DUCATI HYPERMOTARD

What you are looking at are the pics of the bike which won the Motorcycle Design of the Year for 2005, Bologna, February 2006. Another of Pierre Terblache’s gems, the bike is the Ducati Hypermotard concept. Slip my clutch, back me in and take my deposit – this is as deliciously hardcore as it gets. The outrageous Hypermotard concept is a mighty supermoto, designed to combine agility with the proper and speed single-cylinder supermotos can only dream of. Being a Ducati, there was no getting away from engineering and mechanical traditions. So while the vee-twin desmo engine had to be there, the same held true for the trellis frame as well. Type in 100bhp on call and a 175kg dry weight and you have a great power to weight ratio, Italian style with seamless power and torque.

The Hypermotard concept penned by Pierre Terblanche and using inputs from a few others first appeared at last November’s Milan Motorcycle Show and as concepts go, everything was built to the highest order. Money-no-budget bits adorned the chassis: large chunky Marzocchi front forks, an Ohlins unit at the rear, super lightweight Marchesini wheels and radial Brembo disc brakes plus of course the finest in Pirelli footwear. All these bits might just be obvious bolt-on bits on a top line Italian stunner, but when blended together on a tall fling-it-anywhere type of motorcycle makes one rut out of superlatives. Look closely if you are a Ducatista and one can imagine as a more stylish but slimmed down Multistrada.

All of Ducati’s concepts from the last five to six years have made production, given the response they generated and that for the Hypermotard was no different. Evidently works has begun on making this possible but expect bikes only in late 2007. It is stunners like this that makes the Bologna firm different from its Japanese competitors and infact puts it a level above them.

So now we have another Ducati to drool over (how many are there, lost count!), and if you are one of those lucky few who can afford one, then book now or you will miss out.