DUCATI HYPERMOTARD 950SP

Ihad a mate who owned a Husaberg 650 motard; it broke his leg. Not from crashing it, but from kick starting the damn thing. Thank god those days of sweating profusely, standing tall over your steed and kicking over a lifeless engine until you or it finally gave up are long gone. Never mind kicking, I wouldn’t even try to bump start the 939cc L-twin that powers Ducati’s box-fresh Hypermotard; the thing’s enormous, weighs a hefty 200kg, and if it did burst into life it would no doubt rip your arms clean out of their sockets. On face value, it’s nothing like the motards of yesteryear, by I’m ok with that. I first took the 950 for a blast on its launch earlier this year and it proved as brilliant on road as it did on track. The previous Hyper was a bit lacklustre, overpriced and underdelivering, but 2019’s proposition made me think otherwise.

This third iteration Hyper was given the full Gok Wan treatment, not just changing the way the bike looks, but also by sharpening the ride, making it that little bit more focused and even less practical on the school run (what, that seats big enough for two). It looks menacing, capable and expensive to fix if you launch it into a ditch. Unlike the old model, twin cans are now back in fashion, and to show that the model’s moved with the times Ducati’s splashed out on a Panigale-inspired TFT dash that allows for so much adaptability it’ll fry your brains. Wheelie control, power modes and adjustable levels of ABS are all in the offing.

Unfortunately, there’s no scope to switch off the latter, which is no major ball-ache on the roads, or on track, where you’ll get away with hard braking and endos if the system’s set at its least intrusive level, but when the time comes to show off in front of the local bus shelter with a stonking rolling burnout, be prepared for a Chernobyl-scale meltdown as the bike’s sensors and ECU render the Hyper a stuttering mess.

But wipe your tears because there’s much more to the 950 than its ability to imitate a moving smoke machine. For me, the real draw to the bike is the engine, which delivers 77Nm of torque from just 3,000rpm, rising to 96Nm by the time you’ve hit 7,250rpm. To put that in perspective, this thing pulls like a train, and the fuelling’s cock-on. Even in the lower revs

the L-twin’s far less jerky than you’d expect it to be, and it only gets better as you open it up. For blitzing around on my local B-roads, the engine was a right laugh. Ok, it’s not sportsbike fast, but it’ll get you out of a hairpin quicker than most, aided by the SP’s stock fitment shifter and blipper package. In short, the motor’s a peach.

As for the riding position, that takes a bit of getting used to. This bike is a giant and gives you the impression that you’re perched on the handlebars – there’s no tank to hide behind. On the roads you feel completely open to the elements, needing to tilt your head earnestly to even glance at the speedo (which must be faulty because it always reads far higher than you expect it to). The bench seat is firm, the mirrors are pointless, but at least you get a nice relaxed knee angle, thanks to the low set pegs. I found the ride to be on the firmer side, which wasn’t so brilliant on pot-holed roads, but made far more sense when I got it on track. The narrow go-kart track we were riding meant I never got higher than fourth, but we were still going quick enough to get a good grasp of our bikes. The agility of the Hyper was impressive, as was its ability to hold a line. The ground clearance was good, but the pegs weren’t shy of decking out when enough effort was applied. Being critical, there’s no disguising the sheer mass you’re blitzing around, which had the ability to make slower corner exits feel a bit awkward, and the initial throttle pick up was about as smooth as Boothy’s chat-up lines – it was pretty painful. To cut to the chase, this is more of a motard in style than in the practical sense, so don’t expect to go winning any supermoto championships on it. But who cares, it’s a brilliant bike, loads of fun on the roads, and has all the bells and whistles to keep your friends impressed down the pub. Buy the Hyper knowing that you’ll turn heads, be able to pull effortless wheelies and will undoubtedly have an ASBO in the post before next Christmas. What’s stopping you? The price? Oh yeah…