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Review of the 2003 Ducati Monster S4 R:Australian review S4R Monster |
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Author: Thomas Coltrain, 2004-08-27, viewed 210 times. | ||||||
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What type of rider would buy this bike? A suburbanite after some street cred? A day tourer? An occasional track dayer? A distance tourer? A commuter? The answer is all of the above. | ||||||
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That´s right, the S4R is capable of fitting into a variety of roles. I´ve had mine now for about 8 months and in that time have put alomost 10,000 kms on the clock. The bike has been used for 3 interstate trips sometimes covering 1000 per day, local riding in the hilly areas near where i live and the occcasional commute to work. Many would doubt the touring cappabilities of the S4R as it isn´t rated as a tourer in the spec sheet and maybe I´m a little bias toward naked bikes anyway as a result of my dirt bike history but in my opinion a fairing detracts somewhat from the riding experience. The small bikini fairing that the Monster comes with is ample enough to deflect the bulk of the wind. My height at 5ft7 should be taken into consideration as well. But it´s when you´ve been cruising along the open road for half a day and listening to that sweet 996 enginge that you begin to appreciate the quality and versatlity of this motor. Happy to be powering on at 240kph plus as well as sitting at legal speeds taking you to your destination many hours away. You will only realize this after about 4500kms has been reached which is about the time that the engine is fully broken in,( unless of course your one of the Ducati poses that rides your bike on a sunny sunday only to get a latte at the local cafe. Too many Ducatis remain low kilometre bikes because the race style of bike, 999 etc..., is useless for any distance work. Another reason why the S4R is ai more practicle choise.) When it comes to riding your favourite section of windy mountain the S4R shows it´s racing pedigree with awesome useable performance and excellent handling as well. Give your tyres enough time to warm up and the lean angles will bring a smile to the face the punters. I´ve yet to take it to the track but knowing the cappabilities of motor and suspension in know i´m going to have a ball when I get there. My local track is Phillip Island too so I can´t wait for that one. The only mods I have done is the Termignoni race kit comprising of mufflers, airbox lid, air filter and computer chip which while undeniably very expensive at Dollars 2300 Australian dollars provided the gas flow that this bike really needs. The extra horsepower is felt in throttle crispness and response. the S4R comes out of the showroom with a very restrictive muffler which when pushed hard will produce traces of exhaust blow-back through the joins in the exhaust system. The S4R creates it´s fair share of interst when I´m riding both from car drivers keen for a look and bikers who can be deceived into thinking that the S4R is not that fast. Iv´e also attracted my share of police interest being booked for speeding twice and having one licence suspension. Oh well, my bad. On the whole the S4R is a brilliant bike that has proved itself a very worthy purchase. Have no doubts, the fun factor is second to none. The combination of power, acceleration, street cred, looks ( mine is black, sweet as), versatility of motor, and weight prove a winning formula for me. Well done and thankyou Ducati. |
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