VOL. 56 ISSUE 7 FEBRUARY 20, 2019 P69
tion hits the streets as the new Hy-
permotard 950, and incorporates
many updates that seem to take it
back toward its roots of aiming to
be the most irreverent motorcycle
on the road.
First of all, don't let the number
fool you—the Hypermotard 950
keeps the 937cc displacement
measurement from the 939 model.
To get more power from the same
size mill the exhaust cam profile
was tweaked and new pistons raise
the compression ratio from 12.6 to
13.3:1. There's also the updated
fuel mapping and throttle bodies
from Mikuni, all of which leads to
a claimed gain of four horsepower
compared to the 939, and a peak
of 114 at 9000 rpm. More is bet-
ter, but the engineers were clearly
much more proud of the torque
curve and resulting midrange
power. Peak torque is now just a
whisper under 71 lb-ft, but Ducati
was quick to point out that much of
it (82 percent) is available across
the whole rev range. Practically,
Ducati claims there's no less than
57 lb-ft, on tap from 3000 rpm until
just shy of the 10,000 rpm redline.
To compliment the extra kick of
the updated engine, Ducati went
to work shaving weight from the
chassis. Little bits here and there
add up. A pound was saved with
aluminum flanges on the brake
discs, and more than two pounds
were saved by making the walls
of the tubes in the trellis frame
0.5mm thinner.
The cylinder head covers are
magnesium and the Marzocchi
fork uses aluminum inner tubes to
save another pound. In a bit of a
sneaky move, the 3.8-gallon fuel
MANIAC!
BY ZACK COURTS
PHOTOGRAPHY MILAGRO
