Singles club: Ducati reveals Hypermotard 698 Mono

For decades the Ducati name was synonymous with V-twin engines only, but those days are now long gone. Not only do V4s make up half the model range but now the company has added its first mass-production single-cylinder in half a century in the form of this new Hypermotard 698 Mono.

• We’ve ridden it: Ducati Hypermotard Mono review

With a combination of singles, twins and fours in the range, Ducati’s engine line-up is now as diverse as almost any rival, and the Hypermotard 698 Mono goes into direct competition with the likes of KTM’s 690 SMCR and its related Husqvarna 701 Supermoto and GasGas SM700 cousins.

We took a deep dive into the tech of Ducati’s new 659cc single-cylinder engine, but it includes the company’s signature Desmodromic valve operation and borrows its vast 116mm bore from the 1299 Panigale superbike’s V-twin, allowing a stratospheric 10,250rpm redline with peak power arriving at 9750rpm.

That peak is 77.5bhp – more than any rival single – and can be hiked even further to 84.5bhp with a track-only Termignoni exhaust.

In the Hypermotard 698 Mono the engine sits in a steel trellis frame that puts the focus on minimising weight. Coming in at only 7.2kg, the chassis helps the bike keep to a slim 151kg all-in, albeit measured without fuel. With a full tank, the figure will be around 162kg.

Marzocchi supplies the fully-adjustable, 45mm USD forks, providing 215mm of wheel travel and coupled with a Sachs rear shock that gives 240mm of rear wheel movement. Those wheels are cast alloy and 17 inches in diameter, clad in 120/70 and 160/60 Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV rubber. The brakes come from Brembo, with an M4.32 front caliper on a 330mm disc at the front and a 240mm disc at the rear.

As we’ve come to expect from Ducati, the Hypermotard 698 Mono has class-leading levels of technology, with an IMU at the heart of its rider-assist systems. As well as cornering ABS and traction control, there’s adjustable wheelie control, engine brake control and launch control.

An up/down quickshifter is standard on the higher spec ‘RVE’ version and optional on the base model.

The ABS and wheelie control are both adjustable, with a focus on supermoto-style riding. The anti-lock system has four settings, as does the wheelie system, however an optional Ducati Performance software update also adds a ‘Wheelie Assist’ function that helps keep the front end hoisted (for track use only, of course). All the settings are selected via a simple 3.8-inch LCD dash.

Ducati will also offer an A2-legal version of the bike with 43.5bhp at 6250rpm and 36.2lbft at 5750rpm for riders with a restricted licence.