The Monster doesn't look like all those Japanese bikes. All those Japanese bikes look like the Monster.
What we forget is that the Monster created the segment. I remember very clearly in 1993, because I was looking to get a decent vehicle or two at the time. I'd gotten a good job -- my first job with a career path -- and saved up some money, about $10K. I wanted a decent used car and a decent used bike. For the bike, what I wanted was a light sporty naked bike, sort of a modern reliable version of a Norton Commando, preferably with 2 cylinders, and there was no such thing on the market. Not anywhere, not made by anybody. I was trying to figure out whether I was going to (a) give up on 2-cyl, get a Japanese sportbike and streetfighter it, (b) give up on modern and reliable, buy 2 Commandos and rebuild them in alternate years, or compromise on performance, and get a 1987 Honda Hawk 650GT, which was perfect except for having a measly 37hp.
Then I saw the article in Cycle World on the 1993 Cologne bike show, with one small picture of the Monster prototype. They said they were going to make 5000, allocate 2 per dealer and see if anyone bought it. If not, that would be all there would be. It was exactly what I wanted. So I said "who needs a car, anyway?", looked up the local Duc dealer in the phone book, went and gave him all my money, without having even seen the bike in person, just that one small picture, and waited for them to be produced and shipped.
3 months later, I had my Monster. A few years after that, there were half a dozen copies of it on the market -- everyone was making a naked 2-cyl sporty bike. The Monster was the original, and has continued to be one of the best. It's hard to stand out from the crowd when the crowd is following you around.
PhilB
