ALL NEW DUCATI HYPERMOTARD 950

The fabulously fun Hypermotard 950 and 950 SP are both getting a full overhaul and you are going to love what the Italians have done with their little lunatic of a bike. The ergonomics have been completely reworked in an attempt to maximise the bike’s fun, with new wider handlebars for greater control and leverage when cornering, a new saddle to help the vertically challenged touch the floor, and narrower sides to facilitate easier knee tuckage.

And as well as looking smaller and more compact than the outgoing model, the new 950 is also 4kg lighter (now 200kg wet), 1.5kg of which comes from weight savings in the engine alone. The massive weight saving is achieved by a whole host of new design features including a new frame which uses which uses tubes of different diameter, new wheels, discs and lightweight aluminium Marzocchi forks.

The new 1.5kg lighter 973cc Testastretta engine now has 114bhp and 96Nm with a full electronics package to help keep things under control which utilises a Bosch six-axis Inertial Measurement Unit to detects roll, yaw and pitch instantly.

And if you want something really trick, the SP version comes in the Corse colour scheme and full Ohlins suspenders with 15mm more travel at the front and 25mm more travel at the back which allows an extra 3° of lean angle, as well as an up and down shifter.

They haven’t told us how much they are charging for all this extra tech but our guess is that for the SP you will be looking at the thick end of £14k.