T
he supermotard
craze was huge in
the early noughties.
Everybody was
doing it, from road
racers to weekend warriors, and
championships were formed
around the world. It seemed
that all was well with people
having fun, and the top riders
could even make a living out of
it. After a while companies like
Husqvarna and KTM cottoned
on to the fact that if they bolted
a headlight and tail light onto
their single-cylinder supermoto
rockets, the customers would
snap them up. Then the bigger
Italian factories jumped on the
bandwagon with firstly Ducati
revealing its Hypermotard
in 2005, and then Aprilia the
Dorsoduro in 2008.
These two models are still the
most successful in the sector
and have battled for supremacy
over the past decade. Aprilia has
chosen to completely freshen
up its weaponry, doing away
with the two ‘edge of spectrum’
models from last year – the 750
and 1200 – and replacing them
with one new 900cc all-rounder.
After a big unveiling at EICMA