I recently had an opportunity to spend about 40 minutes aboard a 2008 Ducati Hypermotard 1100S as part of the 2008 AMA Superbike Big Kahuna Nationals at Virginia International Raceway, and it was a very interesting and informative experience.

I arrived at the test truck early on Saturday morning and, being one of the first in line, was able to choose the model I wanted to ride. I requested a S model with a Termignoni exhaust installed since that's what I'd end up with if I decided to buy a Hypermotard for myself. Interestingly, the bike I was assigned to also had a open clutch cover. This was interesting to me because I was under the impression that the Hypermotard shares an engine (along with quite a few other bits) with the 2008 Multistrada, which has a wet clutch. Ducati's website does indeed indicate that both models of the Hypermotard utilize dry clutches while both models of the Multistrada use wet ones. Given that the engine parameters are so similar, i.e. air-cooled, 90-degree, 2-valve L-twin, that seems a rather strange decision for Ducati to have made. It is one I personally approve of however, since I'm a fan of the traditional dry clutches.

The first thing I noticed when first swinging a leg over the bike is that it's seat height, again like the Multistrada, is near the limits of what my 5'9" (175cm) frame can comfortably straddle. The bike felt generally very different from what I'm used to riding but at the same time physically comfortable. The riding position was upright, the rider sits nice and high so visibility is good, and everything was more-or-less where I felt that it should be.

When the bike was brought to life and moving it became something very different from and yet very similar to other Ducatis I've ridden. I've personally owned a 2003 749, a 2007 1098S, a 2003 Multistrada, and a 2008 Monster S4RS as well as having ridden other Monsters and Multistradas. This collection pretty much runs the gamut of modern Ducati engine configurations, encompassing large and mid-sized 4-valve liquid-cooled and 2-valve air-cooled engines. The Hypermotard engine makes the bike feel very much like a Ducati, and the bike, which had the Termignoni exhaust system with a single exhaust canister, sounded truly wonderful. The other thing that really stood out to me about this bike was the throttle response. The bike had one of the smoothest on-idle/off-idle throttle responses of any bike I've ever ridden. I don't know if that's a characteristic of the new air-cooled 1100 or if it was due to some tuning done specifically to this bike, but whatever it was it was absolutely brilliant and a joy to ride.

What made the bike feel very different from other Ducatis I've ridden was, to put it bluntly, everything that wasn't the engine. Chassis, seating position, handling, it was all completely different. First off, while riding the bike it feels like you are perched directly over the front wheel. There is nothing in front of you but road. I'm used to sport bikes and sport-tourers, and there always seems to be an expanse of gas tank, instrument cluster, fairing, etc. out in front of the rider. Not so with the Hypermotard. The rider is sitting almost up on top of the miniscule gas tank, seemingly very far forward on the bike, and the only thing in your immediate field of view while riding is the road. This configuration was so odd to me that I kept finding myself wanting to slide backward on the saddle.

The bike rode wonderfully, and it was a lot of fun. The engine makes great power and I could see where the bike would very easily become a tool for hooliganism. I never lofted the front wheel but I could feel where liberal throttle application would do so very easily and probably often. The handling was very different. It felt great just cruising around, but when we had the brief opportunity during our test ride to really sling the bike into some curves I found that I didn't have a lot of confidence in the front end. Indeed, during one quick left-to-right transition the front of the bike actually ocillated hard from side to side, as if it was entering a tank-slapper, and then settled down again. The bike never felt out of control or dangerous, but I felt that it was an unusual chassis response for the situation and conditions.

I returned from the test ride with very mixed feelings about the bike. Great engine, phenomenal throttle response, very strange and different handling, chassis, and seating position. Friends were immediately asking me what I thought about it and I found myself unable to give a real answer. I decided that I needed some time to processes everything. Now that I've had that time, I'd very much like to ride the bike again and I think I'd love it if I did so.

One of the things that has subsequently come to light about the bike's unusual (to me) handling is the seating position. Or perhaps more accurately, the weight bias. I've spoken to guys that own Hypermotards and have extensive experience on dirt bikes, something I have almost none of. They've invariably informed me that, like a dirt bike I'm told, you absolutely must stay forward on the bike or the front end gets very skittish. The bike seems to want the rider's weight biased forward. That matches exactly with the handling characteristics I observed, and I'm fairly certain that I was unconsciously positioning my weight farther back on the bike that I should have been.

All in all, it was a very interesting motorcycle and a very pleasurable ride. I would very much like an opportunity to ride the bike again now that I've had some time to think about it and talk to some people that have experience with it. I'm not sure I'm ready to go out and buy one but I would certainly recommend riding it to anyone who thinks they might be interested.