Ducati Terra Mostro - The Dirt Monster Ducati

The Ducati Scrambler Of The 60's was popular in the USA, it's primary market but disappeared when the company stopped producing singles to concentrate on twins. Aside from the pantah based, Cagiva Elephant, there has not been a Ducati dirt bike since. Pierre Terblanche (yes he of 999 infamy) on his way to being shown the door designed the Ducati Scrambler 1100 that never saw the light of day. But you can buy a Ducati Monster based dirt bike, just not from the factory. It's called the Terra Mostro.

In the summer of 2006 Kent Harle and Blaine Dehmlow of Overland Motorcycles, started with a drawing on a Napkin 50/50 of a true dual-sport bike that would be purpose built for the rider that has to explore those Outlying places in order to feel at home in this world. The Napkin progressed into a full-fledged motorcycle in late 2008. Overland Motorcycles concept is pretty simple. Take a previous generation Monster 695, and add dirtbike suspension and wheels to create the

The 695 engine offers just the right amount of power and is Critically 20lbs lighter then the larger engines Desmodue although that has not stopped at least one customer creating an S2R Terra Mostro.

The XR650 front forks are 46mm Kayaba cartridge sourced units and just one of the Monsters disc brakes are retained. Out back a longer, extruded aluminum swingarm massively extends the wheelbase to 60.4 "(1537mm). A longer, fully adjustable Wilbers shock goes along with it and Takasago Excel alloy wheels 21 "and 18" rims complete the dirt transformation. In this form the bike has 210mm (8.3 ") wheel travel at both ends. The engine is remapped with a Power Commander to suit the Dave Miller Concepts silencer with spark arrestor.

You end up with a reportedly friendly dual sport bike on and off road and one that seemed to impress the veteran journalist Alan Cathcart bike when he tested it