I ended up taking out the Diavel Carbon and the Hypermotard 939.
I had gone to this intending to ride the Multistrada and the Monster 1200, but I didn't know about the 2 ride limit when we first signed up, so I took what was available on the next rides. Still, I enjoyed it and I will definitely go back and kick their tires again.
Now, first ride was the Diavel. Other than a very short stint up in the mountains on Kiki's 696 monster, I hadn't ever ridden a Duacti, so I didn't have any expectations. Upon firing up the Diavel, first thoughts were the throttle is a little touchy and I see why people buy power cruisers. That sound. The route was a short run over to the freeway through the ghetto, then about 20 minutes on the freeway (at the 60mph speed limit
) down several exits to a u-turn and then back to the dealer through a different part of the ghetto. The road leaving the dealer was under construction so there was a ton of choppy asphalt and I expected it to crush my spine but no, it actually nicely dampened the bumps out. I got on it a bit on the first on ramp and yes it definitely has 162hp. It also cruised quite nicely as long as you kept it above 4000rpm. Anything below that and the engine got vibey and unhappy, not what I would expect for a 1200 twin. We hit some traffic towards the end of the freeway portion and the italian-ness began to show. The seat became heated as did my right leg, even through the leather panels on my Klim pants. The fueling was also really choppy at 2500rpm in 2nd just rolling along slowly. Still, it had 162hp so that made up for a lot of it's shortcomings. I also easily dragged my toes accidentally on both sides so cornering clearance could use some work. Overall I thought was a fun bike, but I have no idea what I would do with it. I wouldn't tour on it, it locks the rider in one position and the knee bend is pretty sharp. The cornering clearance is kinda bad so it isn't a corner carver and I'd want something with longer travel suspension for the city. Basically it would be fun if I lived at a drag strip. My repeated thought throughout the ride was: "I want this engine in a different bike".
The hypermotard 939 was a completely different beast. I climbed aboard and immediately felt like I was sitting on the front wheel. The bars were pretty close and the seat kept me pushed up against the tank. I fired it up and once again, that sound. It was much harsher and raspier than the smooth burble of the Diavel. The electronic throttle also felt really unresponsive at idle, not what I was expecting. We took off and I immediately noticed how darty and agile it was. It wanted to turn, period. About 1 minute later I blurted out in my helmet "this seat is AWFUL". It is an upholstered piece of plywood. I've been on MX bikes with more padding. We then turned onto the main road and I instantly forgot about the seat. The power was instantaneous and intoxicating. I started laughing manically in my helmet. On the previous ride on the Diavel, the hypermotard was right behind me and the guy kept running up next to me on the freeway, nearly passing me in the corners, and I was wondering what the hell he was doing. I get it now, it is not possible to ride a hypermotard like a sane person. It demands jackassery. Once on the move that numb throttle turned into one of extreme precision, almost to the point of being an on-off switch. Now, on the previous ride, a Panigale 959 rider picked up a nail which meant that this ride was delayed in setting off. I guess the leader was instructed to get us back on schedule because this time we were doing 70ish on the freeway which was much more fun on the hyper. Well, it would have been if it had any wind protection at all. This thing was even worse than my XR650L. I had to nearly put my helmet over the headlight to get enough lean into the wind at 70 to not be fighting it with my lower back. I was really jealous of the guy on the hyperstrada at that moment. We get to the turn around point and the guy in front of me on the X Diavel is clearly having some problems turning. He is doing his best harley rider impression and absolutely parking it in the corners. This meant we were falling behind the group. This meant I had to catch up.
One full throttle upshift later and I was once again cackling like an idiot. I definitely understand why people buy these things. In that moment, the crappy seat, the touchy throttle, didn't care. We had one 270 degree offramp and I found myself darting back and forth from edge to edge since the guy in front of me was going so slow, and it was happy to do so. I'd love to ride one of these things on a proper twisty road. That said I can also see why most of them are low mileage. 40 minutes and I was ready to get off it. After watching the guy in front of me nearly crash 2 more times in corners, we made it back to the dealer and parked. At this stage I was thinking about how much a hypermotard would cost me and how much I wanted one, even though it was also utterly useless in any practical sense. And then I got back on my Super Tenere.
I marveled at how smooth the engine was, how linear the brakes and clutch were. The transmission was so nice and delicate. The throttle was just the right balance of response and physical resistance. DS and I stopped at a burger place about a mile down the road and both commented how completely engineered our Japanese bikes felt in comparison. It was like the Ducati engineers were only interested in the looks, the power and the handling. Everything else, not important. They do things differently in Japan and the difference was quite obvious.
All that said, I did have fun and I would do it again. I definitely see myself getting something fun and semi-exotic in the future and the hypermotard will definitely be in consideration, if I don't buy a KTM 1290 Super Duke R first.
Sadly, the clutch lever felt a bit cheap and the operation wasn't as slick as I'd like, I think the cable probably could have used some adjustment though. However, I understand why many riders swap their clutch levers out for ASV/Pazzo units. While I really didn't get to lean over on it, the bike was very light on its feet (turn in was sharper than the 919 or VFR) and I definitely noticed the weight when I got back on my VFR later. Suspension was firm, but well dampened, I wasn't jarred off the bike at any point and we rode some rougher surfaces. The brakes were great, but there wasn't much in the way of feedback, it felt like the first quarter inch did nothing, then suddenly one more millimeter summons all the power the Brembo binders could provide. I wish I had a chance to try out the 1200R, but if I were in the market for a middle weight naked, the 821 would be on there. Definitely the most memorable of the two.
I take no responsibility for that silly fucker.
