Middle ground is often considered as negative, but the truth is that it's a glorious thing. Middle ground ends wars; middle ground saves relationships and most importantly, middle ground results in happiness. The Ducati SuperSport is a middle ground in the most genuine of senses. The big question is whether this particular middle ground can find you happiness.
Styling
Ducatis have always been the stuff of dreams; the company’s motorcycles have always been objects of desire. Which means Ducati’s Latest should do the same, and it surely does. The front-end of the motorcycle has a lot of Panigale inspiration, the motorcycle uses a slim LED DRL sitting on top of the halogen headlamp. Even though the halogens have decent performance, we should be seeing LED lamps as standard on motorcycles in this price range. The side is where everything changes, the motorcycles has a completely new fairing that is designed quite well. Even though the fairing design is front heavy, it features a unique line that blends into the fuel tank rather neatly. The bike also has a single-sided swingarm that puts the entire right side of the wheel on display.
Since the bike being tested is the ‘S’ model, it features gold Ohlins front forks and rear-shock. The S also gets a body-coloured rear-seat cowl. The bike being tested also had the optional Performance Pack, which adds a carbon-fibre front fender, sleek LED indicators, CNC machined caps for the brake fluid reservoirs and adjustable levers. The Ducati’s LCD screen which displays all the relevant information is easy to read in bright daylight. The SuperSport is well built, but it would be more likeable if the exposed engine area behind the fairing was tidier.
Performance
The Supersport is powered by a big 937cc V-Twin engine. Considering how close it is to a 1000cc, it's easy to expect huge power figures. Surprisingly, this big Ducati engine favours rideability over big power figures. The motorcycle makes 110hp and 93Nm, which is low for such a high capacity motorcycle. But as we said before, this motorcycle is designed to favour rideability. The engine is vibration free and hard revving, not only that, it sounds good too. The exhaust has a deep rumble while making some burble-like sounds on closing the throttle. The motorcycle builds speed in a linear fashion and can reach high speeds very quickly if one is not paying attention.
The motorcycle features three riding modes, urban, touring and sport. Urban is highly beginner-friendly, dulling out the throttle response completely. Touring is a good balance, it provides full power but with a mellow throttle response. In sport, the throttle is very responsive but still remains easy to control. The six-speed transmission is precise but sometimes reluctant to slip into neutral. Nonetheless, it comes with a bi-directional quickshifter, which allows you to shift gears up and down without using the clutch.
Practicality
The SuperSport’s riding position is a fair bit more aggressive than typical sport tourers, with comparatively higher foot pegs and a fair stretch forwards to the handlebar. The SuperSport has a wide and comfy seat on which one can spend hours without a fuss, however, the big V-twin engine does run a bit hot adding a level of discomfort. The motorcycle has 48 degrees of cornering clearance, which means the motorcycle could even be taken to a race track. The high-spec Brembo M4.32 brakes have been tuned to offer strong performance with a friendly bite. The Ohlins suspension on the SuperSport S does an exceptional job at damping up imperfections.
Should I buy one?
The most interesting thing about the SuperSport is that one can enjoy the motorcycle without taking it to its limit, which very few high-capacity motorcycles are capable of. There is no denying that the Ducati lacks the punch of the similarly priced Suzuki GSX-S1000F or Kawasaki’s amazingly priced Ninja 1000. But, the SuperSport S is considerably more dynamic than the other two; the motorcycle offers a better electronics package and is a much better looking machine. At ₹13.39 lakh (ex-showroom, India), the SuperSport S isn’t exactly tremendous value, but Ducati’s aren’t about value, they’re about the experience. This leads us to conclude that the SuperSport is a happy middle ground indeed.
