Anyone Ride a Hypermotard?

[Kane]

I had a chance today to ride a 2009 Ducati Hypermotard 1100. The engine was great, very torquey! The bike was pretty fun to ride and handled really well, but the seating position made me feel like I was perched over the front wheel, like I was a masthead on a ship! It wasn’t bad or uncomfortable, but it was just weird compared to what I am used to. Maybe this becomes fine over time, but it’s different. How do people like this? Is it good once you get used to it?

[KINDOY2]

I had a couple..great motors..one of the ones I had I had  pumped..they are good bikes, and easy to maintain... But it is a certain kind of riding style for sure and not a good 2up bike..If you don't ride up on the tank and keep the front end fully weighted into  corners you'll find yourself on your can quick..don't ask how I know.

Also the front brakes are very touchy at low speeds partly because the front end is so light....a new RCS19 Brembo master helps that some.

[footgoose]

I have ridden three that I was considering for purchase. I was really hard pressed to find one about 2 years back. I only considered used because Ducati wants too much for anything new. A good friend said I should ride his 2015 FJ09 and after, I couldn't resist buying one. That ended my hypermotard pursuit. Oddly enough, I was online late last evening perusing the market once again.

I was only eying the 821 11-degree Testastretta which is liquid-cooled, with wet clutch. 110hp and 400lb. Great reviews on this motor. The '09 1100 is the Multistrada engine, and air cooled and dry? clutch. Great motor as well. Riding I found them as you did, really fun and "perched" over the front wheel. I'm sure I would have got over it had I ridden it longer and fully accepted that it was a dirt bike built for the street.

My interest started with a pursuit for the ideal lightweight, do it all, check all the boxes bike. "That" bike in my imagination is fighting a losing battle with physics, unfortunately. Gotta give up something, right? With the FJ I gave up the killer looks and added 60lb over the Duc. In return I got 5hp, comfort, the perch of a normal standard motorcycle, Japanese dependability, and low maintenance.

If another 821 or 950 comes up for sale near me I'll be checking it out.

 

[Scud]

I don't ride a hypermotard, but I have two sets of wheels for my Husqvarna 701 Enduro. Both sets are 21 inch front and 18 inch rear, but I run TKC 80 tires for street use and aggressive knobby tires for dirt use. On the street, the bike wants a lot of weight up front, elbows up and out.

I like riding this way, but I got used to it riding dirt bikes. I imagine it would feel weird if you haven't spent much time in the dirt.

@footgoose I still think the 701 Enduro is as close as you can get to a "do it all" bike. Probably not the best touring bike, but they do offer a long-range version now with dual fuel tanks.

[KINDOY2]

I spent 20 years racing desert and hare scrambles nationaly, 10 more just cow trailing.. still didn’t like the way the Hypermotard Handled

 

[p6x]

On 9/8/2021 at 12:50 AM, Kane said:

I had a chance today to ride a 2009 Ducati Hypermotard 1100. The engine was great, very torquey! The bike was pretty fun to ride and handled really well, but the seating position made me feel like I was perched over the front wheel, like I was a masthead on a ship! It wasn’t bad or uncomfortable, but it was just weird compared to what I am used to. Maybe this becomes fine over time, but it’s different. How do people like this? Is it good once you get used to it?

Hypermotard bikes are designed with Super motard racing in mind. You know, part asphalt part dirt. Those races were/are popular in Europe. Not certain very well known or followed here.

It is a bit like Trial bikes, although those a really specialized and not usable in any other circumstances.

My six cents, if you don't feel fine now, chances are they will never do for you on the long run.

The Ducaty Hypermotard is perhaps not as radical as say a GasGas, but the genes are coming from the same place

My question to you would be: why is your interest in this type of bike? what do you want to do with it? because it may be suitable for it. If you are a city dweller, then you will eventually find it useful.

[GuzziMoto]

I rode one once. I had a real SuperMoto at the time. The HyperMotard was like a streetbike version of a SuperMoto. You would never want to ride one on an actual SuperMoto track. But it can make for a fun hooligan bike on the street, or up a course like Pikes Peak (sadly, that option is now off the table). But I can see where it would not be for everyone. I knew a guy who had one, he enjoyed it very much. He rode it around Baltimore, it worked well in an urban environment. But it wasn't for me. It had all the disadvantages of a real SuperMoto with none of the advantages. I would much rather have a Ducati Monster or StreetFighter. They have the same level of performance with a more acceptable (to me) seating position.

[LowRyter]

I rode the first one at the introduction, maybe 10 years ago?  Straight up riding position and did not see any parts of the bike.  Just the road ahead.   That was a strange feeling.  Same as Kane.

[Kane]

Well, I'm intruiged by all of the love that this bike gets on-line (I do know that there's a lot of KoolAid out there, and I try not to drink too much), and the 1100 DS engine in the one I rode was pretty good, and that version of the bike is relatively low tech, which I like. Completely different from anything I've ridden before. And I am not a hooligan! I'm an old man! The last time I popped a wheelie was on my Schwinn Stingray when I was kid.  I rode the Hyper 1100 a second time, after knowing what to expect, and it was better, but still weird. Sort of like flying, rather than being in the bike. If I had a bike like that I would use it for commuting and riding around California, day trips to the mountains and the coast. Right now my V11 is off-line at a friend's shop and we are going through and sorting the bike, but it may be a few weeks still until she's back on the road, hence me looking around at bikes to ride. I have been riding Bobby D's old 850-T3 to work everyday, but with over 180k miles on the clock I don't want to push my luck. But then again, she always starts and runs pretty good for an old-timer: You can't keep a good Guzzi down!

[footgoose]

23 hours ago, Scud said:

@footgoose I still think the 701 Enduro is as close as you can get to a "do it all" bike. Probably not the best touring bike, but they do offer a long-range version now with dual fuel tanks.

(sorry for the drift Kane. This probably belongs in 'adv bikes' ...)

I will have to agree with you. The biggest and best enduro single, and the closest thing. In the socal tapestry of on/off road availability I'm sure I'd own one by now. In my neck of the woods the "on road" percentage goes up considerably. I'm still dreaming for a twin. The Africa Twin is ridiculous huge. The orange 790 had promise but again, why so heavy? Not to mention KTM's "quirks". The closest thing to my fantasy at the moment is the Tenere 700. But, it's only a dozen pounds lighter than my FJ09 which has a three cyl "sister" motor to the 700's twin.  The older I get the lighter I want. May have to settle....