EXCLUSIVE! Spy shots of Ducati Hypermotard on test

Visordown.com regular John Hall was on his honeymoon with his wife Angie Hall when they spotted two Ducati test riders on what look like fully polished, final versions of Ducati's Hypermotard. These photos legitamize the recent announcement that the Hypermotard will be available to buy early 2007.



The Hypermotard looks set to use the Marchesini racing wheels we saw on the concept version, the same wheels used on the Monster S4RS. The pictures show the beefy front end, the prototypes showed off a 4-pot Brembo radial caliper coupled with a 320mm front disc but John says there were twin discs up front. The forks also look to be the same as used on the concept model - 50mm Marzocchi fully adjustable USD forks. Suspension looks to be top quality, as the rear is suspended by a fully-adjustable remote reservoir Ohlins shock mounted to a single-sided swingarm. Classic Ducati.

John commented on seeing the two riders: "We'd just visited the Ducati factory in Bologna for the 4pm factory tour. We were driving back to Verona and stopped at an Autostrada stop just north of Modena at about 6pm. I saw these bikes pull up and couldn't believe my eyes. I'd seen the pictures of the prototype Hypermotard but never thought I'd see one in the flesh, let alone two! The test riders were not happy bunnies when they saw me taking photos, they jumped back on their bikes and shot off before I could get up close!"

"I had a good look at the bikes - Mrs. Hall has an S2R1000 and I know the

local Ducati dealer pretty well so I know exactly what I saw. The rear end has been chopped and has a bolt on subframe to carry Multistrada 1000DS type exhausts. The exhausts were the Ducati aftermarket item. The front forks had twin discs with Brembo radial calipers and they were both from the Monster S4R.

The single sided swing arm is from a Multistrada 1000DS. The wheels are from the Monster S4R. The rear lights/indicators look like 749/999 items. The mirrors with integrated indicators are from the Multistrada 1000DS. The engine note was slightly different and I'd guess that the bikes had the 'new' 1100 air cooled short stroke motor."





One industry insider told Visordown.com: "These bikes look to be extremely close to the final production versions. The headlight and tail lights look to be just bolted on for the moment - the tail light appears to be off the 999. The exhausts will probably be matt black with more defined metal end caps, just like the concept."



These are exclusive shots of Ducati's Hypermotard on the road. Expect to see them in Ducati dealers early 2007.