Well, that certainly didn’t take long. The ink has hardly dried on the press release for Ducati’s new Superquadro Mono engine, and the Italian marque has already unveiled the first bike that it’ll be powering. The new Ducati Hypermotard 698 Mono supermoto is here, and it’s wild (performance-wise, at least).
If you missed the news, the Ducati Superquadro Mono is Ducati’s brand new 659 cc single-cylinder engine; the first single they’ve produced since the Supermono broke cover 30 years ago. In crude terms, it’s half of a 1299 Panigale engine, inheriting the Panigales 116 mm bore, titanium intake and steel exhaust valves, and Desmodromic valve system. It also spins up to 10,250 rpm, and makes 77.5 hp at 9,750 rpm and 63 Nm of torque at 8,000 rpm.
Slap the optional Termignoni exhaust system (for track use only, wink), and the power output jumps to 84.5 hp. According to Ducati, that makes this the most powerful, and highest-revving, single-cylinder engine currently on the market. With a dry weight of 151 kilos [332.9 lbs], it makes the Ducati Hypermotard 698 Mono a very enticing prospect.
Those numbers put Ducati’s new thumper ahead of the 74 hp KTM 690 SMC R and Husqvarna 701 Supermoto, with a negligible weight penalty of around 6.6 lbs. Where the KTM and Husqvarna beat it outright though, is on looks.
The Ducati Hypermotard 698 Mono looks cool enough in ‘RVE’ trim; an upgraded model that adds kinetic graphics and a quick-shifter. But the base model 698 denudes the bike of its graphics in favor of a traditional Ducati red paint job, leaving it looking rather bland. Generic, even.
Despite being identical to each other under the hood, KTM and Husqvarna’s supermotos each follow a distinct style guide. It’s easy to tell them apart—and it’s easy to see which marque each one belongs to. Conversely, if you strip away the Hypermotard 698 Mono’s Ducati logos, you’d be hard-pressed to identify it as a Ducati.
Its closest relative—the Ducati Hypermotard 950—looks more like a distant relative than an older sibling. The 698 doesn’t have the 950’s visible trellis main frame, aggressively stubby front fender, or signature hand guard-mounted turn signals. It does have a nice twin under-seat exhaust design, and its subframe is a slick trellised affair—but those features are hidden under the bike’s generous heat shields and covers.
So while both the 950 and 698 feature a lot of plastic, only one of them looks plastic.
That doesn’t mean that I don’t desperately want to swing a leg over the Ducati Hypermotard 698 Mono though. The power-to-weight ratio guarantees shenanigans, as does the bike’s geometry and running gear. You get 17” alloy wheels, along with fully adjustable Marzocchi (front) and Sachs (rear) suspension components. Suspension travel measures 215 mm at the front and 240 mm at the rear.
Other highlights include an aluminum swingarm, Brembo brakes with a single 330 mm front disc, and Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV tires out of the box. The long bench seat and slim ergonomics allow maximum body movement, and therefore control. The foot pegs have removable rubbers if you prefer a grippier feel, and the handlebar clamps have an eccentric design that lets you move the tapered bars further forward.
The Ducati Hypermotard 698 Mono’s electronics package is particularly impressive for a bike of its size. Borrowing myriad trickle-down features from the Panigale V4, it sports ABS, traction control, wheelie control, engine braking control, and launch control. Optional extras include a quick-shifter (which is standard on the RVE version), and an upgrade for the wheelie control that adds a ‘wheelie assist’ feature for danker wheelies.
There are four riding modes, each of which combines the aforementioned electronic aids with three engine modes to suit different scenarios. Those modes are customizable, all via the 698’s 3.8” LCD dashboard.
The ABS system features a ‘slide-by-brake’ function too, which assists with brake-induced powerslides. The four ABS levels include a full beginner mode with much intervention, two intermediate modes with varying degrees of ‘slide-by-brake’ assistance, and a setting for experienced riders where ABS is only active on the front.
LED lighting and hand guards are standard equipment on the Ducati Hypermotard 698 Mono—and the range of add-ons is exhaustive. If you don’t want the race-use-only Termignoni exhaust, you can replace the mufflers with a pair of homologated titanium and carbon fiber items. There’s a plethora of carbon fiber and CNC-machined aluminum goodies on offer, plus a racing seat, racing foot pegs, crash bobbins, and engine protectors.
The Ducati Hypermotard 698 Mono will be available from January 2024, at €12,890 for the base model and €13,890 for the RVE. That’s according to Ducati’s website for the Italian market; in the USA, the base model will set you back $12,995 and the RVE $14,495.
And before the Ducatisti crucify me for disparaging the 698’s aesthetics, I will concede that it represents an exciting chapter for the Borgo Panigale company. If it rides half as good as its specs look on paper, it’ll be a force to be reckoned with in a niche that deserves far more attention than it currently gets.
And then there’s the prospect of more Ducati 698 variants. Will we see a 698 enduro in the near future? A 698 Multistrada, perhaps? How about a 698 flat tracker or a single-cylinder alternative to the Ducati Scrambler? Only time will tell.
Source: Ducati
