Among the many casualties of BS-IV implementation in India are three motorcycles from Ducati. The Scrambler and Monster 821 accounted for the most affordable spectrum of Ducati's India line-up, while the Panigale 1299 and 1299 S were among the most expensive. (All prices referred to in the report are ex-Delhi.) However, the recently launched Monster 797's introductory price of Rs 7.7 lakh fills the void left by the Scramblers at the entry level. As the Monster 797 shares the same air-cooled,803cc, 75hp/68.9Nm L-twin motor, it shouldn't be long before the updated Scramblers arrive.
The same goes for the Monster 821. Ducati showed off the updated, Euro IV 2017 model at EICMA last November, and a launch in India can't be far away. When the 112hp/89.4Nm Monster 821 arrives, it will serve as a rival to machines like the Rs 9 lakh Kawasaki Z900 and Rs 8.5 lakh (introductory prices) Triumph Street Triple S. However, if the old model's pricing was anything to go by, expect it to be on the premium side upwards of Rs 10.5 lakh.
The range-topping Panigale 1299 and 1299 S might not have it so easy. Ducati still sells Euro III versions of those bikes in Europe thanks to something called the derogation exemptions. These allow manufacturers to sell limited numbers of a product that may be at the end of its lifecycle while compliant models are being readied. The rules allow such bikes to be sold in Europe for two years, up to a maximum 10 percent of total sales of that product over the past two years. Most manufacturers who desperately attempted to offload old BS-III stock at discounted prices before the April 1, 2017, deadline would have certainly appreciated such an allowance in India.
The entire Ducati international range is now Euro IV save for the big Panigales, which will continue to sell through the derogation exemptions. Considering that the 2017 Panigale Superleggera is Euro-IV compliant, we could very well see a BS-IV compliant Panigale launch overseas if the demand arises. There's also a chance that this may not happen. That could be because of the upcoming V4 superbike that Ducati boss Claudio Domenicali announced at the 2017 MotoGP team launch in Bologna this January. Rumour has it that this V4-engined Panigale replacement will break cover at the 2017 EICMA show in November. A launch may happen in 2018 and that could be the range-topping Ducati superbike that eventually makes it to India.
Azaman Chothia
Vishal Venugopal
