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Top 5 supermoto sportsbike-beaters

Published: 27 March 2009 Updated: 19 November 2014
  • Ducati Hypermotard
    Ducati Hypermotard
  • Aprilia Dorsoduro
    Aprilia Dorsoduro
  • BMW Megamoto
    BMW Megamoto
  • KTM 690 SM
    KTM 690 SM
  • KTM 990 SM
    KTM 990 SM
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KTM’s new SMT could be the bike UK riders have been waiting for – it combines sports bike style specs and performance with the comfort and practicality of a tourer or commuter, but it’s not the only road-focused supermoto out there…

When MCN’s Andy Downes went to Austria to pick up the new KTM SMT and ride it 1020 miles back to the UK for testing, he said: “It’s fast, comfortable, practical and – even with panniers on – good looking. I loved it and I would love to be able to keep the bike.” 

The new breed of road-biased supermotos make a lot of sense on UK roads. The models listed below all offer high performance suspension, engines and brakes, but with more practicality and comfort than a sportsbike could ever dream of.

Here’s 5 other options for those looking to trade superbike for supermoto:

 

Ducati Hypermotard

Ducati Hypermotard (2007-current)
“Ducati has come up with a genuinely and refreshingly different motorcycle with the Ducati Hypermotard. It offers all the fun of a conventional supermoto motorcycle with agile handling and a penchant for wheelies, but thanks to its big smooth engine, comfy seat and roomy riding position the Ducati Hypermotard is practical too… Kind of!”

 

KTM 690SM

KTM 690SM (2007-current)
“The KTM 690SM is simply put the best road going supermoto bike currently available. Ok it’s not really for competition use but as road going Supermoto bikes go the new KTM 690 is king. Easy to ride with exceptional road manners, practical, yet at the same can be fun when the mood takes you.”

 

BMW Megamoto

BMW HP2 Megamoto (2005-current)
“The BMW HP2 Megamoto’s £12,595 price tag is ridiculously high and will stop most of us from ever experiencing it, which is a great shame. It’s far more agile, powerful and fun than you’d ever imagine just by looking at it. If only BMW made their sportsbikes like this, they’d have the Japanese quaking in their boots; it’s that good.”

 

Aprilia Dorsoduro

Aprilia Dorsoduro (2008-current)
“The Aprilia Dorsoduro is cheaper than Ducati’s Hypermotard and KTM 990 supermoto, yet it’s laden with quality parts. The Aprilia Dorsoduro may not be as radical as the competition or Aprilia’s marketing department would let us believe, however it is easy to ride and unintimidating, making the Dorsa a fun, real world, big capacity supermoto.”

 

KTM 990SM

KTM 990SM (2005-current)
“With the KTM 990 SM finally someone delivers on the supermoto promise, combining agility, low-down woof and rugged can-do with mile-after-mile reliability, comfort and the higher speeds of a top-quality road bike. It’s a big capacity V-twin bad boy that, finally, really can shake its tail at sportsbikes in the twisties.”

 

If you’re thinking of buying one of the above models from MCN Bikes For Sale, get insurance quotes from a number of motorcycle insurance providers in one place with MCN Compare. 

James Keen

By James Keen