2008 Ducati Hypermotard: Nimble, Still Ferocious

Motard is a European phenomenon. Usually, we don’t care how they do it in Europe, but in this case, they may be on to something. Start with a dirt bike, with its minimalist bodywork, ultra-light weight and pothole-absorbing long-travel suspension. Spoon on a set of grabby, nearly slick street tires instead of the off-road-capable knobbies, and you’ve got a motorcycle ideally suited to the cut and thrust of urban jousting—I mean commuting. This style of custom bike was not only capable, it was also cheap to build and run in a region where gas has always been as expensive as it promises to become here this summer.

And if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing to excess. So, then comes the supermotard, using mid-sized 4-stroke streetbike engines. More power, but still faithful to the ultralight, minimalist concept of a light, maneuverable bike for zipping through the bull-run traffic found on the streets of Europe.

That’s the concept behind the Ducati Hypermotard. Take a 90-hp air-cooled desmodromic-valved 1100 cc L-twin engine, and install it in what is basically the frame from Ducati’s Multi-strada adventure-tourer. Leave off enough unnecessary stuff, like the windscreen and most of the bodywork, to reduce the weight to just under 400 lbs. What bodywork remains looks like an evil insectoid master race from a direct-to-DVD sci-fi movie. And if that’s not outrageous enough, replace the wheels with forged-alloy Marchesinis and some of the bodywork with carbon fiber, further reducing the weight by another five pounds. Open up the exhaust system, and you have the Hypermotard S.

I got a chance to spend the day touring around the back country in Sardinia, including the afternoon at a private racetrack, on the Hypermotard. I managed to elude—I mean get lost, er, separated from the group—later in the morning, and had to spend several hours slightly lost, casting about the countryside looking for the track. Honest, I completely forgot I had a map in my pocket.

At any rate, a Hypermotard will aviate its front wheel in 4th gear, soak up potholes and bumps like a microfiber washcloth, and brake into corners from top gear like the parachute just popped out of your Top-Fueler. Definitely intended for experienced riders, the Hypermotard will sell for $10,499, the S version for about a grand more. The option I want on mine is the Ducati Data Advisor, which lets you download your track session onto a USB memory chip and plot all performance data onto your laptop. Sweet. —Mike Allen