Next in the new lineup is the Hypermotard. This is supposed to be the replacement for the aircooled 1100 engined 'moto.
Too many components are shared with the Hyperstrada to mention. It has the same traction control and ABS systems as the 'strada, similar (but lower) bars and lacks the luggage racks and flyscreen fitted to the 'strada. But the suspension is really where this bike differs.
At the front, the bike has relatively standard non-adjustable (except for pre-load) forks and at the back, the rear is a Sachs unit with preload and rebound adjustment.
The hypermotard is sprung much more stiffly. The ride is compliant, but stiffer than the hyperstrada. It lacks the touring bikes remote preload but it is set up for a more aggressive ride.
Like the other bikes, this has three riding modes: Urban, Touring and Sport. I collected the bike from a central London dealer and rode it in Urban mode on a mixture of city streets and three-lane A roads. Like the Hyperstrada, it limits power to 70bhp and sets traction control and ABS to their maximum settings. The result is a cross between a cross bike and a small parallel twin, like a Honda 500. The motor sounds like a single and feels very much like a P2. A very strange feeling, but effective. Even on roads up to 70mph, the bike had plenty of power readily available. At no time did I feel that I needed more power. I might have wanted more, I could have used more, but I wanted to see what it would be like to ride this bike as a daily commuter. It was perfect, pulling very cleanly from 2,000 revs. Maybe a little juddering in higher gears, but still perfectly tractable.
As I headed South, I changed the bike into Touring mode to get full power on the bigger roads. The motor was just the same as the Hyperstrada, pulling well up to peak power (9,250) and past. The gear ratios were just as good as before, which is probably because they are the same. One big difference though was the wind protection - it's rubbish. On a private road, wind blast was impossible above 110mph, forcing you flat against the tank. I'd think that the small carbon wind deflector in the Accessories catalogue is going to be very popular.
So, finally, the smaller, quieter roads and Sports mode. Like before, Sports mode limits TC and ABS and reduces the throttle travel. Immediately, the bike feels sharper. The exhaust seems to have that bark again and the front is skipping over the tarmac under heavy acceleration. But this is where the first surprise is delivered: the front is incredibly well planted and carves a line through a bend like it's painted on the road. You can make the bike follow lane markings under full throttle and it just goes round. There's no pushing the front off line, no problems with the rear stepping out - it just goes where you want it to. The combination of pin-sharp cornering, addictive exhaust note and short throttle is intoxicating. Because you're sitting high, you have great visibility through the corners and can roll on through the bend, short shifting on the straights, dropping a couple of cogs for the next bend and repeat and repeat and repeat.
When you need to slow, the brakes are excellent. The master cylinder is the same unit as fitted to the Monsters and the Hyperstrada. It provides plenty of feel through the lever and so much power without being grabby. I expected to want a radial unit here, but I didn't.
The mirrors are excellent.
The suspension is the real standout thing here. This is no blinging Marzocchi or Ohlins kit: it's off the shelf, relatively budget stuff, but it's been matched to the bike so well. I'm around 80kg with kit and I never felt I needed an changes to this suspension. It was perfect for the bike. The rear controlled the wheel perfectly, never feeling like it was under any pressure. The front gave great feedback, never dived excessively or lurched. It was firm, but not uncomfortably so, handling potholes and road markings without any hint of trouble. The bike never felt as though it was pogo-ing underneath me as softer suspension would have done. On my favourite route, the local road menders have dug a couple of trenches across the road, leaving two raised strips from edge to edge. They're maybe 50 meters apart and I always forget them, being focussed on the perfect corner that they're on. Bigger bikes can get a little out of shape on these bumps, but the Hypermotard just jiggled the bars, absorbed the hit and carried on. Perfect!
The bad points? Apart from the lack of wind protection, the only issue I had was getting to the sidestand, Damiano showed me a trick where you put your foot at 90 degrees to the bike and use your heel to flick the stand around the foot peg, but I never mastered it, preferring to use my boot to lift the peg out of the way while pushing the stand down. Not always successful. And the clutch lacked proper feel. Probably, if you've ridden any other cable operated wet clutch, you'll think it's the same.
In Urban mode, it will handle the morning commute with no problems. It's comfortable (the seat is ok) apart from wind blast at higher speeds.
But in Sports mode, this bike is bonkers. It's not a bad bike, but it's had far too many double espressos this morning. Is it a supermoto though? I'm going to say 'No'. It's an upright sports bike with a revvy, punchy motor. It's mad, it makes you do bad things, it corners like it's on rails, but ultimately the power, the weight and heated grips say it's no balls out, focussed 'moto. Is that a bad thing?
Too many components are shared with the Hyperstrada to mention. It has the same traction control and ABS systems as the 'strada, similar (but lower) bars and lacks the luggage racks and flyscreen fitted to the 'strada. But the suspension is really where this bike differs.
The hypermotard is sprung much more stiffly. The ride is compliant, but stiffer than the hyperstrada. It lacks the touring bikes remote preload but it is set up for a more aggressive ride.
Like the other bikes, this has three riding modes: Urban, Touring and Sport. I collected the bike from a central London dealer and rode it in Urban mode on a mixture of city streets and three-lane A roads. Like the Hyperstrada, it limits power to 70bhp and sets traction control and ABS to their maximum settings. The result is a cross between a cross bike and a small parallel twin, like a Honda 500. The motor sounds like a single and feels very much like a P2. A very strange feeling, but effective. Even on roads up to 70mph, the bike had plenty of power readily available. At no time did I feel that I needed more power. I might have wanted more, I could have used more, but I wanted to see what it would be like to ride this bike as a daily commuter. It was perfect, pulling very cleanly from 2,000 revs. Maybe a little juddering in higher gears, but still perfectly tractable.
So, finally, the smaller, quieter roads and Sports mode. Like before, Sports mode limits TC and ABS and reduces the throttle travel. Immediately, the bike feels sharper. The exhaust seems to have that bark again and the front is skipping over the tarmac under heavy acceleration. But this is where the first surprise is delivered: the front is incredibly well planted and carves a line through a bend like it's painted on the road. You can make the bike follow lane markings under full throttle and it just goes round. There's no pushing the front off line, no problems with the rear stepping out - it just goes where you want it to. The combination of pin-sharp cornering, addictive exhaust note and short throttle is intoxicating. Because you're sitting high, you have great visibility through the corners and can roll on through the bend, short shifting on the straights, dropping a couple of cogs for the next bend and repeat and repeat and repeat.
When you need to slow, the brakes are excellent. The master cylinder is the same unit as fitted to the Monsters and the Hyperstrada. It provides plenty of feel through the lever and so much power without being grabby. I expected to want a radial unit here, but I didn't.
The mirrors are excellent.
The suspension is the real standout thing here. This is no blinging Marzocchi or Ohlins kit: it's off the shelf, relatively budget stuff, but it's been matched to the bike so well. I'm around 80kg with kit and I never felt I needed an changes to this suspension. It was perfect for the bike. The rear controlled the wheel perfectly, never feeling like it was under any pressure. The front gave great feedback, never dived excessively or lurched. It was firm, but not uncomfortably so, handling potholes and road markings without any hint of trouble. The bike never felt as though it was pogo-ing underneath me as softer suspension would have done. On my favourite route, the local road menders have dug a couple of trenches across the road, leaving two raised strips from edge to edge. They're maybe 50 meters apart and I always forget them, being focussed on the perfect corner that they're on. Bigger bikes can get a little out of shape on these bumps, but the Hypermotard just jiggled the bars, absorbed the hit and carried on. Perfect!
Conclusion
The bike has the same service intervals as the Hyperstrada, so it will be cheap to run. It looks good in black.In Urban mode, it will handle the morning commute with no problems. It's comfortable (the seat is ok) apart from wind blast at higher speeds.
But in Sports mode, this bike is bonkers. It's not a bad bike, but it's had far too many double espressos this morning. Is it a supermoto though? I'm going to say 'No'. It's an upright sports bike with a revvy, punchy motor. It's mad, it makes you do bad things, it corners like it's on rails, but ultimately the power, the weight and heated grips say it's no balls out, focussed 'moto. Is that a bad thing?
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