Here's my review of the monster 1100evo I've owned since new in 2012. After 6 years of owning this bike and having no intention of selling, you'll be correct in thinking it's going to be a positive review..... I ran the monster bog standard for the first 12 month's and enjoyed the ride. The air cooled motor gives plenty of useable grunt up to about 6000rpm then starts to run out of steam. The sweet spot is between 4 and 6 thousand, that's fine as that's where you ride in the rev range. The evo is no track weapon but as a road bike to hustle on twisty b roads it's a blast to ride. Great brakes, compliant suspension and real world road bike power makes its a great b road blaster that delivers a satisfying grin at stay out of jail speeds. I traded down from a 1198 to get away from 3 figure brain left in the garage 6am rides. I wanted a naked bike that gave me a smile below 100mph... I got what I asked for! Now, the evo does lend itself to changes and personlisation. As I wanted to do a few changes, just to make it "mine" I started getting a shopping list together..... Termi slip on cans, ecu, air filter, throttle position sensor mod were the first. The termis are bloody loud when baffle free but what a noise. Not just a huge improvement in sound but far better looking than the original. ASV levers. Not the shorties but regular lengths. Very nice, chunky lever that has a good 'feel' on both the front brake and clutch. DP tail tidy. It does the job but I'll say this, it's a piece of formed plastic that is 160 quid plus. It's a rip off. If it needs replacing at any point then I'll be on the phone to evo tech for a better, higher quality component at a much better price. Carbon heel plates and hugger .... Nice enough, purely cosmetic. Evo tech exhaust hanger and rear footrests removed. Excellent quality and a fit and forget item. Higher footrests. Now, they have tranformed the handling. Daft as this may sound, having your feet tucked up in sports bike stance has made the handling in the twisties great. I'm now in a correct position to shift weight and ride through my feet. They're not rearsets but direct footrest replacement that are higher and further back. Brake peddle and gear lever are still within reach. All the mods (bar the footrests) are just for cosmetic improvements and to just put my stamp on it. There's no real performance improvements as I'm happy with how it goes, rides and now looks. The best mod by far was the footrests. I'll be keeping this one indefinitely as (this is purely my opinion) this is the best looking, most complete and finest monster in the model lineage. Everything looks like it belongs and was designed to be there. Nothing looks an afterthought and nothing looks missing. The air cooled motor lends itself to a naked bike too. As I've said, I traded down but it proved the right call for me, I've enjoyed and used the monster far more than I did the 1198. I've owned it 6 years and there's no end in sight, that says a lot for me, I'm usually chopping in around 3 years but I've yet to see a bike to warrant me parting company with my evo. Even though I've gone across to the tt a couple of times on my evo, it really is my sunny day toy. It comes out in blue skies and sunny days and that's the way I like it. Monsters aren't for everyone but those that have em, like em!
How much bhp does on of these make? I had a 67 plate 797 as a courtesy bike last week and enjoyed it immensely. Way more than the sum of its parts suggests and below 3 figures its huge fun on a twisting back road.
I think it's stated around 100bhp but it's the torque where the fun is for me. I don't really follow figures and specs though.... It's how big a smile i get
The air cooled motors are still a delight to use due to their useful torque where you need it on the road. The lack of weight just makes it even better. It's given me something to think about for maybe next year anyway.
