2019 DUCATI HYPERMOTARD 950 AND 950 SP
FIRST REVIEW
P70
tank is smaller by 0.4 gallons (a few pounds),
which contributes to lessening the ready-to-ride
weight. All told a claimed 8.8 pounds was shed
off the Hyper 950's curb weight, compared
to the outgoing 939 model, for a total of 440
pounds.
Most of us can agree that more power and
less weight is a good recipe for a better bike, but
from Ducati's point of view there was more about
the machine that needed to evolve. The Hy-
permotard is, in the words of Product Manager
Paolo Quattrino, "visually high from the ground."
In raw numbers that's a 34.2-inch seat height
on the base bike, and 35 inches on the Ohlins-
equipped 950 SP. That's great for the bike's
image, but less great for riders with shorter in-
seams. So Ducati went about trying to keep the
Hyper "visually" tall but practically less so.
The aesthetic of the new 950 is clearly super-
moto inspired—the seat is long and flat, and the
whole machine angles forward. While maintaining
that shape, the Ducati team aimed to make the
bike more approachable by narrowing the middle
of the bike and therefore reducing the practical
seat height (or stand-over height). The seat-height
Attitude is the
name of the game
with the Hyper.
But it's now a little
more sedate and
designed to get
more riders on its
rather tall seat.
(Above) The new dash is reminiscent of the Panigale
V4S unit but without quite the level of sophistication.
