I have a dark, shameful secret. My name is Jerry and I love supermotos. There, I've said it. Among the bikes I own is this Husaberg, a proper supermoto, 120kg wet and 68bhp. When it can be bothered to start, it's a riot. You can back it in, start it sliding around on the back brake and transition to the power on the exit, foot out supermoto stylee or knee down. It's so easy to ride fast that you can make up 100bhp deficits in even just damp conditions. It's a race bike, total loss electrics, high compression, race cam, kickstart only, so when you eventually get it out on track (leaving the audience who were placing bets to see if the idiot with the mud plugger will get his bike started this session), you're sweaty, exhausted and fired up with workout endorphins coursing through your system, ready to take on the GSXR1000s and ZX10s. And on a small track, you can!
So I have a big 'moto for the road (and a Ducati too - relax!). It's a KTM 950 in a tasteful black. It has a proper size fuel tank, more than a litre of oil and useful extras like a starter motor and fans on the radiator. It's a proper hooligan: you can wheelie it easily, slide it around, the whole thing. However, it's getting a little old and tired and I'll probably need to swap it for something else. I may even sell the little 'berg too if I can find something that does both jobs.
When Ducati launched the Hypermotard 1100 a few years back, it got my attention. It was a Ducati, relatively lightweight with that big torquey motor. But something didn't click and I've never ridden one. I don't know if it was the styling with the big beak at the front and the fat, wide seat at the rear, the fact that it was air-cooled, or the fact that it was another Ducati and I didn't want more of that belt and valve nonsense.
Now however, there's the new Hypermotard. It comes with different riding modes, traction control and ABS. It has a new motor, designed specifically for the bike (although I'm betting it will find it's way into other models soon) and incredible service intervals for belts (15,000 miles) and valve clearances (18, 000). Compare this with my Monster S4Rs. I've just had it serviced. It's done almost 15,000 miles, but being 6 years old, it's had three belt and shim services at around £600 a time. £1,800 in belts and clearances (the last one was more, requiring a rocker and fork seals). This new motor would have only needed fluids and one set of belts in the same mileage - no time component. So it's sort of like a Ducati, but with a lot of the cost taken out.
You've probably got the message that I'm going to be doing a road test. Let's get this clear from the start - I'm not paid to do this blog. I don't get money from Ducati to write about Ducatis and neither do I get any discount or incentive on servicing or on anything else, other than what you would usually get by establishing a relationship with a dealer. I just do this because I find it interesting and I like to share it. I still find it slightly bizarre that you guys read this stuff!
So, back to the point of this post. There are three models in the Hyper range: the 'strada, the 'motard and the 'motard SP. I've ridden the Hyperstrada and I'm planning on riding the Hypermotard as soon as I can. I doubt I can get a ride on an SP tho, which is a shame, because that's the one I really want to buy.
Unfortunately, I forgot my camera for the day, so we have to make do with these pro pics I found.
So, the Hyperstrada. To be honest, I wasn't sure I'd like this bike. I've never owned a touring bike and don't need one. If I go touring, I'll take the family and the dog in the old Range Rover. It's where I am in my life. So why do I want to ride a tourer? Because it's the same DNA as the Hypermotard SP. It shares the same motor and chassis as the other bikes in the range and it was my first opportunity to ride Ducatis ride-by-wire electronics package.
Firstly, getting on. The 'strada is the lowest bike in the range. There's no ride height adjuster on any of the bikes and the swingarm doesn't have any provision to add one. The 'motard SP is the highest and at 5'10, I am completely on tiptoe on that bike. The 'strada is probably slightly lower than my KTM, which is good for town riding. The bars on the 'strada are also higher than the other two and it comes with a small fly-screen. The brake master cylinder looks to be the same unit used on the smaller Monsters. It works very well and provides good feedback. The SP has a radial unit from the sports bikes, but if you're not looking for ultimate eyeball popping, stoppie-inducing performance (which would probably shake up the beer in your panniers), they're overkill.
I started the ride in Urban mode, which limits the power and sets the traction control and ABS to their highest setting.Initial impressions: the clutch is really light (it's wet and cable operated), the bike feels light, stable and so easy to ride that you could be on a big Ducati-red scooter. That's no insult to the bike. It's confidence inspiring and with the high seating position, you have perfect visibility over other traffic. It's good to look at and has a proper presence on the road. The motor is very flexible and provides drive from very low revs. Compare this to the older motors - including the Multistrada - that can't be ridden under 3,000 revs, requiring you to slip the clutch at lower speeds. This is where I wanted to see some real evidence of evolution from Ducati. It's perfectly possible to map a v-twin to run smoothly with the power that a modern ECU has. Ten years ago, you can imagine the development guys:
Hey Giuseppi, this bike will not ride under 3,500 revs.
Ah, who cares, it's a Ducati. No-one wants to ride a Ducati slowly.
Well, yes, but sometimes you do need to demonstrate that you can ride slowly. Usually to the Policeman who's following you. Out of the box, this motor is so good that the standard gearing is perfect - you won't need to drop a tooth at the front on this bike to get some more flexibility. You just don't need it.
The test bike had the big standard can compete with catalytic converter, so the noise it makes was surprising. It sounds like a big single, not a v-twin at all. It's also surprisingly loud for a standard can. Cars still get out of the way of it and you never feel that you're any less 'visible' than any other bike. It makes a slight puffing sound like a single, but at higher revs it's more crisp and starts to bark. If I bought this bike, I probably wouldn't feel the need to change the can and any pillion would probably appreciate it too.
So Urban mode is good, plenty of power for town (75bhp) without being intimidating and probably great in the rain. Fortunately, I didn't find out. Next stop, Touring mode. This releases full power to the motor, but gently. ABS and TC are less active.
I can't think of much to say about Touring mode, other than it's very smooth. Which you need if you've got a pillion and want to retain him or her.
If not, Sports mode is your man. It's fun! Sports mode reduces both TC and ABS. I think (to be confirmed) that it switches it off for the rear wheel, allowing you to back it in, but that may just be on the 'motard versions.
The biggest change though is the throttle. It becomes 'shorter', reducing the amount of travel needed to get from closed to fully open. This highlights a big problem: the screen keeps jumping up and hitting you in the face. But only in first, second and third gears and only in Sports mode. Strange. Blatt bash grin, blatt bash grin - repeat : )
Sports mode is where the performance of the motor is properly demonstrated. It's really punchy. It doesn't mind being revved, but it doesn't need to be to get good performance out of it. It's much more fun to short-shift through the box, using the torque to make progress. Peak power is around 7,500 (again, TBC), so you don't need to wring it's neck like a sports bike to get it going and you find your way into high gears very quickly. The motor has plenty of go for overtaking and probably doesn't need lower gears to get past slower traffic, but the motor is so much fun that you find yourself dropping gears just to get that punch. It's not litre-bike ICBM-riding performance, but it's excellent fun and probably all you need.
Handling is really good for a bike with very stock suspension and big block touring tyres. It coped with changes in road surfaces very well and the tyres only indicated that they weren't happy on one occasion, but that was immediately after a fuel stop and at reasonable lean. No dramas, but enough movement to tell you that you weren't on sports tyres. The bike felt light and easy to change direction, very stable at reasonable lean.
Controls are all where you need them. I couldn't work out high beam, but that's nothing any salesman couldn't tell you about. The dash does what it should and is where you need it and I understand this bike has an accessories thing for charging your phone or whatever. Oh, and the seat was comfortable. Wind wasn't an issue for me, but I wouldn't like to be doing huge miles in the rain at high speeds on it. But if you want to do that, take the car.
Conclusion
What have we learned about this bike? It seems to be a good, general purpose bike aimed at people who want to ride maybe two, three hundred miles in a day without breaking themselves to do it. It can commute no problem and in the right conditions, you could make a sportsbike rider look very silly on the track. It should be cheap to run, certainly cheaper than any other Ducati I know about. It's light, easy to ride and not intimidating, very capable due to it's suspension and electronics package.
But ultimately, it's the quieter brother of those two in the shady corner. The two who always seem to be planning something bad. You know that this brother isn't going to tape a firework to the neighbours cat, but he knows a really good way to do it, if he wanted to.
If you've got all the way through this post, well done! If you liked it and you would like me to do some more road write-ups, please 'like' the page if you have Facebook or Google+, that way I know that I'm doing something right.
If you've got all the way through this post, well done! If you liked it and you would like me to do some more road write-ups, please 'like' the page if you have Facebook or Google+, that way I know that I'm doing something right.
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