2008 Ducati Hypermotard 1100s
CYCLE WORLD TEST
2008 Ducati Hypermotard 1100S
Blurring the lines...
BLAKE CONNER
AS THE LINES BETWEEN MOTORCYCLE GENRES CONtinue to blur and different categories emerge, one happy fact stands out: There are lots of exciting new motorcycles to choose from these days.
Take Ducati’s brand-new Hypermotard, for instance. It’s a Frankenbike if ever there was onepart adventure-bike and part superbike combined with the psycho personality of a 450cc supermoto. Bologna nailed the name: “Hypermotard” describes this Multistrada-on-meth perfectly.
A few years ago, no major player would have risked bringing such a niche bike to market. But in 2008, we not only get the Ducati but KTM’s 950 SM, Buell’s Lightning XB12STT and the BMW HP2 Megamoto. These bikes prove that manufacturers feel this emerging Moto-Twins class is viable. What may have once seemed like a novelty is gaining a foothold.
Although the Hypermotard’s DNA is rooted in supermotard-style Singles, designer Pierre Terblanche knew that this bike needed to be something different. A true motocrossderived SM is a hard-edged, unforgiving motorcycle. It’ll rip up and down the tightest roads, embarrassing sportbikes along the way, but what do you do the rest of the time, when the curves in the road get pulled straight? Both the standard Hypermotard and our testbike, the upscale S model, answer that question.
Plop your butt on the tallish 34-inch saddle and first impression of the S is that it is very narrow. A look out over the front makes you wonder where all the “stuff” went. The iPod-sized dash assembly and teeny-bikini wind deflectorwhich houses the smallest possible road-legal headlight-go almost unnoticed.
Planting feet firmly on the ground isn’t just reserved for the 6-foot-plus crowd; the seat tapers toward the front, allowing a greater range of riders to feel comfortable at a stop. Even though the Hypermotard chassis is virtually identical to the do-everything Multistrada’s, the riding position is more radical, more “over-the-front.” But it feels right. Hands fall naturally on the 36-inch-wide, tapered, black-anodized aluminum handlebar. Footpeg location is ideal and won’t cramp your legs on longer rides, while rubber peg inserts isolate the rider’s feet from most vibration. The seat itself isn’t exactly long-haul plush but won’t give you a case of numb-butt 20 minutes into a two-hour ride.
Not that you’ll be doing much high-speed sport-touring on this bike. Too much time above 70 mph and you’ll pay the price with neck fatigue. The rider is literally out in the open, with that tiny fairing doing little to block the windblast. Fine around town and while clipping apexes, but it gets old fast when motoring along on the highway.
Backroad handling did throw us a couple of curve balls. A few of us anticipated that the Hypermotard’s steering would be a little more, well, hyper; maybe we read too much into the bike’s name after all?
Nope, we should have known better, since Ducatis have a long tradition of stable steering manners. At 57.8 inches, the wheelbase is quite a bit longer than a typical sportbike’s 54 to 55 inches. In medium to fast sweepers, the HM is amazing, with very good balance between steering and stability.
In really tight corners, however, it feels a bit sluggish, requiring more input at the bars than expected. Initial turn-in feels a touch slow to react, but once you are leaned over, a little pressure on the bars is all it takes to adjust lines-helped undoubtedly by the S-model’s lightweight (4.4 pounds less) forged-aluminum Marchesini wheels.
So, the Hypermotard requires a slightly more aggressive riding style than your average sportbike. It likes to be rushed into the corner hard on the brakes and then flopped into bends elbows-up, MX-style, with a lot of handlebar input. Riding it like the big motard it is, the Ducati responds optimally. If you get lazy, it’ll deliver the goods just fine, just not with as much tenacity.
One of the biggest adjustments for a sportbike rider transitioning to a Hypermotard involves the long-travel suspension. On standard settings, it provides a plush ride, but for fast canyon carving we stiffened everything up quite a bit. Otherwise, the bike see-saws a lot as weight transfers forward on the brakes and then back again as the throttle is snapped open. Adding fork preload makes the bike more predictable entering corners and gives the rider added confidence in the front end. We didn’t want to go too far, however, as the 50mm, DLC-coated Marzocchi fork and Öhlins shock did an awesome job of sucking up the bumps on one particularly rough and rippled test road. The rock-solid HM attacked this stretch of asphalt without any drama.
About those super-strong front brakes: When asked why Ducati decided to go with twin radial-mount calipers and 305mm rotors, then-president Federico Minoli pointed to the fact that Ducatisti focus groups polled on the subject demanded such a setup. Sorry, folks, you got it wrong.
While the stuff looks way cool, and we do love powerful brakes, these S-model Brembos are overkill. The same radial master cylinder and monobloc calipers (with bigger rotors) are called for on the 1098S, as they serve their purpose on the racetrack and are responsible for hauling that bike down from its 174-mph top speed. But on the Hypermotard, even with the smaller discs, there is so much stopping power so early in the lever’s travel that the brakes are difficult to modulate. We even occasionally had the front tire chirp in protest. A single disc probably would have been just fine.
Nothing to complain about with the motor. If you haven’t had the chance to sample the big-bore version of Ducati’s two-valve, dual-spark engine, it’s a real treat. The 1078cc Twin has been bored from 94 to 98mm but uses the same 71.5mm stroke as the 1000, with compression raised half a point to 10.5:1. On the Cycle World dyno, the engine produced 80 horsepower and 69 foot-pounds of torque. That’s about 4 hp less than the last Multistrada 1100 we tested due to the HM’s smaller airbox, but it makes an additional 2 ft.lb. of torque at its 4900-rpm peak. And what the bike lacks in outright power it more than makes up in power-to-weight: On our scales, the Hypermotard weighed 49 pounds less than the ’Strada.
On the road, a shortish final-drive ratio (15/42) makes the Hypermotard feel very lively accelerating away from stops, and it easily lofts the front wheel on throttle alone. The torquey nature of the engine means that even on the tightest roads the S can be left in one gear for long stints, grunting away from apexes. Peak power comes at 6500 rpm, leveling off in a nice plateau and making 75 hp plus for another 1600 rpm. The rev-limiter kicks in at 8700, so there’s a lot of overrev to play with. It’s a flexible and fun engine.
Fuel-injection response is excellent. In the past, we’ve tested air-cooled Dues that were temperamental warming up in the morning and would sputter to a stop at inopportune times. This bike gave us none of those problems.
One area we feel still has room for improvement is the transmission. Generally, shifts were positive with smooth throws between gears, but we found a few false neutrals and the box jumped out of second and back into neutral on occasion. The clutch is a hydraulically actuated unit and offers good feel, although some of us around here still prefer cable clutches for the best modulation. The dry clutch can be grabby if you slip it too much when launching the bike-but if you’re doing that, you’re riding the bike incorrectly, as there is so much torque available down low that it is unnecessary to torture the clutch pack.
California lane-splitters will not appreciate the bar-end mirrors. They offer a wide-if sometimes vibe-blurred-rearward view but measure a whopping 48.5 inches tip-to-tip, over a foot more than when folded in. Squeezing between cars in urban gridlock is all but impossible with them open-don’t ask us how we know. A mirror-relocation kit ($47), available from Ducati’s accessory catalog, moves the stock mirrors inward and upward on stalks; they’re not nearly as cool-looking as Terblanche’s bar-enders but much more traffic-friendly.
Another complaint is that the fuel tank is easy to overfill because seeing inside the entirely black 3.2-gallon unit is difficult, and the last few cupfuls creep up fast. Additionally, the tank is so shallow below the cap opening that it’s hard to keep fuel from spraying all over the bike when filling, so have a paper towel handy for clean-up. On the subject of petrol, you’ll be gassing up frequently, though not as often as the tripmeter, which indicates just 62 percent of each actual passing mile, would have you believe. Blame a software error made when the vendor converted kilometers to miles. The fix, performed by dealers, is free.
Those criticisms aside, we fell in love with the Hypermotard. It’s not the fastest, lightest or even most nimble bike ever made, but it is above average in multiple categories and exemplary in others. That combination of attributes makes it one of the most entertaining motorcycles money can buy.
Consider it a jack of all trades, master of one: having fun.
EDITOR'S NOTES
EVER SINCE THE HYPERMOTARD WAS first shown at the 2005 Milan show, Eve been waiting to jump aboard and take one for a thrash. When that day finally arrived, the bike wasn’t really what I expected. I wanted it to be more motard, more hyper and more uncompromised. But what I discovered is a bike that was actually more comfortable, more stable and better conceived than it would have been if I had been in charge instead of designer Pierre Terblanche. And that’s a good thing.
The Hyper M isn’t the most comfortable bike if you like long rides, but for two-hour weekend blasts it’s amazingly fun. With the big DSI 100 Twin packing a punch that 450cc Thumpers only dream of, power is just right, too. It definitely has some drawbacks, like the Pterodactyl-width wingspan of the bar/mirrors and total lack of wind protection. But at the same time, I think Ducati made the right compromises in the right areas and has created one of my favorite bikes.
-Blake Conner, Associate Editor
THE HYPERMOTARD’S SUPERMOTO-LIKE riding position rules. It makes the bike good for cruising around town, yet allday rides won’t completely wear you out. More surprising, especially given the extremely compact nature of the bike, riding two-up is really nice. My wife Megan liked the level seat and footpeg position that didn’t jam her knees into her ears. And thanks to the and of 1078cc Twin, we torqued away from lights and out of corners without excessive shifts or sky-high revs. Nice thing is, when you want some extra snap you can wail the rpm and the engine zings up to the rev-limiter with almost no vibration. Talk about flexible.
In fact, the Hypermotard is one of the most widely accommodating bikes you can buy. Whether the plan calls for riding it like a comfortable cruiser on lazy weekend rides, commuting or the occasional hard-riding trackday, the Hypermoto’s temperament is flexible enough to be able to accomplish it all.
-Mark Cernicky, Associate Editor
LARGE MOTARDS ARE BIG NEWS. THEY are Mega (BMW), Super (KTM and Buell) or Hyper (our Ducati here) and hitting the road with high style and excellent performance.
Real supermotard bikes have always looked a little ridiculous to me with the tiny wheels, long fork legs and fenders way up there. But the fun of riding something so light, so flickable and with so much grip made me forget the silly looks of these converted dirtbikes.
Large machines like the Hypermotard take that performance ethic into the streetbike realm, mellow it out a little to make it livable but keep most of the thrills. This particular example is an awesome motorcycle.
If calling it “motard” means the engineers build a comfortable, upright standard-style motorcycle light in weight, give it fantastic brakes, great suspension and superb allaround performance, I can live with the dumb-looking front fender. -Mark Hoyer, Executive Editor
DUCATI HYPERMOTARD 1100S
$13,995
