Gone Riding: Ducati Hypermotard 950

Hello from from the Canary Islands, where we have the curious reality of being in both Europe and Africa at the exact same time (the islands are politically part of Spain, and thus the European Union, but sit on the African continental shelf).

A winter retreat for Europeans, the archipelago provides a temperate climate for the elderly, and year-round riding for motorcyclists. As such, we are here to shred some tires, and we will be doing that the press launch for the new Ducati Hypermotard 950.

Ducati has for us a two-part program: a street ride and a half-day of riding on the track, which should help us to evaluate both the base model Hypermotard 950, as well as the up-spec Hypermotard 950 SP.

A motorcycle that is near and dear to this author’s heart, as the two previous models ended up in my garage as personal bikes, bought with my hard-earned blogging dollars, we will be especially keen to see if Ducati has retained the unique character of this plus-sized supermoto, while also refining some of its gremlins.

So far on paper, things look good. Gone are the Magneti Marelli electronics, which are now replaced by pieces from Continental. The seat is narrower and flatter, and thus similar to what you would find on a regular supermoto – Ducati has been telling us that extra attention has been paid to the ergonomics of the machine.

A suite of electronics and updates abound, and the styling of the Hypermotard 950 harkens back to the bike’s original look, when it was given life by Pierre Terblanche as an air-cooled 1100 model.

A motorcycle we have been hotly anticipating from Ducati, we are very keen to swing a leg over this bike during this press launch.

Per our new review format, I will be giving you a live assessment of the Ducati Hypermotard 950 right here in this article (down in the comments section), and I will try to answer any questions you might have about this exciting motorcycle.

So, here is your chance to learn what it’s like to ride the Ducati Hypermotard 950, before even my own proper review is posted. As always, if I don’t know an answer, I will try to get a response from the Ducati personnel. So, pepper away.

You can follow our thoughts on the bike live via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and you can see what our colleagues are posting on social media by looking for the hashtags #Hypermotard950 and #gameon.

Spec-Sheet Comparison of Relevant Models to the Ducati Hypermotard 950:

DU 2018-09-10 1509-1509SP DETTAGLI