52 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDERthe freeway.
The minimal bodywork up front, along
with the handguards, somehow combine
to minimise any undue wind buff eting
too, which helps you avoid feeling like
a kite in a wind tunnel at triple-digit
speeds. Combined with the smoothness
of the engine and the comfortable
and roomy seat, this makes the Hyper
unexpectedly good on a long haul. There’s
also plenty of room to carry a pillion.
The SP diff ers from the standard
Hypermotard in a number of ways, some
might say the most signifi cant of which
is a whopping four grand. However, I
would argue that the most signifi cant
diff erence is the absolutely brilliant
suspension. Up front you get a set of
fully adjustable 50mm, USD Marzocchi
forks, while at the back, controlling the
butch-looking single-sided swingarm,
is a fully adjustable Ohlins monoshock,
which is made more useful by virtue of
the preload and damping adjustments
being so easy to get to.
First impressions is that the bike is set-
up pre y stiff , although I actually dialled
in an extra click of compression damping
on the top of the le fork-leg (rebound is
on the right) as there was just a fraction
too much dive for me. However, overall
the action of the boingy bits is absolutely
superb and both ends do a fantastic
job of tracking the road and keeping
the chewing-gum-so Pirelli Diablo
Supercorsa SP tyres in contact with the
surface. Particularly impressive, and one
of the things that helps make this bike
so nice to ride, is the bump-damping
front and rear. The initial movement ofthe shocks is so smooth that nothing
jarring ever reaches the rider. This is one
area where quality suspension really
outclasses its cheaper rivals and for
my money, is worth every penny. Don’t
underestimate how wearing it is to
ride a motorcycle where every ripple or
expansion joint kicks you in the kidneys.
To be compliant enough to do this and
yet keep the whole chassis perfectly
under control while you bobble up the
very edges of the tyres is impressive
indeed. Other diff erences for your four
large are lightweight Panigale-style three-
spoke Marchesini wheels with trademark
red pinstriping, carbon cam-belt covers,
carbon front mudguard and magnesium
engine covers. All of which combine to
make the SP four kilos lighter than the
standard version.
In common with other top-end
Ducatis, the Hyper family features
a fully ride-by-wire thro le system
incorporating DSP, or Ducati Safety
Package to you and me. Having ridden a
few ride-by-wire bikes lately, I’d say this is
the closest thing to replicating a thro le
cable as you’re likely to fi nd. The pick-up
mid-corner is silky smooth, small thro le
openings don’t invoke that horrible on-
off hunting common to other systems,
and best of all there’s a smoothness and
weightiness about the twist-grip which
you would swear was due to having carb
slides at the other end. The package
incorporates three engine maps for Race,
Sport and Rain which also dial up preset
values for traction control (DTC) and
ABS, as well as thro le response and
power. In addition, you can interrogateeach map through the feature-packed
dash, and dial-in and save your preferred
se ings for each of these parameters.
I generally used the Sport map, which
was pre y much perfect for everything,
giving full power and torque with a
slightly so er thro le response than the
full Race mode, and level three (of eight)
DTC and level two (of three) ABS. You can
also manually switch both of those off.
Handling on the SP could hardly have
been be er. It may not be the fastest-
turning thing on the road and going from
full lean to full lean does require some
eff ort, but that superb suspension and
the incredible grip off ered by the tyres
allows you to put big inputs into the
bars without fear. Despite its height, the
turn-in is almost totally neutral, allowing
you to roll over to the edge of the tyre
with no surprises, even at urban speeds.
In fact, that’s one of the areas where youQUICKSPECS
Model: Ducati Hypermotard SP
Price: $21,490 (plus on-road charges)
Colours: Red Corse Stripe
Warranty: 24 months, unlimited
kilometres
Servicing intervals: 30,000km
Engine: Testastre a 11º. Four-
valve per cylinder V-twin with
Desmodromic valve actuation
Bore x stroke: 88 x 67.5mm
Displacement: 821cc
Compression: 12.8:1
Power: 81kW @ 9250rpm
Torque: 89Nm @ 7750rpm
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox,
chain fi nal drive
Frame: Tubular steel trellis
Dimensions: Seat height 890mm,
weight 194kg (wet), fuel capacity 16L,
wheelbase 1505mm, rake 25.5º, trail
104mm
Suspension: Fully adjustable 50mm
Marzocchi fork, 185mm travel. Ohlins
rear shock with preload, rebound and
compression damping, 175mm travel
Brakes: Front, twin Brembo M4.32
Monoblock four-piston calipers,
320mm disc. Rear, Brembo two-piston
caliper. ABS.
Ty re s : Pirelli Diablo Rosso II Front,
120/70ZR17. Rear, 180/60ZR17
Fuel consumption: 5.9L/100km
Theoretical range: 275km
Verdict: A machine that does many jobs
and always puts a smile on your dial.ARR112_048-053_Ducati Hypermotard.indd 52ARR112_048-053_Ducati Hypermotard.indd 52 2/3/2015 9:50:16 AM2/3/2015 9:50:16 AM