20:28
kaniamazdar
It might look slick and exclusive, but deep down Ducati's 1100 Hypermotard Evo SP is a full-on, ASBO-baiting yob.
It only takes yards for it to bring out the worst in you, but if you can get away with the auditioning for 'Police Camera Action' that the Evo so effectively prompts, then you'll be totally knocked out by just what it can do.
Hardly what you'd call an all-rounder, the supermoto-styled Duke is a scream to ride - well it is as long you're fussy about where you take it. Motorways or any other boring straight stretches of road are not the best places to take full advantage of this tarmac terrorist, even if they do allow you to perfect your big gear wheelie skills. No, the very best place to sample the delights of this Ducati are down backroads. No route is too narrow, bumpy or twisty for this demon handler. The only thing that ultimately limits what it can do is the bloke sat on its high seat. It's so brilliantly capable it needs the skill of a top supermoto rider to get it to its limits.
It differs from the standard Hypermotard by having better quality and longer travel suspension, lighter forged wheels, Brembo monobloc brakes and lashings of carbon fibre. It's an effective package of extras that'll set you back another ?1755, which is hardly what you'd call cheap. But if you want some serious fun injected into your biking it's well worth shelling out for.
Control is the key advantage of the SP. Those fat 50mm Marzocchi forks and Ohlins shock feel quite soft thanks to their relatively lengthy travel. But their compression is damped beautifully giving huge levels of feel and feedback though the bars and seat. To be honest, even knowing full well you've got masses of grip from the Diablo Supercorsa tyres, it still takes time to fully believe just how far you can play with this chassis.
Even knackered roads can't faze the Duke, and instead of protesting and skittering off the bumps it just floats over them and gets on with the job unflustered. Given the state of UK roads, and the prospect of them only getting worse thanks to the nation's finances, I'd say that's a real plus point.
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Needless to say the bike's fag packet-like lightness means just a nudge on the wide bars gets the Evo onto its side and set to round corners. Though the forward-sited riding position does make you wonder whether knee out or leg out is the best way of attacking them.
It's not just the agility and riding style that takes time to understand fully either. The Brembo monobloc calipers are the sharpest in motorcycling. And while there's no doubting their power, the ferocity of their action needs plenty of care. On warm grippy roads they can stop the superlight Ducati dead with the pressure from just a single fingernail - which is welcome when you're giving it some on tightly twisting routes. As for suddenly stopping for an old dear stepping out from behind a bus on a busy high street in the rain, I reckon you might be better off taking your chances with your right arm tied behind your back. They're that savage.
Getting up to speed is nowhere near as dramatic as losing it. With just a claimed 95bhp on tap, the Evo's four valve motor isn't the most potent thing out there, and doesn't threaten to get you into too much bother. In saying that, thanks to it having bugger-all weight to propel it gets up to pace smartly enough. And with that chassis being so capable it's easy to sustain it. Besides, with a distinct lack of shelter, the windblast makes you think you're always doing about 50mph more than you actually are.
There's plenty of torque to launch you from corners and send the front end towards the clouds in the first three gears, with the same mid-range stomp providing good enough drive in the bigger ratios to send you up and over the ton soon enough. It's not an engine to rush though, with lots of red lights and a limiter to curtail the action at just over a modest 8000rpm. All in all, the motor's delivery is punchy and useful rather than savage in any way.
Enjoying the Evo SP is quite frequently interrupted by fuel stops thanks to the tiny three and a bit gallon tank forcing stops as early as every 70 miles. Though by that time you'll need a break from the gale force pressure your neck and arms have had to endure anyway. That inconvenience could be every hour or less if you're giving it some, and is one of two things that spoilt the Duke a tiny bit for me. Those bar end mirrors were the other issue drawing frowns. Effectively adding another foot to the width of the bars they make blasting through city traffic a pain, something the Hypermotard is otherwise brilliant at. If I bought one of these bikes, they'd be the first thing I replaced.
Mind you, if I ever owned an Evo SP, licence replacement would be more of an issue. It's only a matter of time before the madness the Duke encourages so often would go unnoticed. And when it was inevitably spotted, you'd need the skill of the nation's best brief to have any chance of retaining your right to ride. It's a riot while it lasts though.
SPECIFICATIONS
Price: ?10,750
Engine
Type: a/c, 90? V-twin, 4v desmo,1078cc
Bore x Stroke: 98 x 71.5mm
Compression: 11.3:1
Carburation: fuel-injection, 45mm throttle bodies
Gearbox: Six-speed, chain
Power: 95bhp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 75lb/ft @ 5,750rpm
Cycle Parts
Chassis: Tubular steel trellis
Suspension: (F) 50mm USD forks, fully adjustable (R) rising-rate monoshock, fully adjustable
Brakes: (F) twin 305mm discs, four-piston radial calipers
(R) 245mm disc, twin-piston caliper
Wheels/Tyres: Forged aluminium/Pirelli Dragon Supercorsa SP (F) 120/70-17 (R) 180/55-17
Rake/Trail: 24?/107mm
Wheelbase: 1465mm
Seat height: 875mm
Capacity: 12.4litres
Dry weight: 171kg
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