having roughly an extra 50km in a tank.
In true Supersport Ducati style too, the Streetfighter V2 didn’t have a fuel gauge. The Monster had a fuel range metre and/or gauge. I guess Ducati figures that after a few tanks, you get used to resetting the trip meter and using that. My current bike has a notoriously unpredictable tank gauge and following the trip metre has become normal so there’s legs in Ducati’s logic I guess.
Can’t discuss practicality these days without mentioning heated grips and they are an optional extra on both bikes to keep you riding higher and longer into the mountains and those cooler seasons.
So, THE bike for Japan’s twisties…?
These two are twisty bikes! If you buy either then you are in for endless grins.
The Monster is fun in the twisties, has decent fuel range, is easy to ride long days on and is quick. The Streetfighter V2 is phenomenally fast and can keep up with anything else on anything less than a straight road if you are committed and talented enough to wield its potential.
In the city, with its smaller, narrower and lighter form along with its easy rideability, the Monster would be my pick. But in the twisties, it is also a logical choice as it has attainable limits you can feel comfortable exploring without too much commitment. It won’t bark at you for taking it up a pock marked leaf strewn back trail either. It’ll just glow enthusiastically at you with its big DRL angel eye.
On those long winding river tracing twisties we have in abundance here in Japan, the Streetfighter V2 makes you a master of the tarmac. It’s a bike you could grow into, with it being very at home on track days, building your skill to wield its potential. As long as you respected its agency for instant self annihilation. You’d likely never tire of just sitting and looking at it either.
After test riding both and seeing what gels for you, I’d suggest one more test ride, the Monster SP. Having thoroughly enjoyed these two, I can’t help but wonder as to the potential of a Monster with a little more finesse above seven tenths…
___________________________________________________________________________________
Thank You Ducati Japan
This review is only possible due to Ducati Japan providing these two brilliant bikes. Your enthusiasm and passion for your machines is intoxicating. Keep at it!
___________________________________________________________________________________
Great Wingman
Thanks for the input, banter, sharing the load and enjoying the photos as much as me.
Always good riding with you Tony.
Touge Express 