Ducati spokesperson confirms no expansion plans for single-cylinder Hypermotard 698 Mono family

Ducati stole the show in late 2023 when they launched their new 659cc Superquadro Mono engine – the highest revving and most powerful road-going single-cylinder ever produced, kicking out a claimed 76.4bhp in standard spec.

Pretty soon, it found a home in brand-new supermoto family consisting of an £11,295 Hypermotard 698 Mono and £12,195 RVE variant, going toe-to-toe with KTM’s £10,399 690 SMCR for top dog in the road-legal hooligan class.

Although fast, focussed, and great fun, many had hoped last November’s 2024 EICMA trade show in Milan would be the launchpad for more mass-market model using the Superquadro engine – with the existing stance, chassis, and architecture already lending itself nicely to a rugged all-terrain travel bike.

Unfortunately, those dreams have now been squashed, with Head of Product Marketing at Ducati, Domenico Leo telling MCN that no further models are expected on the platform.

• Related: KTM 690 SMCR vs Ducati Hypermotard 698 Mono

“For the future, I don’t know if now it’s the moment to make something that is too different in the market,” Leo said during an exclusive interview. “Due to the situation, we have to make products that are very fitted for the market now, so we can’t explore.”

Domenico was the Vehicle Project Manager for the 698 Mono project, before taking up his current role early last year.

“In this situation, sure, maybe in one year later or two, we can change something, but now it’s quite risky, and we know Ducati has a lot of employees and we think the strategy of the brand has to sustain all the employees.”

Part of the situation being referred to surrounds motorcycle sales, and excess stock in the marketplace, following an increase in new bike appetite during the Covid pandemic.

Despite concerns, the brand ended 2023 with a revenue figure over one billion euros, and a profit of €112 million thanks to 58,224 new bike sales.

“Of course, the situation is the same for every manufacturer and the post-pandemic peak, but I think we’ve been able to keep the attention on the right level of stock, and the right level of delivery,” Ducati’s Marketing and Communication Director, Patrizia Cianetti added.

“So, dealers and clients, in order to avoid what’s happening for many other manufacturers now, where dealers are full of stock with no demand. 

“We want to protect the client, and we want to protect the value of our bikes and in fact the current residual value of our bikes is very high – it’s one of the highest. I think we’ve been able to understand the situation.”

Part of the reason to build a single cylinder supermoto was to attract a younger audience to the premium brand.

Ducati’s Head of Design, Andrea Ferraresi sat down with MCN at EICMA 2023, at the launch of the Mono models and said: “We have a very big market share in this niche, and we want to attract the attention of a younger audience, so we thought that a single-cylinder motard would be the right choice.”

To that end, the bikes are restrictable for an A2 licence, however we’re now told the sales have not appeared to reflect this goal.

“We don’t achieve young riders, but a different kind of riders,” Domenico Leo admitted, “so older sporty riders really love this bike. So, the people that have a superbike, and then at 40 or 50 try this bike and they fall in love with the bike. 

“It’s a little bit of a different target of course, we have young people, but probably for the price positioning it’s not the correct target.”

Video: Ducati Hypermotard 698 Mono review