AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 53DUCATI HYPERMOTARD SP
can have so much fun on this bike: ride
around town without breaking any speed
limits and just roll it in and out of corners
with huge lean angles and almost no
brakes. Throwing it into bends at higher
speeds is also incredibly rewarding and
it’ll track a constant radius with ease.
Hi ing bumps mid-corner doesn’t upset
the forks much either, even when making
full use of the 47.5 degrees of ground
clearance, and the chassis itself is stiff
and responsive.
With the added confi dence of the
DTC to help you out if you get greedy
on the thro le and those grippy tyres
and the suspension all working together,
you can really hustle this bike along,
and even though we didn’t get to take
it on track, it’d doubtless be a wicked
tool out there too. Oh, and if things take
you by surprise, those top-spec radially
mounted Monoblock, four-pot Brembos
chewing on 320mm discs will get you out
of trouble with fi nesse and eye-popping
power, with the ABS front and rear only
adding to your bravery.
All in all, the Hypermotard is a brilliant
bike, and the SP even more so. It really
does do everything you ask of it. I
commuted on it, rode it for hours up the
freeway, and had a totally epic ride to
the middle of nowhere on some superbwindy roads. It did it all in comfort,
without drama and more o en than not
on its ear, pu ing a massive smile on
my face every time. Not only that, but it
looks and sounds superb, especially with
the optional pipe we had on our test bike.
The build quality seems excellent and all
the extra pipes, wires and plumbing for
the ABS, DTC and radiator are routed so
thoughtfully around the bike that you
hardly notice them.
When I fi rst laid eyes on the
Hypermotard I was expecting it to be
a narrowly focused track bike made
road-legal. To discover that it could do
everything I asked of it as a commuter,
a tourer and a mental backroads
scratcher with ease was something of
a pleasant surprise. Above all else, this
bike is massive fun to ride, fast or slow,
in large part due to the excellent power
characteristics of the engine; it dishes
out user-friendly and exhilarating
drive everywhere, plus the up-specced
components and all that tech make it
safe to explore the bike’s limits to the full.
Seriously, if this thing doesn’t put a grin
on your face then nothing can. ARRr Clean lines and top fi nish on the eight-valve motorr Oil fi lter is an easy fi nd!POWER UP
There’s a comprehensive amount of
optional extras for the SP. Among
others there’s a high-level road and
race exhaust system plus the low-
level one we had on our test bike.
There’s all manner of carbon body
parts including a tank cover, radiator
surrounds and dash housing, as well
as a luggage rack, pillion grab-handles
and a larger screen. While you’re at it,
pick up some paddock stands too, as
even adjusting the chain without one
is a pain.r Compact and highly functional dashARR112_048-053_Ducati Hypermotard.indd 53ARR112_048-053_Ducati Hypermotard.indd 53 2/3/2015 9:50:18 AM2/3/2015 9:50:18 AM