Ducati has introduced an all new Monster, the 2008 Monster 696. A combination trellis frame with aluminum sub frame mounts a 696 cc L Twin 2 valve engine, producing 80 horsepower and 50 foot pounds of torque. It also sports easily removable panels on either side of the tank to quickly change colors.

320mm Brembo discs up front with 4 piston calipers, on 43mm Showa front forks. It has the lowest seat height of any Ducati and only weighs 355 pounds (sans fluids and battery most likely).

The Monster 696 will be available at dealers in the Spring of 2008.

Link: DucatiDucati

The M109R power-cruiser garnered lots of attention during its debut year in 2006. Suzuki thought it would be nice to bolster the Boulevard line and offer the same type of muscle cruiser in a more traditional styling package. What the designers came up with is the C109R and a touring version called the C109RT. The only difference between the two is that the T model gets a windscreen, passenger backrest, studded seat, leather saddlebags and two-tone paint.

The potent 1783cc V-Twin from the M is transplanted into the C virtually unchanged, so the liquid-cooled mill should still crank out 100-plus rear-wheel horsepower.