Ducati resurrects road-sportsbike
The new Ducati can do it all - and do it well, reports Paul Owen.
Courtesy of lessons learned from parent company Audi, Ducati has one of the best marketing departments in the motorcycling world. These folk will have you convinced that a fish is a fowl, even when there are plenty of scales and gills evident.
So when they stated that the new Supersports models ‘‘have no direct competition’’ at the unveiling of the two-model range at the Milan show last year, I felt tempted to reach for a certain birdbranded beer made in the Wairarapa. Yeah right, what about the Honda VFR800FA, you spin merchants from Bologna?
More than half a year later, I get to swing my leg over the new Supersport S, the top model in the new range.
At $22,990 (in red, the matte white costs a few hundy more), the S lords semi-active Ohlins suspension and an up-and-downthe-box quickshifter over the $20,990 Marzoochi/Sachssuspended base model.
Such is the sensational elasticity of those adaptive Swedish dampers, and the way they deliver plenty of bump compliance with little masking of tyre feedback, I quickly concluded that the modest premium asked for the S model could well represent the best two-grand anyone will ever spend on a sporting motorcycle.
But this wasn’t the only revelation experienced while riding the Supersport S.
The other was that the spindoctoring psychologists back in Bologna weren’t talking baloney when they claimed that this bike has no direct competition.
For the most comfortable
Ducati sportster isn’t compromised in the slightest by its multi-tasking do-it-all focus. It’s as much a sportsbike as it is a tourer, and, while kept confined to public roads, it feels superbly fit for either purpose.
Contrast this with the $21,495 VFR, which almost presents compromise as one of its core values. You feel the Honda’s need to jump through several hoops at once in the stuttering power delivery of the VTEC-equipped V4 engine, the extra 30kg it carries over the Supersport, and an overly-sporty riding position that is totally at odds with its generally rider-friendly nature.
The Ducati ‘‘roadsport’’ has the Honda done for looks as well. Look intently, and you’ll see elements of the famous 916 and contemporary Panigale in its design. It also looks smaller and lighter, visual hints to its highly chuck-able handling persona.
It would take a track day to expose any lack of performance from the 937cc L-twin engine at the heart of the Supersport S. On the road, torque rules, and with 93Nm of riding force arriving at an accessible 6500rpm, the 81kW SS has plenty of thrust to shift its 184kg (dry) mass.
What’s more, the throttle response and refinement of the 937 has been improved over the other models that it powers in the Ducati range such as the Hyperstrada/ Hypermotard 939 series. New 53mm throttle bodies, engine management software and the different exhaust have improved the manners of the twin. With the actions of the slipper clutch and six-speed gearbox beyond reproach, about the only thing left to improve in the powertrain department is the aesthetics of the exhaust system, especially the bulky collector box. Which the fitting of the high-mounted Akrapovic system in the thick factory-approved accessory catalogue for the Supersport range will do very nicely, thank you.
That’s about the only thing I’d change on the Supersport S, because the rest of the bike hits the bull smack in the eyes. You settle into a 810mm-high seat that is plushly cushioned, with handlebars that only tilt the upper torso slightly forward. Once under way, feet are lifted to pegs that allow a comfortable bending of the knee. It’s a riding possie that’s ideally tailored to those of medium height, and taller riders might feel more at home on the VFR or a Suzuki GSF. However pillions will find that this is one of the few Ducati sportsters that accommodates them, well the first since the last air-cooled Supersport models disappeared in the midnoughties anyway.
Riding the Supersport S backto-back with my own 899 Panigale was an ideal way to identify the handling differences. Naturally, the pukka sportsbike is more adept at plugging itself into the rider’s nervous system, offering greater sensitivity for front tyre traction as well as quicker steering. But the SS-S is oh so close, the slightest of corner performance handicaps defined by the 47mm-longer wheelbase (1478mm versus 1431mm) and the shifting of more rider mass rearward.
On the other side of the coin, the Supersport S is easily the better bike for the road. The plush Ohlins suspenders don’t beat you up, and the riding position is allday-sustainable. It’s a bike you can ride everyday to work and then shred the Pirelli Diablo Corsa tyres with on the weekends. The braking systems and rider aid packages of both bikes are identical, but the adaptive dampers of the Supersport S do provide a more stable platform over bumpy surfaces for them.
So, will I be trading up, down, or sideways (depending on your point of view)? Not yet, but ask me again in a few years time when age might have finally conquered my will to ride a Panigale.