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Went over to Seacoast Ducati yesterday with the goal of seeing the new Hyper. I've wanted a Hyper for a long time and have been waiting for the new model since I first heard rumors of it a year ago.
Right out front they had a Matte Black one complete with the Termi full race exhaust. I circled around it for about 20 minutes looking at it and inspecting every little detail and aspect of it.
Physically it seems very similar in size to the old hyper, but definitely a bit sleeker. I sat on it and was very pleased with the riding position. It's very comfortable, with a great rider triangle. The action on the levers feels very smooth, and nice and light.
While I was sitting there a lady from the dealership came out and offered me a test ride. Ummm....YES!
After a short wait, they put a plate on it, filled it with fuel, and gave me a rundown of the controls. Everything is in the logical spots, with only a few unique things to the bike. They walked over the ABS and traction control settings, and then sent me out.
First thing, the bike sounded great. Even just rumbling out of the parking lot, it was awesome.
The clutch is smooth and consistent, and very predictable.
Coming from my R1, it took some getting used to. The gearing is much shorter than the R1, and I found I was shifting more (to be expected). First and second the bike pulls very hard once you get into the power. Very torquey and it felt like it could wheelie easily if I'd kept on it. Being that it wasn't my bike and that I just wanted to get a feel for it, I took it easy.
The bike feels very light, able to quickly turn and change direction. I loved the way it rides.
It did seem that the bike doesn't make a lot of power at lower RPM's, so keeping it on the power is the way to go in the higher gears.
The dash is nice, but the speedometer doesn't seem big enough to stand out. I suppose it's something that you'd get used to, so it's not a huge deal to me, but it was noticeable.
I'm 6'3" and the one thing I noticed in regards to my height was that you can't slide back on the seat at all due to the scooped riding seat. It holds you great and is comfortable, but you can't scoot back or move back and forth hardly at all on it. Not a big deal to me, but something that I hadn't anticipated.
The brakes are excellent, better than most bikes I've ridden.
The bike looks amazing, and I had a blast on the short little ride I took. I can't wait to see it in red.
Anyway, I was very impressed and hope to buy one fairly soon to use as my primary bike so the R1 can be track only.
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