Ducati SuperSport 939 spied

This is the first glimpse of the new Ducati SuperSport 939 in action. It’s also the first time it’s been seen since the leaked images from last month’s World Ducati Week, where the bike was previewed in a secure area.

At WDW Ducati attempted to only show the bike to Ducati fans inside a secure area, but someone sneaked a camera into the event and leaked low-quality pictures online.Since then, the bike hasn’t been seen again, but now we have spotted two different test bikes undergoing development at a private test track in Italy, months ahead of the bike’s official launch, which is expected to take place at the Milan show in November.

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Ducati have officially confirmed there will be two models; a standard model and a higher-specification S model. These spy shots appear to show two different versions of the standard model, which Ducati say will arrive in dealers at around £10,000 when it goes on sale next year. The S model will be a fair bit more expensive, but while Ducati have, so far, not given a firm indication of its expected cost, we estimate it will be between £12,000 and £12,500.

Ducati say the new SuperSport 939 is a sporty bike for the road which offers good handling, performance and brakes but doesn’t have the super high-end performance of the existing Panigale superbike range, which comprises a family of 1299 variants, and the 959.

The bike is based around some clever use of existing Ducati mechanical elements. The engine is based on the 939cc water-cooled L-twin from the Hypermotard, the trellis chassis is based around that used on the Monster with the same raft of electronic rider aids seen on other Ducati models.

Electronics will include mandatory ABS to meet Euro4 regulations, as well as eight-level traction control, and three rider modes. What’s more, Ducati are now introducing cornering ABS and anti-wheelie across more and more models as the technology becomes more ubiquitous, and cheaper, and we would expect these to be available for the SuperSport too.

What Ducati have revealed

MCN reporter Andy Davidson was at World Ducati Week, where he grilled product manager, Paolo Quattrino, about the new SuperSport. He revealed: “The engine is tuned to be really, really smooth because it’s a sportsbike with road focused performance.

“The SuperSport is not an entry-level sportsbike. That would be a bike for beginners, this is not that. This is a sportsbike designed for the road. The dash is completely new, with new functionality, and is ready for the Ducati multimedia system, the same as on the Multistrada.

“The headlamp shape is completely new, the shape was inspired by the Panigale, but the headlamp has daytime running lights. The exhaust is new, as well as the complete fairing.

“This bike is for customers who desire a sportsbike with versatility and with road-focused performance. It is for riders who don’t want a bike for trackdays, so this is a bike that is sporty and at the same time comfortable in terms of seating position. It is not in the Panigale family.

“In terms of performance and price it is a step behind the 959 Panigale, but it is a completely different family, the only link between the two is sportiness.

“We made this because we wanted to target the customer who loves sportsbikes and wants street legal performance. We investigated the market and saw very interesting potential for these types of customers.

“The displacement is the same as the Hypermotard 939, but we have modified the engine and electronic tuning and even the attachment of the engine to the frame is different. With this frame, the engine is a stressed element. So it is 939 displacement, but not really the same engine, because 80% of it is new.”

 

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