any ducati hypermotard owners

My buddy has one. Had it for a while now. I forwarded this thread to him.

CW

 

I got one of the first S models. It is the best bike I've owned and I've had lots of bikes, raced Bikes professionally for 4 seasons and have owned Ducatis since 1994 so I have some comparisons. The S is worth the money because of the suspension, wheel and tire upgrade. The only con is it has a small range tank. Bumps on twisty back roads simply do not bother it and the 1100 is appropriately torquey. Third gear power wheelies. It is truly fun in all conditions

 

What do you want to do with it? I test rode several motorcycles over about the last month or so including Ducati's, Aprilla's, Kawasaki's, BMW's, Yamaha's, and Suzuki's and ended up buying a 2008 Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa . I chose the Busa for its power, comfort and economical operation cost over the other bikes... I do not want a road racer or a dual purpose bike.

 

You may have fun on the hypermotard, but make sure you absolutely want one. There is a lot of turn-over with super-specialized bikes like that, meaning reality may set in and you realize a normal sport bike would have been better. Just my $02.

 

IMHO, the hypermotard is one ugly bike too...it is also very expensive to maintain like all Italian machinery...

 

The Hayabusa is one of the uglier supersport bikes on the market. The ZX-14 is a much nicer bike.

 

I rode a ZX-14 and the 2008 Busa was much more comfortable to me...and I kinda like its looks too... I do plan to add a 4-2-1 SS and CF exhaust system which will get rid of those two huge mufflers as well as reduce weight by 32 pounds...

 

Suzuki redesigned the Hayabusa for 2008 making it a much sleeker and better looking mount yet keeping it's bad boy persona ... here is a photo of a 2008 the same color as mine ...http://www.hayabusa-pictures.info/wallpapers/Show_2008_orange.jpg

 

I too was underwhelmed in the flesh.

A friend wants one really bad but is too cheap to pay full retail. I told him the bike has limited appeal and once initial demand is satisfied, sales of new bikes will fall off faster then they reduce production. Couple that with people that bought one on impulse and it wasn't really what they wanted, or those that had to have the latest toy...I predict a relatively high percentage for sale in the next year or two. They will experience more depreciation that typical Ducatis, which isn't so great to begin with.

There will be other bikes like this soon. Aprilia will have the 750 and 1200cc versions of this bike in a few months:
http://www.motorcycledaily.com/28april08_2008aprilia_smv750dosoduro_p1.htm

As far as the maintenance on Ducatis go, I've had one for 12 years and one for 3 years, both eight valvers and they aren't that bad if you do some things yourself. The naked Desmodues like the HM are even more reasonable.

 

I just don't get what they're good for...they look kinda like a dual purpose/enduro type bike, yet have street tires and would thus be no good for off road use...while obviously intended for street use, they have no fairings making them aerodynamic deficient at speed...just too much compromise IMHO which makes them no good for on or off road...if you want a sports bike, buy one...if you want an off road bike, buy one...or buy both...