No Trellis Frame?
The Ducati Monster has become an iconic motorcycle. The bike is known for its overall shape and its trellis frame. There’s a new Monster 821 in the works, but surprisingly it appears to be lacking the trellis frame.
According to Motorcycle News, there were some spy shots that showed an alloy frame, but now there have been some design sketches that clearly show the alloy frame, which would be a major departure for the motorcycle. With that said it would also put the Monster more in line with its competitors like the KTM 790 Duke and Yamaha MT-09.
The benefits of an alloy frame are two-fold. First, it looks cool. Trellis frames have become a bit old hat. They were cool back when Ducati first started making the Monster, but the design has aged. The alloy frame is cleaner and more aggressive. Second, the alloy frame should reduce the weight of the bike while keeping things stiff. This has obvious performance benefits.
Ducati has made no official announcements about this motorcycle, but the spy shots and the sketches you see here pulled from Motorcycle News make it clear that the new Monster 821 will be a different kind of Monster, and that could be a very good thing.