Coastal Traveler - Winter 2008 - (Page 35)

coastalrider Ducati’s Hypermotard $11,495 for the standard bike or $13,995 for the Hypermotard S, which has better brakes and shocks. www.ducatiusa.com Ducati is the Ferrari of motorcycles – Italian, exotic, sexy and red. They are the bikes of dashing European champions, and have throbbing Vtwin engines, like Harleys. They have charisma and panache, drawn as they are by aesthetes. Japanese bikes look like Farah Fawcett, but perform like soulless technocrats. Ducatis look like Sophia Lauren, and perform like opera singers, belting out guttural lows and glass-shattering highs, propelling you toward corners so quickly that an operatic death seems likely. But then the brake clamps the front wheel, and you had better brace yourself. A flick of the steering, and you are almost on your side, the earth turned vertical, the asphalt rushing by, sometimes touching your knee. And then exiting the corner, twisting the throttle, holding it at the point when power overcomes grip, sitting atop this engine with wheels, handlebars pulling your arms straight, rushing toward the next corner. But this performance came with a steep price. Like Ferrari, Ducatis were bred for racing and offered riding positions that made street riding uncomfortable. They were brilliant on the track, but memories of aching wrists and hobbled backs often kept them in the garage, where their gorgeous bodywork could be admired when you got into your car. A few years ago, a new motorcycling trend emerged. Supermotard featured super-light dirt bikes with street tires, brakes and suspension. They were raced on tracks that mixed asphalt corners and dirt jumps. Street riders found that the lithe supermotards could out-handle sportbikes on windy, mountain roads. But the bikes were designed for go-cart tracks and their buzzy, single cylinder engines were impotent above 60 mph. Then Ducati unveiled a prototype of what they called the Hypermotard, a supermotard with a Ducati V-twin, putting out twice the horsepower of its single-cylinder rivals. Riders could not wait, and it became the most eagerly anticipated motorcycle of 2008. I picked up the Hypermotard at Ducati’s North America headquarters in Silicon Valley. Behind the modernist building, the bike sat squat, muscular and red. It was styled like a Ferrari dirt bike, and incorporated turn signals and mirrors into the hand guards. The most controversial aspect was a beakish front fender. But the lines met the fuel tank perfectly, and somehow contributed to a prehistoric, id-ish quality that suited its personality. I left the headquarters and got on the 280 North, a Northern California autobahn, where the flow of traffic is 90 mph. This was a poor first impression, since the Hypermotard offers no wind protection, and freeway riding is not its forté. I pushed my ass back and lay my belly across the tank, keeping my head directly behind the speedometer, which arced to its limit. But once I got off the freeway and into the mountains, the Hypermotard began to swim freely, like a shark released from captivity. The wide, motocross handlebars offered exceptional leverage, making turning effortless, like power steering without the loss of feel. Its grunty engine lunged forward, involuntarily hoisting the front wheel, which touched down and pivoted onto its side in one clean motion. And when I finished my rides, my back felt like that of a yogi. winter coastaltraveler coastaltraveler 35 http://www.ducatiusa.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Coastal Traveler - Winter 2008

Coastal Traveler - Winter 2008 Contents Coastal Hotel Coastal Adventure Coastal Gambler Coastal Rider Coastal Skier Coastal Art Santa Barbara Pismop & Avila San Luis Obispo Big Sur Carmel Monterey Santa Cruz San Francisco Sausalito Mill Valley Stinson Beach Bolinas Olema Point Reyes Station San Geronimo Fairfax Iverness Marshall, Tomales Sebastopol Petaluma Sonoma Coast Redwood Coast Napa Map

Coastal Traveler - Winter 2008

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