Sak Art Ducati Hypermono

A few months ago the designer's at Italy's Sak Art released conceptual drawings for a modern interpretation of the wonderful Ducati Supermono of the 1990s'.

This design makes intelligent use of the new Ducati Monster's frame and swingarm. Being a 'hyper' sports model it deserves top-rate equipment. This is provided via a carbon fiber tank and bodywork, Ohlins suspension, Brembo brakes with 305mm rotors and 17" Marchesini wheels.

The engine is configured in the same way as the original Supermono. That is, utilizing an existing Ducati Superbike engine, but instead of the vertical cylinder a counterweight is attached to the vertical con-rod. This provides the natural vibration damping of a 90° v-twin allowing the engine to achieve much higher RPM than possible from a normal single. It also has the advantage of creating an all new engine configuration while reusing most of the existing Superbike engine parts. This was the stroke of brilliance afforded to the original Supermono by, then Ducati chief engineer, Massimo Bordi.

Sak Art produced a series of playfully styled variations of the supermono theme in homage to various Ducati race bikes of the past.

Orange/Black reflects some vintage models of the 70s including the 350 mono.

The version presented above is devoted to a Ducati 175 F3 that won a host races between the '50s and '60s, and honors Francesco Villa who rode to victory in Monza ('58-'59-'60) in this 175 category. His number (16) was the number used in Villa's first victory in 1958.

Finally, the "Desmo Racing" version is a tribute to the 450 Desmo single "king of the mountain" that dominated championships in the early 70s.

Sak Art's ernest hope in producing this concept was to spark 'grass roots' interest in their lovely design in the hopes that someone at Ducati is taking notice and maybee, just maybee put into production the bike they could have given us twenty years ago.

To this day, the only serious supermono sports bike in production is the CR&S VUN. In the mean time, Ducati seem much more interested in entering the market already defined by the CR&S DUU (as witnessed by recent spy shots).

 

Mimicry is flattery I guess...

Dream Ducatis

This is a conceptual Ducati Supermono 599 by Australian designer Dan Anderson. It uses a single-cylinder, 4-valve, water-cooled Ducati engine a-la Ducati Supermono.

This gives you a good idea of the kind of beautiful, superlight, sporting single that Ducati 'could' be making. Unfortunately, they chose instead, to design the 'Beaked Avenger' (aka Multistrada 1200), and are rumored to be working on a new cruiser.

Other Desirable Bikes (part 1)

If you like the idea of lightweight, no compromise, exotic sports bikes, as I do, then the VUN is a good place to be. But are there other bikes currently on the market that can give a similar feeling? In the next few blog entries I will look at some of the alternatives, starting with a bike that will be always near to my heart, the Ducati Supermono...

Ducati Supermono

 

The Original 1993 model

Ducati produced the Supermono in 1993 and 1994 using a production line that is set aside for for low volume hand-built motorcycles. The first-born child of designer Pierre Terblanche, a total of only 67 supermonos were ever built.

I have always liked the idea that Ducati are able to produce motorcycles at a low volume like this. The Mike Halewood Replica (MHR) and Desmoseidici are other excellent examples of this process.

Ducati's Massimo Bordi designed the single cylinder engine in a very clever way. Starting with the water-cooled superbike's 90° twin, they removed the vertical cylinder but retained the twin's crank and con-rod. In place of the vertical piston is a levered mass of equal weight.

This produces a single cylinder engine with the natural balance and vibration damping of a 90° twin which allows the engine to rev much higher than a conventionally balanced single.

The original supermono was only produced as a track bike (no lights or indicators), and in its time it was unbeatable in its class.

The supermono has been out of production for 15 years already so it is no longer possible to buy one right? Maybe not... Earlier this year British motorcycle engineer and supermono enthusiast, Alistair Wager, released photos and specifications of a new, replica, supermono and announced his intentions to put it into limited production. What's more it is not just a track bike, it is road legal...

Alistair Wager and his prototype

The replica version uses modern components including an updated testastretta cylinder head. The larger capacity 600cc engine is said to deliver 88hp which is an excellent figure for a single cylinder. Dry weight is claimed to be 133kg which is also pretty good for a street legal bike. The original 550cc race bike quotes figures of 72hp and only 118kg.

The replica's muffler exits from the opposite side, providing room on the left side for a flick-stand.

Sounds great right? Well, not so fast. News of this bike first leaked in March '09, since then I have heard nothing so it is pretty clear that it is not in production yet. What about the price? As you'd expect it is not cheap, expect to pay at least $50,000.

One other thing I have to mention... those headlights? I would have gone a different way.