Ducati Hypermotard 950 RVE - Fun Machine

Ducati Hypermotard 950 RVE - Fun Machine

Ducati Hypermotard 950 RVE

In the car world, manufacturers spend huge amounts of money trying to design cars that will appeal to everyone and offend no one, in an effort to capture as many sales as possible. The end result is a sea of anonymous SUV’s that all look broadly similar and have very few stand out characteristics. They are little more than white goods. 

This single-minded determination to produce something that excites us and stirs the soul, is what makes motorcycles so awesome. Manufacturers like Ducati are still willing to design and build motorcycles that are so flawed they don’t work well in many scenarios, but in the right place at the right time, are absolutely fantastic. It is something to be celebrated, we should consider ourselves very lucky. One such machine is the Ducati Hypermotard 950 RVE. This is motorcycle conceived for a single purpose; to make people like us happy.

Ducati’s Hypermotard is perfectly imperfect. On long journeys it’s a bit of a pain; the seat isn’t particularly comfortable, you sit high with no wind protection, it’s geared quite low and it’s just not much fun doing the boring stuff. After an hour and a half of shuffling along at mundane speeds, surrounded by faceless people in their generic tin boxes, feeling the minutes tick away, I was itching to snap the throttle open and get out of there. 

Motorways and dual carriageways are not what this bike does best. The Hypermotard's hunting ground is pretty much anything else. Urban assault, fast A road blast, B road storming, this bike will have you laughing out loud. A dash across town turns in to a Matrix-Esq, high speed, race against the clock, weaving through trffic, stealing space, feeling like the rest of the traffic is in slow motion. 

The Hypermotard is blessed with Ducatis twin-cylinder 937 cc Testastretta engine which only makes 114 hp at 9,000 rpm and 96 Nm torque at 7,250 rpm, but it feels alot more. The bike feels punchy and alive, raw and rebellious.

When the road opens up and speeds increase, you get to use the superb 6 speed gearbox with up and down quickshifter. Ducati say ‘the gearbox has been revised to make it easier to engage neutral when the bike is stationary and to ensure maximum precision in gear selection.’ In my experience, Ducati gearboxes can be hit or miss. Some have been great, some not so much. This gearbox was excellent.

45mm fully adjustable, aluminium Marzocchi USD forks are superb and help the front 120/70 ZR17 Pirelli Diablo Rosso III find all the grip you need. At the rear, the Sachs shock offers preload and rebound adjustment and the aluminium, single sided swingarm holds a 17” rear wheel, wrapped in a Pirelli Diablo Rosso III 180/55 ZR17 tyre.

Handling is superb. There a brief period of adjustment, it’s different to your typical scrambler, adventure or street bike. Suspension is a little softer to start with and you sit up high and forward. When you’re hard on the brakes and there’s more dive than you’re used to, but you very quickly become accustomed to it. 

Ducati have equipped the Hypermotard with all the toys, as is typical these days; 6-Axis Inertial Measurement Unit (6D IMU), 4.3" TFT display, ABS Bosch Cornering EVO, Ducati Traction Control (DTC) EVO, Ducati Wheelie Control (DWC) EVO, Ducati Quick Shift (DQS) up/down EVO and 3 riding modes. 

The 3 riding modes are; Sport, which delivers the full 114 hp with a sharper, more aggressive map. Touring also delivers the full 114 hp, but with a softer map. Urban uses a 75 hp power limit for poor conditions. Needless to say, i left it in Sport.

On one hand, Ducati’s Hypermotard isn’t great. It’s tall with a narrow seat, little or no wind protection, very focused and compromised. On the other hand, it’s brilliant. I haven’t had this much fun on 2 wheels for a long time. It’s fast, has a superb chassis, looks great and encourages you to ride like a hooligan. I would have one in a heart beat…..probably.

 

Seat Height - 870 Mm (34.2 In)

Displacement - 937 Cc

Power - 114 Hp (84 Kw) @ 9.000 Rpm

Torque - 71 Lb-Ft (96 Nm) @ 7.250 Rpm

Dry Weight - 178 Kg (392 Lb)

Wet Weight - 200 Kg (440 Lb)

Seat Height - 870 Mm (34.2 In)

Maintenance Service Intervals - 15,000 Km (9,000 Mi)/12 Months

Tank Capacity - 14.5l

Hypermotard Starts At -  £11,495 For The Standard 950.

Hypermotard 950 Rve - £12,295. (Also available In restricted 35kw version)