Ahead of its reveal to the general public at the International Motorcycle Show, Ducati has taken its all-new Monster 1200 on a tour of its own — previewing it at dealerships across the country. For Motoworks Chicago, our stop on the tour came on a cold, snowy, early January afternoon. Ducati gave us just one day to make the new Monster 1200 available for public consumption, so we took advantage. While it wasn’t a demo event, getting to see the new “big” Monster in the metal was still a lot of fun. We’ll take any excuse for a party.
In its new 1200 guise, the Monster certainly lives up to its name. Stretched out across that big engine, this is a much larger machine than its smaller-displacement siblings. At 461 lbs, the Monster 1200 has a relatively small mass given how much substance is really there. Yet for all its added length, the Monster 1200 still looks menacing and muscular.
Turnout was good, and between the pizza, the big Monster and all the other two-wheeled goodness sitting out on the floor, there was more than enough good reason to spend some time in the showroom. The showpiece was definitely the Monster 1200 though. It’s not an easy bike to ignore, but thanks to the sturdy clamp on the front wheel, it was no problem for folks to hop on and feel the bike out ergonomically.
Obviously the Motoworks sales staff was on hand to answer questions and take deposits, but that’s a given. In the end, it’s not even about the Monster 1200, it’s about a good excuse to get motorcycle enthusiasts together around bikes in the dead of winter. It’s an activity we’re happy to sponsor, and stay tuned, we’re going to find new excuses very soon.