Ducati Hyperstrada

Ducati’s new-for-2013 Hyperstrada wheelies, slides the rear wheel, jumps curbs, is nimble and flickable, and a hoot in urban environments. Characteristics, according to Ducati, distance riders look for when considering a new model to go “touring, Italian style.”

Joining the Multi and Diavel, the Hyper brings Ducati’s current number of strada models to three. But whereas the Multistrada, from creature comforts to carrying capacity, is a true sport-tourer laden with superbike performance, and the Diavel Strada its performance-cruiser-tourer counterpart, the Hyperstrada is a thinly disguised supermotard with no serious touring convictions.

When compared directly to its Hypermotard stablemate, the Hyperstrada differs by way of a taller windshield, 20mm taller handlebars, a wider seat with thicker foam, 50-liter semi-rigid saddlebags, a centerstand, a passenger grab handle, larger front and rear mudguards, a bash plate and two 12V outlets.

The seat is a nicely contoured, form-fitting mount comfortable for short distances and keeps your arse in place during wheelies but allows no fore/aft movement, thus locking the rider into a single position.

At 32.7 inches, even the low version of the Hyperstrada (shorter suspension) is imposingly tall for some riders. An accessory low saddle further reduces seat height to 31.9 inches, but then you’re losing the extra padding of the touring seat.

The Hyperstrada to superstar motardism is its new 821cc Testastretta 11° V-Twin. Now with more than 18,000 miles between major service intervals, the new liquid-cooled, four-valve-per-cylinder motor also features independent throttle bodies for each cylinder and RbW throttle operation.

The price for Ducati Hyperstrada 821cc is around $13,295