Ducati

Once upon a time they built unassuming bikes that were so good from the word ‘go’ that they didn’t change once during their production run

Ducati did a good job keeping this one quiet. Even when launch invitations are sent out without stating the model to be launched you can normally take an educated guess as to what bike it will be.

Calling a bike the 796 when its capacity is 803cc could be viewed as a triumph of marketing over logic, but in other respects the new Hypermotard makes perfect sense.

Let’s get straight down to it. The Hypermotard 1100 EVO has shed a shed-load of weight. The more compact engine is 5.2kg lighter and the chassis loses 1.2kg. Ducati has also upped the compression ratio from 10.5:1 to 11.3:1. The result? A net gain of 5bhp from the same 1078cc capacity as the previous model. Torque remains the same.

Ducati’s Hypermotard EVO SP costs over £1200 more than the Hypermotard EVO, but you don’t get any more power and you only save 1kg in weight. So what exactly do you get for your money?

Sky, earth, sky, earth, sky, earth … as I lay in a winded, battered heap next to the smoking and steaming remains of what was an example of Ducati’s latest piece of engineering excellence, I take a few breathless moments to reflect on how I got here. And it had all been going so well.

The Ducati Monster 796 (2009) is a good-looking middleweight that delivers a fun riding experience

James Whitham's review of the Ducati Monster 696. What's it like to live with?

What would get you out of bed an hour early in winter just to play on deserted roads? try the new KTM 990SM or Ducati’s Hypermotard. It certainly worked for us...