Kings of the Hill

"Are you the blokes coming from the bike magazine?" asked the guy next to us as we parked up in the paddock. Damn. He'd seen straight through our clueless expressions, our brand new road legal bikes masquerading as hill-climb racers and our bungling incompetence as we struggled to make our machines ready for scrutineering. "Yes", we mumbled, looking at our boots. "Great, want me to show you the track?" His name was John and, like all the other climbers we met he was dead friendly. He'd also been at this hill-climbing lark for years. And so we took him up on his offer.

Why hill-climbing? Let me explain. The Ducati Hypermotard, KTM950SM and Buell STT represent a push into new and uncharted waters for bike manufacturers as well as biking in general.

For a long time sportsbike riders have been searching for bikes that offer the hard-charging thrills we crave without the associated issues 180bhp, a clear road and a lack of self-control can conspire to bring about.

We've tried retros and streetbikes. They look great, and the lack of wind protection slows you down, but they generally handle like shopping trolleys. We've tried full-blooded supermotos. Insane fun and all below 80mph, but they come with razorblade saddles, and a tank range that won't see you beyond the end of the drive.

But now for the first time there could be an answer as these three bikes grab the supermoto handling and styling ethos, sling in 1,000cc V-twins instead of 450cc singles, and top the lot off with enough useful practicality to make daily riding a genuine possibility.

All of which answers the hill-climb question. We took the Buell, KTM and Duke to a hill-climb race because a banzai charge up a one-kilometre course offered the ultimate test of bikes like this. Alternatively throwing up sections reliant on sheer grunt with those requiring sweet handling, good handling and balance would sort the men from the boys here in terms of hitting the fun factor squarely on the noggin. And being miles from anywhere gave us the perfect excuse to tackle everything from the city grind and motorway miles to B-road frolics on the way there and back.

The track was narrow enough to make Cadwell Park look like a four-lane motorway and cut purposely through the surrounding fields and (unsurprisingly) up a large hill. There was a flat out charge into the first corner - a 90mph bottle job on cold tyres (no tyre warmers in hill-climbing), which threw you into a vicious steep uphill right-left with evil camber changes all over the place. Charge over a nasty looking crest from here, into a tight left with no run-off and a fence a few feet from the track and then it was a sweeping flat-out charge on to the finish.

As the only person to have ridden all three bikes before this test, and the one who had arranged our entries, Urry handed himself the Hypermotard with its super-taught chassis and smoothly strong motor. This suited me as my money was on the rabid KTM, while Daryll landed the Buell by default as he was out of the country when this lot was sorted out. The STT was the short straw here, but as a man who's spent more time than most with Buells, if anyone could make the most of its oddball charms it was Daryll.

Charging off the line without a clue what I was doing for my first assault on the hill an hour later, the KTM felt like a good place to be. The ride position is incredibly natural as long as you're average height or more, and in terms of performance this is a beautifully-balanced bike. The motor is strong and pulls off the bottom like a Rottweiler chasing a sausage dog but it's so torquey there's stacks of control. And it's the same story with the brakes which are so ferocious they'd spell instant disaster if it weren't for the generous amount of feel coming through the forks. Throw in a slick gearbox and a tight chassis and the only limiting factor in this equation was going to be me. No excuses for a rubbish time then.

Continue King of the Hill - 2/2