The Italian company, founded in 1926 in Bologna, has won 11 out of 13 MotoGP championships.

They had a Monster S2R Dark on the show floor, which was its North American debut. It's a naked, flat-black coloured sport bike that has an 800cc V2 engine with a sophisticated injection system. It also has dual exhausts and weighs in at just 381 pounds (173 kg).

The S2R Dark is priced at $12,800, and coloured versions go for $14,000. All Ducati models come with a 2-year warranty. It's a really nice-looking ride and I would gladly take a stealth-fighter Dark version and save $1,200.

The Montreal show also hosted the latest round of the 9-city Monster Challenge, with the grand finale being held at the Daytona, Florida show. The Monster Challenge is a contest to find the coolest Monster in North America. Of course, modifications are allowed, and show visitors voted for the best one on display. The winners have not yet been announced for Montreal. The first prize of each local challenge is a roundtrip airfare and hotel package for Daytona's Bike Week, including your winning bike. The grand prize of the Monster Challenge is a new Monster S4R valued at $20,000. Montreal was the only Canadian city taking part in the contest.

Also hanging around the Ducati stand in Montreal was 57-year-old Gary Eagan, Iron Butt record holder for having travelled 9,011 km (5,632 miles) in just 101 hours, from Alaska to Florida, including 2 accidents along the way.