The thought hit me as I was reading through some of the 696 threads...

Those of you too young to remember the "New Coke" thing...a brief history lesson.

The Coca-Cola Co. came out with a product called "New Coke" It was replacing the regular "Coke" that everyone knew and loved. All that would be available when the old Coke supplies were used up would be the New Coke product.

People were buying and hording any and all of the old Coke that they could get their hands on...

Well, of course, the Coca-Cola Company "decided" that they would produce both and the original Coke would become "Coke Classic" (many people now think it was one of the greatest marketing plans in the history of soft drink sales).

Soooo, stands to reason to me that Ducati will produce 696-ish Monsters, eventually eliminating our beloved 'classic' Monster. Ducati lovers the world over will be up in arms. Prices for older Monster will start to climb..............Ducati to the rescue with a line of "Monster Classics"!

Store away all their old tooling, upgrade with the most current engine...Jack up the price (since by all means it will be a 'modern classic') and, the return of Monster Classic will spell the death of 696-ish Monsters.....When was the last time you saw "New Coke" on the store shelves?? Maybe it is still there, I drink neither.

Anyway...Who knows? It just sorta fits the mold...I predict this to happen in 4 to 5 years...if the world holds together that long.

Nah, when it's gone it'll be gone. Everyone cried about the 999 being the ugliest thing ever. Ducati didn't care they ran the normal life cycle of it. Granted they steered away from that design with the 1098 replacement, but I wouldn't consider the 1098 a 916 Classic. 

ok, don't get me wrong here... I certainly get the point.  And, furthermore love the classic monster styling.  It's the reason I now own a 696.   I've mentioned this before, but I've been planning to buy a monster for about 4 years now.   Specifically, a few years back I saw a 620ie and it flat out blew my mind.   At the time I was thinking that if I could buy a new bike it'd be a thruxton cause u love the looks, but the just don't deliver... 460lbs does not a cafe racer make....   Long story short, i fell for the monster instantly.  It was like someone look at my cafe'd up CB400f and said "yeah, let's build that.... But make it look like the frame can hardly contain the engine... And make the frame dead sexy.... And make it snarl."

So yeah,i love the monster line.   Especiallly the S2R800... But by the time came, when I'd finally paid off my car, and solidified my place at work... When the "summer of new bike" came, I found that ducati had completely redesigned the bike i'd planned to buy.  And I was torn for a while.  Espically because there wasnt an oportunity to see both.

I was luke warm on the headlight ad hated the sub frame, but the numbers were great and I loved the exaust routing.... Plan to go Ti for the cans... But by the time they launched the subframe was black, and when I finally saw the light, it looked pretty good


so I guess my point is, yeah it's different.   I like it.   Maybe it's like how I think every mustang since 1968 looked like crap and in 40 years they'll release a "monster super classic"   like the GT1000

i always felt that Coca Cola blew it big time with new coke. tried to make it just like pepsi
lost most of their customers
didnt get them back till the reintroduced "classic" coke

moral: dont mess with it if it aint broke

Quote from: herm on July 06, 2008, 08:56:57 PM
moral: dont mess with it if it aint broke

Exactly. I love my 28.8k modem and my 8-track player.

"696= Isa one hundreda percenta Ducati"   

The problem with the original coke and coke classic (post new Coke) was that it wasn't the same recipe.  They changed the real sugar for high fructose corn syrup as the sweetener.  But since everyone got a taste of new coke they didn't notice the difference on the "classic".  It saved Coca-Cola a TON of money going with corn, and few ever knew the difference because of the "new coke" palate cleanser.

Current Monster or Classic Monster= both made by Ducati

The way I see it, a real Ducati is one that makes your heart beat quicker before you've even reached for the keys, or just makes you admire it, basking in it's reflected glory, or pops into your thoughts just before you drift off to sleep...
No matter what model you own it's part of the Ducati family. All it matters is how it make you feels.  [moto]

Quote from: slim_grizzy on July 06, 2008, 09:27:48 PM
The problem with the original coke and coke classic (post new Coke) was that it wasn't the same recipe.  They changed the real sugar for high fructose corn syrup as the sweetener.  But since everyone got a taste of new coke they didn't notice the difference on the "classic".  It saved Coca-Cola a TON of money going with corn, and few ever knew the difference because of the "new coke" palate cleanser.

Want to try Real coke made with Real sugar?  Go to mexico, and get the bottled coke... they dont use corn syrup.  Tastes different, and much better IMO. 

Coca cola's been around for decades and decades.. whereas the monsters only been around since the 90's.  So the original comparison doesn't really "fit the mold"

This whole title is an amalgamation of redundancy. The current monster IS the 696.

Therefore it says "696 = New Coke" 696 = "Coke Classic"

When I saw the first pictures from Milan , showing this space scooter design misfit, I was damn close to buy a GT 1000 sport.
But luckily I could score a beautiful , classic 695 before the evil attack of the martians started.
The 696 is more the Coke Zero

Too bad your analogy is wrong.

Unlike New Coke, the 696 seems to be doing pretty well...

"I am pleased to report that sales were strong across the model range and have been exceptional for the newly introduced Monster 696,” commented Jason Chinnock, National Sales Manager for Ducati North America. “The 696 demand outpaced our supply for the month otherwise the new record of 1410 units would have been higher!"
See: http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=6448.0

I was going to make this same analogy in my poll thread, so I think it is apt.  Another one I thought about about was the mid-80s Porsches like the 924, where they decided to be a bit more populist, and in the process spread the badge thinner.  You can't argue with success, which is why the Porsche example is probably not as good as the Coke one.
The argument I made from day one is that the refresh was a change that nobody asked for.  And by nobody, I mean the people already riding or planning to ride a monster in its 695/SNR form.  I have never heard a fan say "the monster is a stupendous bike.  Now, if only they took away some of the things I really love about it..."  So, the only thing that makes sense is that despite the Monster's sales numbers and loyal ridership, they were going to reach out to other consumers.  While I don't have much of an emotional investment in it, I understand how this might be percieved as a Ducati turning away (I wouldn't say turning their back) on the consumers that made them successful.  Some people, (people named The Ron) take this as some kind of personal insult.  I know where they are coming from, but I don't necessarily share the outrage.
I still think the old bike with the new bits would have sold like gangbusters.  Which is why I could see and live with these two bikes co-existing in their own development paths.  I do think they should call the new Monster something else, though.

Can anyone recognize this movie quote?

"Oh, actually all champagne is French, it's named after the region. Otherwise it's sparkling white wine. Americans of course don't recognize the convention, so it becomes that thing of calling all of their sparkling white "champagne", even though by definition they're not."
"Ah yes, it's a lot like 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'. In many ways it's superior but will never be as recognized as the original."

Waynes World... right?