So today was my first ride on my 939 SP, on my favourite roads here in Galloway. The bike is a few weeks old as an ex-demo with 377 miles on it, but here goes for my initial impressions, when compared with my original 2007 1100s, which I've had since new. Obviously, I'm running-in, so do reserve the right to change my view once that's complete! Let's start with the awful stuff - that exhaust! Oh man, why don't they just add £1,500 to the price of the bike and fit the Termingnoni as standard, meanwhile saving all that space in landfill? If you ride with the balls of your feet, your heel rubs constantly; It looks awful; My Mum had a Singer sewing machine in the 70s that sounded better; It weighs about as much as a supertanker I get the Termignoni soon, and can't weight (sic)! Moving on to the ever-so-slightly-less-awful, that ride-by-wire throttle: Anything other than Race mode feels like you're sending a telegram to the throttle bodies, booking a bout of acceleration a week on Tuesday. It's terrible! Low speed fuelling feels like it was dealt-with at 1630 on the Friday afternoon before the bike was launched As for build quality: The handguards literally wobble around on the handlebars; The bike feels really flimsy in its make-up; The component quality feels very "plastic / low-cost metal" The tyre pressures shown on the frame differ from those shown in the manual On the move, things do start to feel good: The ride height feels substantially higher (and a good thing, I should say); That Öhlins suspension is just DREAMY! Like a magic-carpet ride; Very confidence inspiring turning hard on the brakes; Talking of brakes, they are just stunning; All that said, despite it feeling quite nimble on the move, it weighs more than 20kg more than my 1100s - and feels it when you have to muscle it around manually; Although I'm obviously running-in, low-down the engine feels totally gutless compared with the 1100s. If Dr Jekyll doesn't become Mr Hyde after 7,000rpm and the running-in period, I'm going to be mightily unimpressed. Finally, in terms of winning your heart: The first time I threw my leg over the 1100s, it felt bad-ass. Totally ridiculous, loads of attitude and so hard-edged and focused. One of the things I love about the 1100s on fast B-roads is the feeling of low-slung weight, combined with effortless torque and a crazy baaaaaark from the Termignonis; While my Öhlins-shod 998s feels like a Tarmac-scalpel, the 1100s feels like a Tarmac-machete: very effective, if you can keep control of it! The 939 SP feels like a big, comfortable trailie. I suspect it rewards crap riding, whereas the 1100s would chew your ass and laugh at you; On super-fast sweepers - especially those with a few bumps - the 1100s makes you feel like a rodeo-rider, keeping control of some crazy stallion, with its constant bucking and weaving; The 939 SP feels more like a BMW 800GS to me. Sure, it's planted, it's really confidence-inspiring, but is it too-much so? Is it - dare I say it - a bit too "SAFE-FEELING???"...and on a bike that's supposed to be barking mad? Please don't get me wrong - I feel very grateful to be able to buy and own on of these, but honestly speaking: this bike has got a long way to go to convince me that I've benefited from this "evolution" of the breed. I've always been a massive fan of the 1100s (hence never selling one of the first ones ever produced) and looked forward to something that would feel like progress. Admittedly, I've ridden none of the intermediate models that have spanned nine years, and perhaps that's why this feels so polarised. I was really sceptical when Ducati announced the decision to blend development of the Hypermotard (the "craziest" of the brand) with the Hyperstrada (let's face it, a BMW 800GS competitor), and I fear my worst fears might have been realised. It just all feels a bit "safe and anaesthetised". I mean - who at Ducati thinks I want to sail around having every bad input forgiven and then go to the pub and tell my friends what my Average Fuel Consumption was???? The Hypermotard was surely never meant to be that bike?!?! This situation reminds me of when I traded my KTM Duke II for a Duke 690. I felt like I'd traded something really raw, gutsy and ballsy for something that was buzzy, precise and synthetic. I had that bike four years and put only 1,200mi on it before finally selling it: it just lacked character and so I couldn't muster the appetite to take it out. I will of course stick with my new purchase and learn more about it over the coming weeks, but as you can see from the above, I'm far from convinced that this evolution has moved things forward meaningfully. Hope you'll forgive the ramblings! Best regards L
Well I don't get that feeling at all , I'd say you're describing a totally different bike to the one i ride . I also had ktm duke and it sucked balls ,it looked dated ,handled like a pogo stick and was gutless ,i kept it 3 months and brought the Ktm 690 smcr and felt like i'd jumped into the future ,drifting into roundabouts and wheeling out of it and through the gears like gianni borgiotti . i also kept mine 4 years and did 7 thousand (mostly)back road miles Every time i rode the ktm i got back home with a massive smile on my face and a feeling of guilt and naughtiness and the more i ride the ducati the more i feel the same
Hi, on performance side, I've got the 821 with a sc project pipe and just had a remap done, whilst the rexxer tune was being done I had the 939 for a day and to be honest I wasnt that impressed with performance, I know it's only 118cc, but to be honest felt my 821 had more power, and when I picked it after the remap even more so, it sorted the low speed fueling issues,and also made it feel properly angry , so I wouldn't personally upgrade mine for that reason,but I have read some reviews on here that say they have upgraded 821-939, and they would disagree with me,so possible I got a lemon.can't comment on the 1100 motor but I would imagine it will have a massive low end torque advantage, and most of the fun stuff comes at higher revs on the newer bikes,so I think you will be happier once she's run in,I've only got the base model so can't comment on the handling of the sp,but I find mine handles great without all the expensive bits, and is immense to ride and always puts a grin on my face, my only grumble would be a fuel gauge would be nice,liked the 939 gear indicator nice extra, and your 100% right that zorst is .
Well I've now covered 366mi on the new Hyper. Now I've been able to tickle further up the rev range (7,000rpm), I can see there's something in there, and I'm looking forward to being able to unlock the full potential after another few hundred miles, plus the improvements I hope the big Termi will bring. The mirrors are good too. It's quite a novelty being able to see something other than sky or tarmac when riding a Hypermotard! On the downside, I still think this is one heavy MF of a bike, and far too-heavy for something so tall. I'm 6'1" / 87kg and used to riding tall dirtbikes, but the weight of this thing, coupled with the height of it makes it really unwieldy when pushing it around. I've got gravel chips outside my garage and can hardly move it on them without a huge tug / push. I've never had a bike topple-over in my 25yrs of riding, yet this one did yesterday (thankfully on a soft verge, so doing no damage), and I couldn't even pick her up again, because the weight feels so high-up. I had to wait for someone to come along and help me! I've no doubt dealers will do a healthy trade in spares from failed garage manoeuvring. I also still think it feels "soft". I'd be really interested to ride one of these back to back with a Multistrada. Although heavier again, I suspect the extra power makes that feel like a better bike. Has anyone tried that?
Reading this, I disagree with almost everything you've said and I'm coming from a 1299 Panigale to this so was seriously concerned that it may feel lacking in power. I found the ohlins quite hard, hard enough that over a slightly imperfect country lane it would alter its line requiring some 'wrestling' to maintain it. Makes it fun though and isn't to a level where it makes the bike feel dangerous, so I haven't adjusted any settings. Perhaps with some more use you'll bond with it better. For me, the looks alone are worlds ahead of the 1100, although I haven't ridden the 1100 model to compare engines. The 939 also wheelies with such ease (as I hear the 1100 does too), 1st gear just flies up in a ridiculous way, and second gear is much the same. Best mod you can get is the racing seat, being able to move around changes the ride. I get my full termi system fitted tomorrow so I'll let you know if there is any notable power gain.
Hello mate Thanks for the note. I really hope we do get to bond as the revs rise, because it's been a frosty start! Speaking of frosty, does yours run at a low temperature? I know I'm riding gently while running-in, but it's often as low as 60degC while out on a ride in 15degC ambient temperature. (I knew there'd be a need for that fancy instrument panel ;-)). I should've been a little more specific on the Öhlins - my apologies. I meant that the springs feel too-soft. I also thought the damping was too hard over harsh bumps, so backed off the rear compression two clicks and added one to rebound, which made it feel better and stopped it bucking me out of the seat. I've not touched the forks yet, but I think I need slightly more preload. I have to agree on the looks, but then I'd hope 9yrs should make for an improvement. I'll look out the racing seat option - thank you for the nod. Best regards Leslie
Yep temp sounds normal. Mine has been up to 108c before though when we had the hot weather. Mine has dropped to 65c before on a run. Normally hovers around 80c though this time of year and fitted with Evotech rad and oil cooler guards.
Well if I'd known all of that before buying one, maybe I wouldn't have! Not the sort of stuff you're going to find out on a 1hr test ride from a city centre dealer, is it?
I'm afraid even if money were no object, which you'll be surprised to learn isn't the case :wink:, I'd be bugged if an hours test ride would be enough for me to make a buy/not buy decision on a £10k+ motorcycle. Maybe your dealer isn't as accommodating as some over here.
Well, as you'll see from the above, I've been mightily impressed by its predecessor for the past 9yrs, so maybe I was ready to take a plunge. Just sharing my thoughts openly, in the spirit of the forum mate; not really looking for opinions on how I spend my hard-earned. Let's keep it to the bike.
Sorry, it wasn't meant as a criticism towards you at all and apologise if it came across that way. I can totally understand the thinking behind why 10yrs on the Hyper would be even more, well, Hyper. It's just a real shame that you weren't afforded the time to find that out before shelling out the aforementioned hard-earned as you seem very underwhelmed with the whole package. Cheers, Chris
There's rarely an SP for demo, it's usually the non SP model. I think an hour is about all you can expect on a test ride.
Interesting read....maybe you should have gone for an 1100 evo sp? and looked for a good modded one to save you ploughing more into it....on your initial post you've kinda confirmed what ive read from multiple sources. I still maintain if they'd put the 1200 motor in one id have snapped one up...so the way theyre going a couple of more revisions and they'll get there in the end... I had the choice of getting an 821 when I bought my 1100 but at the time there were only a couple of sp's available and they were up round the 9k mark so out of my range - there was a stock 821 for 7k (at the time) but I cant help maintain that going down on displacement on a bike like this (and heavier too) coupled with the newer engines moving the torque further up the rev range goes against what the bike is all about... On the plus side - I love the look of the 821/939 sp's I really do. I think they look like a good evolutionary step from the old generation - they got that bang on the nail... Ive not ridden my 1100 for 10 days or so now (holiday) and now I'm back at work torrential rain (so its not coming out in that!). Ive just got my z1ooo back on the road after the last month or so its been in pieces waiting for free goodies so I was out on that on sunday just testing it was all ok....which....makes getting back on the sp even more of an occasion when I do...!
I dunno, I think the watercooled bikes have a lot going for them. When I bought my 821, I weighed up the cost of the bike vs the running costs and the electronics against the simplicity of the original. Really, the running costs made the decision and the tc really confirmed it. Riding it in all weathers and not having to worry about the back stepping out is really confidence inspiring. You can ride it like a big supermoto (where the aircooled bike has the edge) or like an upright sportsbike. It makes sense to me
Yeah - I can see youre reasoning there....ironically I test rode an s1000r a couple of years ago ( I was all set to buy it) and thought - hell I may as well have a go on one having never had a test ride before ever...and hated it, bought my z1ooo instead...so the electronics choice for me wasn't an issue - didn't even enter into the decision....my evo has stepped out only once on me and that was on the tyres I bought it with which were knackered... On your last statement I can see that also...but I'm in the lucky (very lucky position) of having the hyper, the zed and my rsv4 so I don't need it to be an everything bike...but what it does do it does brilliantly...
funny you should mention that - I had the back sliding around on the Hyper and it was for the same reason - I'd done maybe 7,000 miles and a couple of trackdays on the same set of tyres. The tc really looks after rubber!
