Check out the latest contraption that the crew at German magazine Motorrad have uncovered:
If you clicked that link, then fussed around with Google Translate, you would discover that this appears to be a spy shot of a new Ducati supermoto that echoes the Supermono of the 1990s, with a high-output single-cylinder engine. Of course, that roadracing bike came with a full fairing, and was a proper sport machine, unlike the machine pictured above with long-travel suspension. But at its core, the Supermono was built to be the fastest single-cylinder bike around, and we would bet that’s Ducati’s goal here.
Why build a single, when Ducati’s best-known for V-twins and V4s? Maybe because the Japanese have basically given up on the thumper market, abandoning it to KTM. The only remotely modern big-bore single from Japan is the KLR650, and Kawasaki barely refreshed that engine in its latest update. Max output for the KLR is only 40 hp, while KTM’s 790 (and the Husqvarna 701, and the GasGas 700) make around 75 hp.
Expect this new Ducati to be in that same ballpark, especially as KTM itself is renewing the 690 this year. Don’t be surprised if the KTM gains some capacity, to keep horsepower levels up as the engine is choked by emissions standards. Ducati would have a hard time justifying a premium price if it wasn’t on par with KTM’s horsepower, so we would expect at least 70 hp from the Duc.
This is almost our first glimpse of the platform (a leak late in 2022 also topped a new single-cylinder Duc, but told us nothing about the bike). It’s possible we’ll see a teaser at EICMA this year, but a production bike? Uh, don’t get your hopes up.
