The 2023 Ducati Monster SP is Borgo Panigale’s newest take on its revolutionary naked bike. Originally introduced as an accessible standard, Ducati’s Monster has grown closer to a stripped-down sportbike than ever before. Ditching the iconic steel trellis frame, the Monster SP is built on a cast aluminum frame that is similar to the Panigale V4 and shares a Testastretta 11° engine with a range of other bikes in the Italian manufacturer’s lineup such as the DesertX, Supersport 950, Multistrada V2, and Hypermotard 950 SP.
Recently, the Testastretta V-twin was on our in-house Dynojet 250i dynamometer in the form of the DesertX. We expected similar results to the X’s 93.7 hp and 57.1 lb.-ft. torque. After a dozen runs on the Cycle World Dynojet 250i dynamometer, the 2023 Ducati Monster SP weighing 411 pounds on our automotive scales, produced 98.3 hp at 9,400 rpm and 61 lb.-ft. of torque at 6,250 rpm. In our performance database those numbers slot the Ducati Monster SP just above the DesertX.
A linear power curve and an abundance of torque make the Monster SP extremely versatile; so maybe the Monster hasn’t lost all of its original qualities. The Testastretta 11° twin can chug from one stoplight to the next or be wrung out for maximum performance on backroads and circuits. It may have become more aggressive with each generation, but the Monster SP is still a versatile motorcycle thanks to the Testastretta 11°.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/octane/SCEHDWFEU5CQ7B3O55PMLH3BGY.jpg)
