This New Supermoto Will Take Your Riding To the Next Level

MCN Overall rating
5 out of 5 Stars

With an aggressive chassis, feisty engine and a low weight, Ducati’s new Hypermotard 689 Mono RVE (or standard, if you want the red colour scheme and no quickshifter) supermoto motorbike is easily one of, if not the most fun and agile machines that you can purchase from a showroom today. Yet what makes the new Hypermotard 698 Mono so impressive is that it’s tied together with such a good electronics package, that it really is usable, and abusable for every level of rider.

It’s not just a one trick pony built for experienced riders, as it also flatters a rider's ability like nothing else – whether you’re a novice, or a Supermoto champion.

The new single cylinder motor is incredibly refined, offering the level of excitement that is expected from a lightweight supermoto machine. Yet unlike other, thumping torquey singles the 698 Mono makes its power right at the very top of the rev range, meaning that it’s at its happiest when taken right to the redline.

Thanks to its nature, it takes a bit of time to push it to its maximum, yet when it is being thrashed is when it’s so rewarding, with a Ducati-esque bark from the twin exhausts. It’s a motor that offers enough excitement but is also capable of being incredibly docile and usable in its application, thanks to a refined throttle connection and a surprisingly soft bottom end.

As to be expected from a supermoto machine, the combination of that long(ish) travel suspension, high centre of gravity and a light weight make the Hypermotard 698 Mono one of the most agile and exciting machines you can buy today.

It changes direction with the lightest nudge of those big, wide ‘bars, and has a front end that can be placed absolutely anywhere, even when heavy on the big, Brembo front brake. Although the riding position is motocross-esque in its rider placement thanks to the tall seat and the placement of the handlebars and footpegs, it gives you the option of riding both foot down and knee down.

Yet, perhaps the most impressive thing about the Hypermotard 698 Mono is how Ducati have tied everything up with the electronics package, which truly adds an additional element to the Hypermotard. Along with four rider modes (Sport, Road, Urban and Wet) there are brand new ABS and wheelie control strategies which each have four different settings, and they are absolutely incredible.

The Four levels of ABS have been tuned to assist riders of any level, and it doesn’t detract from the riding experience, but adds to it. Where Level 4 is all in with heavy intervention, Level 3 allows for a small amount of Slide by Brake, which means the rider can stamp on the rear brake, fire down the ‘box and the electronics will do all of the hard work, regulating the level of brake, slide and engine braking.

For less experienced riders it’s a great way to learn bike control, yet for those who want more, level 2 offers a surprising amount of rear brake slip, but with the safety barrier of ABS; it’s possible to get properly sideways with 100% pressure on the rear brake, and the Hypermotard literally just looks after itself. There’s also the choice to turn it off, but for learning to drift a machine into a corner, nothing can replicate the Hyper’s mighty electronics.

Yet the ABS isn’t even all of the story electronically, as if you equip the Hypermotard with the Ducati Performance exhaust, you also get the ‘Wheelie Assist’ function. If you can wheelie already wheelie it’s disconcerting at first; literally hold the throttle to the stop, bang up through the box and the electronics will hold the angle for you. Ducati maintain that it’s only for the racetrack, of course.

Whatever your preference and level of riding ability, there is setting for everyone and the ABS, traction control and wheelie control are so good, it feels like using riding assists on a PlayStation game.

By offering such an impressive motor, in a glorious chassis that is completed by a refined and comprehensive system of electronics that compliments fast, hardcore riding rather than holding it back, Ducati truly have moved the game on.

Browse our inventory of the Ducati Hypermotard Mono