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Ducati SuperSport (2017)


Base Price : 13'000 $

Modern sportbikes have the technology, power, and sharp handling to seamlessly make the transition from road to track. But isn't there room for a sportbike that's just a little more comfortable? Apparently so. Ducati has created a sportbike that's friendly to ride every day. The riding position is more upright so less of your bodyweight is focused down on your wrists.
Still, this is still a beastly-quick machine thanks to is 937cc liquid-cooled L-Twin that puts down 113 hp way up at 9,000 rpm. And with just 463 pounds to pull around, it certainly won't be lacking when the road twists. The Supersport comes standard with a system that dials in specific riding and power modes (not unlike a modern high performance sport sedan) and includes traction and ABS.
And since it's a Ducati—the Supersport is one good-looking bike. For those that need a little more, the Supersport S model ($14,795) adds high-performance suspension and clutchless shifting.

Braking is done by Brembo M4.32 calipers squeezing 320mm rotors, and three levels of ABS. That’s not top-tier Brembo stuff, but hey, this is a 100-hp bike and the brakes are more than enough, even slowing down from the 150-mph straightaway into a second-gear hairpin. ABS level 1 disables rear anti-lock, which means lifting the back end on the brakes or sliding toward apexes. No, it’s not a track bike! Again, I guess Ducati just can’t help it. Eight levels of traction control served me well, too, then again the sun-kissed pavement and Pirelli Diablo Rosso III rubber didn’t really need any convincing to stay together. It’s not a track bike! …but it does play one on TV.
Hooning complete, I traded knee pucks for armored denim and the S model in white for the base bike in Ducati red. Soon I was bombing along straight and narrow two-lane Spanish blacktop at freeway speeds—genuine sport-touring country, and the SuperSport felt right at home. Adjusting the windshield up took the windblast from the bottom of my ribcage to the middle of my sternum. At 6-foot-2 I was found myself pretty satisfied considering the SuperSport’s sleek and skimpy screen.


Ducati builds performance machines. The Multistrada is made to be the hottest of ADVs, the Diavel is the superbike of cruisers, and the Hypermotard… well, having “hyper” in the name ought to explain it. All Ducati motorcycles are designed to ooze a little bit of the spirit of Borgo Panigale—performance, passion, and speed. So, what happens when Ducati sets out to build a sportbike that isn’t supposed to be the fastest? One that isn’t supposed to be either high-tech and fancy or raw and uncivilized? We’re not sure it’s a question anyone asked, but Ducati has answered it with the 2017 SuperSport.


If you’re having a bit of déjà vu you’re probably thinking of the last SuperSport. Or maybe the one prior to the last one. Or even the one before that. Point is, it’s not new nomenclature for Ducati. The staff in red even admitted that they all like the name, and appreciate the heritage that the name SuperSport has within the brand. But, they were quick to point out that although the concept is similar, the bike breaks new ground. When I think SuperSport I remember the square headlight, mid-1990s edition SS models—air-cooled cylinders, clattering dry clutches, and single seats. Ducati has come a long way since then, though. Well beyond the Terblanche-era versions of supersport and into the age of liquid-cooling, adjustable-windshields, and all things electronically adjustable.


The basic architecture of the SuperSport goes like this: The engine is essentially from the Hyper 939—for you technical types that’s the liquid-cooled, Testastretta 11-degree powerplant that has evolved in Ducati’s midsized machines over the past number of years, now at 937cc and claiming 113 horsepower. Bolted to the front of that powerplant is a steel-trellis frame, borrowed in part from the Monster 1200 but adapted to this platform. Attached to the rear of the engine is a new, single-sided, cast-aluminum swingarm. It’s all wrapped up in brand-new bodywork designed to emulate the Panigale shape with a distinct road-going personality. And lastly, suspending it all is either a Marzocchi 43mm fork and Sachs shock on the base model, or an Ohlins shock and 48mm Ohlins fork on the SuperSport.



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