With heritage dating back to the 750SS that Paul Smart rode to victory in the Imola 200 in 1972 – the moment that set Ducati on the path to its position today – the name SuperSport is an evocative one. But it’s been lacking from the firm’s range for several years prior to its reintroduction on this year’s new SuperSport machines.
In the post-916 era, range-topping Ducati superbikes have been designed with racing firmly in the forefront. It’s a tactic that’s resulted in unparalleled success on the track but inevitably leads to road-going machines that are too tightly focused to leave room for niceties like comfort.
It’s a worthwhile trade-off in many eyes, but traditionally Ducati retained a place in its range for real-world road bikes with a sporting flair. From the original 750SS’s 1972 yellow-tank 750 Sport predecessor, through to the downsized 800 Supersport which died in 2006, there was a practical Ducati sports bike. Since then, though, there’s been no equivalent in Ducati’s catalogue.
Now the company is making a stab at rectifying this with the advent at Intermot last October of the new SuperSport and its upscale SuperSport S sister model. These have now entered production at a price of Euro 12,990 in Italy (including 22% local tax) for the SuperSport, which is only available in red with black wheels. The Supersport S, replete with Öhlins suspension and various other goodies, costs Euro 14,690 in the same colours, or Euro 200 more in a Star White Silk livery with red wheels.
A cynic would say that both of these bikes are parts bin products. They employ the same trellis spaceframe as the Monster 821, fitted with a retuned version of the punchy 937cc Testastretta 11º liquid-cooled motor found in the Multistrada 950 and Hypermotard 939. But after spending a glorious early spring day on a SuperSport S I can honestly tell you that the whole of this bike is infinitely greater than the sum of its two parts. It’s a happy example of desmodromic fusion cuisine. As its Multistrada 950 cousin lays claim to being a better real-world ride than its 1200cc big sister, the SuperSport provides a level of practical performance coupled with sporting satisfaction that even the 959 Panigale can’t match.
Ducati hasn’t cut corners in producing this motorcycle. The crankcases and cylinder heads of its Testastretta 11º motor have been redesigned to permit it to be employed here as a fully-stressed chassis member, saving weight without sacrificing rigidity. The trellis frame connects to the front cylinder head, the steel subframe to which the dual seat is mounted embraces the rear one, and the monobraccia single-sided swingarm pivots in the crankcase. The complete bike scales-in at a claimed kerb weight of 210kg, complete with oil, water and a full 16-litre fuel tank. That also includes the cleverly designed exhaust, which has somehow been contained within the space beneath the motor, complete with the catalysts to achieve Euro 4 compliance. Its twin pipes exit just before the rear wheel in a way we’d been led to believe would in future be impossible because of Euro 4. This and the sleek, seamless sweep of progettista Clement Giugliano’s sexy styling, with its abbreviated bellypan (presumably to make space for the silencer package) and the fairing bolts all hidden from view, makes the Supersport S eye candy that still delivers the level of performance that its appearance leads you to expect.
It does so in a completely practical and accommodating way, thanks for starters to the riding position. The 810mm high two-part seat is 20mm lower than on the 959 Panigale, and though it’s quite thinly cushioned its scalloped design hugs your posterior in a supportive way that makes a full day ride untiring. The passenger seat, by the way, is adequate without being spacious, and can be covered on the stock SuperSport by a colour-coded cowl that’s included as standard on the S. And the way the seat narrows where it meets the tank will make this a good bike for shorter riders. The screen’s height is also adjustable with a single hand, offering a choice of two positions 50mm apart.
Comfort is enhanced by the SuperSport’s lower, further forward footrests, and its raised clip-on handlebars which are mounted to the top of the fork tubes. Their risers increase their height an extra 75mm and bring them 150mm closer to the rider than on the 959 Panigale, delivering a more upright riding stance. That’s not to say that you can’t assume a tucked down, chest-on-the tank position when necessary, just that when riding through towns or in more relaxed mode out in the country you don’t have nearly as much weight on your wrists and shoulders. Plus, on the SuperSport you have better handlebar leverage in negotiating tight turns – a fact which somehow discourages you from hanging off the side of the bike in turns. It’s more comfortable and just as effective in maintaining turn speed to stay seated in place, flicking the Ducati from side to side in a sequence of bends. It’s sufficiently agile and easy-steering for you to do this, in spite of the long 1478mm wheelbase.
This new Ducati reminds me in some ways of the Triumph 675 Daytona, which is taller and a little longer and consequently less cramped than its Japanese 600 Supersport rivals. The SuperSport also has the extra adjustability of the KTM RC8 in helping you find a riding position that suits you. OK, it’s become a cliché to talk about real world riding capability, but this is exactly what the new SuperSport sisters deliver in spades, while still retaining all the allure and appeal of the svelte-looking sportbikes they undoubtedly are. They’re true all-rounder bikes you can envisage riding every day. The optional twin 22-litre side bags will come in useful in tackling the morning commute. There’s no top box option, though – practicality does have its limits in sporting terms!
That practicality is furthered by the way Ducati’s engineers have remapped the 94 x 67.5 mm 937cc Testastretta 11º motor to deliver performance matched by flexibility. There’s a wide spread of both power and torque that extends right down the rev-scale. So while peak torque of 96.7Nm/71.3lb-ft is delivered at just 6,500 rpm, no less than 80% of that is produced between 3,000 and 9,500 revs. Peak power of 113 bhp/83.1kW is on tap at 9,000 rpm, some way before the 10,500 rpm limiter, but there’s hardly any fall-off before the soft rev limiter. So torquey is this motor that you can accelerate wide open in top gear from 3,000 rpm upwards without a hint of transmission snatch, en route to the 100mph/160kmh mark at 6,800 rpm. This is an extremely flexible friend of a desmo sportbike. It’s one that sounds pretty nice, too, with a punchy-sounding V-twin rumble from those twin stacked silencer cans.
The SuperSport’s motor has redesigned oil passages within the cylinder heads, and revised porting with a 12.6:1 compression ratio. 53mm cylindrical (not elliptical) throttle bodies are fitted, and a dedicated Continental ECU offering three separate riding modes. Of these, Sport and Touring produce the 937cc motor’s full power, but each with a different degree of urgency, whereas Urban (aka Rain) peaks at 75 bhp. Switching between modes is easily done on the go via the controls on the left handlebar. Each of the three has different default settings for the three-stage Bosch 9MP ABS and switchable eight-level DTS traction control programmes. These comprise the DSP/Ducati Safety Pack included as standard on both versions. Bosch’s IMU/Inertia Measurement Unit isn’t fitted so there isn’t the high end Cornering ABS found on some other Ducati models, nor is the TC lean-angle sensitive.
There’s a very accessible and ultra-satisfying delivery of both torque and power in both Sport and Touring modes, with a clean, zesty pickup from a closed throttle. There’s no sign of jerkiness or over-aggressive fuelling, even in Sport mode where there’s a crispier power delivery than in Touring. That ultra-flat torque curve means you needn’t use the six-speed gearbox too assiduously; with such plentiful grunt at your disposal you’re always in the right gear. That’s a pity in a way, since the powershifter gearchange fitted to the SuperSport S (and optional on the base model) is absolutely stellar, delivering clean, smooth, effortless shifts without asking you to use the clutch in either direction. The subtle little blip you get from the electronic throttle as you tap the shift lever downwards under braking is really pleasing, as well as making the bike less tiring to ride. In fact, when you do have to use it – as you must do in Urban mode, when the quickshifter is curiously deactivated – the oil-bath clutch has a very light lever action, making it easy and untiring to operate.
The Supersport’s chassis delivers relaxed yet capable steering that’s also reassuring, where you have the feeling that you’re always in charge. Its steering geometry is comparable to the 959 Panigale’s with a 24º rake to the fork and 91mm of trail (the Panigale has the same rake, but 96mm of trail and a shorter 1451mm wheelbase). This makes the SuperSport sufficiently light and agile to be satisfying, without feeling nervous – just right. OK, some sportbikers will complain that the handling’s not exactly thrilling, but for that Ducati already has the Panigale. The SuperSport delivers a different kind of experience – it’s confidence-inspiring and friendly rather than taxing to ride hard in something approaching anger. A key factor in this is Ducati’s praiseworthy decision to fit a narrower 180/55-17 Pirelli Diablo Rosso III (supposedly better in the rain than the II-series) on the SuperSport, which surely contributes to the bike’s light steering and easy changing of direction. These tyres gave faultless grip exiting a turn on a variety of road surfaces in both Sport and Touring modes, with the occasionally flickering red dash light showing that the DTS traction control was doing its job. Satisfying is the word for how readily the SuperSport rewards the traditional slow in/fast out riding style when cornering the bike. It’s a confidence-inspiring ride.
No IMU also means there’s also no Skyhook semi-active suspension here, as found on the uber-versions of the Panigale family. But the fully-adjustable 48mm Öhlins upside down fork on the SuperSport S is not only compliant when you hit a series of bumps cranked over at speed but surprisingly comfortable running over cobblestones in towns. The stock version has a fully adjustable 43mm Marzocchi fork and Sachs shock instead of the Öhlins, but I must defer judgement of this package as I didn’t get the chance to try it. In terms of stopping, the twin 320mm front discs with two-pad four-piston Brembo M4.32 Monoblock radial calipers combine with the 245mm rear disc and its twin-piston floating caliper to haul the SuperSport down very nicely from high speed.
The SuperSport doesn’t have the full-colour TFT dash of some other Ducati models, but comes equipped with an easily-readable monochrome LCD that displays clearly enough. I’d have liked the gear selected reading on the right to be framed by a plastic surround as on the Multistrada 950, which has the same essential dash. Little things mean a lot! The wide-spread mirrors containing integral direction signals can’t be faulted, giving a good rearwards view beyond your shoulders.
No doubt about it: this is a very clever motorcycle that in many ways lives up to the old cliché that less can be more. Less outright performance can indeed equal more riding pleasure thanks to greater practicality without sacrificing satisfaction. It’s all delivered in an accessible, affordable, ultimately more user friendly and equally engaging way than its Panigale sister models – and looks just as drop dead gorgeous in the metal. For anyone who’s dreamed of having an Italian desmo V-twin sports bike sitting in their garage, but who’s not too sure they have the skills to master it, here is your bike. Or for someone who can only afford one motorcycle, and who needs something that combines everyday practicality with sporting allure, the SuperSport is again a clear contender. Good one, Ducati.
Photos: Milagro/Thomas Maccabelli
