The Ducati Monster can trace its heritage back to the '93 Monster 900, and the new “Stealth” variant serves as what you might call a highly-functional tribute piece for that venerated machine. It totes the usual suite of electronic gadgets with Ducati's Quick Shift feature added to the stock package, and it boasts 100-plus horsepower in a design that is, paradoxically, both sexy and stocky at the same time.

Ducati Monster 821 Stealth Design

I've never made my feelings about naked sportbikes a secret, but in typical fashion, the factory took a genre that is usually fairly ugly in my humble opinion, and turned it into a thing of relative beauty. The Monster 821 Stealth's most obvious distinguishing feature is the paint that gives this model its name, light gray and Ducati Red graphics over matte black with an “821” model designator painted on a color-matched section the upper rail of the frame that visually ties the bike together quite nicely. Most everything else comes with the blackout treatment, but with a name like “Stealth,” you knew it wasn't going to be hot pink.

True to the range, the Stealth starts out with a pared-down front fender that doubles as a guard for the swept area of the inverted stems. It rocks the same round cyclops halogen headlight as ever with horseshoe shaped, LED parking lights for ample two-way visibility up front. The diode emitters continue into the rearward lights, so you can count on that extra little bit of safety 'cause LEDs are really hard to ignore when they're pointed right at you, no matter how invested in your phone you might be.

Above the headlight housing we find the bikini flyscreen that protects the color TFT instrument display a bit, and possibly more importantly, visually sets the Stealth even further apart from the base 821. The 4.36-gallon fuel tank toes the family line with a familiar profile that dominates the flyline ahead of the drop to the deep-scoop pilot's seat. An upswept subframe lofts the passenger with flip-out footpegs and J.C. handles for the other points of contact, but if you'd rather embrace the solo-streetfighter look, just clap on the color-matched, rear seat cover to give the bike a more race-tastic vibe.

At the terminus the LED taillight rides tucked out of harm's way with the rear turn signals and plateholder mounted out on the mudguard. Gotta' say I ain't a fan of that last detail, and think that this ride would benefit greatly from an aftermarket hugger. Just me? What we have is an attractive, muscular-looking ride that is visually weighted toward the front to give it an all-up-front look kinda' like a bulldog. You can go ahead and pencil me in as a fan.

Ducati Monster 821 Stealth Chassis

Tubular-steel members make up the Trellis frame on the Monster 821 Stealth, and as you'd expect, the engine is a stressed unit that completes the assembly and replaces a significant chunk of frame in the downtube/cradle area to reduce weight. Aluminum is the material of choice for the yoke-style swingarm to minimize unsprung weight at the rear axle. Toward that end, a set of 17-inch, cast-alloy wheels round out the rolling chassis with a 10-spoke design and Pirelli's Diablo Rosso III hoops to make the connection to the pavement. The hoops are typical of the genre at 120/70 up front and 180/55 out back, and they get all kinds of help from the electronics to make this a relatively safe ride.

Built for agility, the 24-degree rake and 3.7-inch trail makes the Stealth quite eager in the corners with a flickable nature that'll certainly endear it to experienced riders. An adjustable seat gives you a small range of adjustability -- from 30.91-inches high to 31.89-inches high -- but alas, that's still going to be tiptoe country for the shorter inseams.

The 43 mm, usd Kayaba front forks feature the full trinity of adjustments with 5.12 inches of travel, as does the rear monoshock that delivers a 5.51-inch range of motion. This gives you plenty of opportunity to dial in the ride quality and get it right where you want it. Bosch ABS oversees the operation of the Brembo calipers that bite dual, 320 mm discs up front and a 245 mm disc out back, but that's just the beginning of the fandanglery; there's plenty more to come in the engine electronics.

Ducati Monster 821 Stealth Drivetrain

The Monster 821 Stealth comes with the Ducati Safety Pack that includes delightfulness such as the aforementioned ABS and Traction Control alongside variable power-delivery Power Modes and a Quick Shift feature that let's you bang out clutchless shifts both up and down the range. An anti-hop slipper clutch couples engine power to the six-speed transmission, and it provides one final layer of protection for the rear contact patch.

Said power measures in with some fairly impressive numbers. Ducati's Testastretta pumps out 109 horsepower at 9,250 rpm with 63 pounds of torque that top out at 7,750 rpm. Twin, 88 mm bores run with a 67.5 mm stroke for a total of 821 cc and a sizzlin' 12.8-to-1 compression ratio, and as usual, Duc's Desmodromic valvetrain times the four-valve heads with a pull-closed cam rather than coil springs to seal the combustion chamber.

It's an L-Twin, or a 90-degree V-twin if you prefer, with a water jacket and a small radiator to deal with the waste heat. A ride-by-wire right grip controls the dual, 53 mm throttle bodies to tie man/woman/gender-fluid/whatever to machine, because you certainly can't expect a bike with that many geegaws to rely on something as antiquated as a cable, can you?

Ducati Monster 821 Stealth Pricing

The 2020 Monster 821 Stealth rolls for $12,895 in the U.S. and $14,295 in Canada. It has a 9k-mile or 12-month service interval and a 24-month, unlimited-mileage warranty.

Ducati Monster 821 Stealth Competitors

Ya know, I tried to give the Big Four a shot, but none of 'em brought to the table what we can get from Triumph, so I went with a Brit and picked the Speed Triple S from it's roadster lineup.

Triumph Speed Triple S

If I'm honest, the “S” just doesn't quite have the same sex appeal as the Duc, but then again, few things do. Yeah, that's a pretty broad brush I'm paintin' with, but I'm okay with that. Still, the Brit looks like serious business from its alien-like, dual headlight arrangement all the way back to the high-and-tight muffler, and both bikes look like sprinters crouched at the blocks. The “S” looks somewhat more compact, but that's an optical illusion borne of the gap between the subframe and rear tire being occluded by the muffler. If I had to pick between a view of the rear wheel and the gap, I'll take the gap, it just looks cleaner.

Showa products float the “S” on the full trifecta of adjustments, so neither gain an edge in rideability controls. Safety electronics are well represented on the Brit with switchable ABS and traction control alongside five riding modes and a color TFT interface to meet the Duc blow-for-blow.

Probably the biggest boon for Triumph is going to be found in the engine department, namely the greater displacement that claims a total of 1,050 cc. Naturally, power generation benefits from that discrepancy with 147 horsepower and 86.2 pounds o' grunt against 109/63 on the Monster.

If you're a power-hound or an inch-queen, the Triumph might look a skosh better. Triumph's Speed Triple S rolls for $14,350, so you'll pay for that extra power in the end.

Read our full review of the Triumph Speed Triple S / RS.

He Said

“In my humble opinion, anything over 100 horsepower is just a vanity. I mean, there are very definite limits to what you can safely do on public roads, and I won't even get into the legalities. I will out myself as being shallow enough to take the Duc on looks alone in the face of an equally high-tech ride that boasts superior power, price be damned.”

She Said

My wife and fellow motorcycle writer, Allyn Hinton, says, “The Kayaba fork allows you full adjustability that the base model didn't have, it has a new windscreen, and comes with the Ducati Quick Shift for both up and down shifting. The pillion is narrower than before, and of course, you have the awesome Testastretta engine. I like this dark look, too. What can I say? It's a Monster 821 in a Darth Vadar version. The short wheelbase makes the Stealth, and its un-stealthy stablemate, very flickable.”

Ducati Monster 821 Stealth Specifications

Further Reading

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