Moto Morini had to come up with something special for the 2009 EICMA show and an upgraded version of their Granpasso turned out to be the solution, such as these first photos of the new bike reveal.
Built on the platform of the standard Granpasso – their big adventure tourer – the SM will have a more aggressive riding position and feature new suspension and braking systems, sporty wheels and tires as well as a different exhaust system to help retune the engine. Sounds like Moto Morini created the Granpasso 1200 SM for the supermoto track, but don’t really think that the Ducati Hypermotard 1100 has serious reasons to worry about.
Moto Morini has long been preparing the supermoto version of the Granpasso and these first pics that we came across confirm the all-new bike’s upcoming official unveiling at the EICMA show. The pictures belong to Italian news site Motociclismo, which’s tester took the unfinished version of the Grand Motard for a spin.
Although we’ll have to say that this looks ready for the Italian manufacturer’s EICMA stand, they’re still talking code names such as “V12M01″ for the new machine that will be powered by an upgraded version of the Granpasso water-cooled 1187cc 87° V-twin motor. This will develop 127hp, 9 ponies more than on the adventure bike.
MM may have aimed towards a sporty style and character for their new motorcycle, but they also retained the best of the Granpasso, which is the 7-gallon fuel tank. This means more supermoto fun with fewer stops for gas. Expect us to bring more information and the official shots as they arrive.
Ducati recently made public the video for the 2010 Hypermotard 796 and we have to say that it doesn’t manage to start our interest as much as it could considering the 81hp and 55.7lb/ft of engine performance on a motorcycle that weighs only 368 pounds. This should translate in never ending wheelies, skids and burnouts, but we don’t see much of that happening during what appears to be a relaxed Sunday ride. The bikes look great though and the relaxing music kind of takes our minds away from the “professional rider on a closed course” kind of action.
The motorcycle press is restless in speculating about the upcoming Ducati Stradaperta or “the next Hypermotard” and the abundance of spy shots does help at maintaining people’s awareness in what this model is concerned until it is finally unveiled at the EICMA show in Milan this November.
These are probably the best spy shots ever and they reveal an entirely digital dash (we hope that GPS will carry on the production bike) as well as Hypermotard features such as the signal lights integrated into the hand-guards, just to mention a nice detail that caught our attention. Still, most of the bike is covered in tape, but that doesn’t stop us from imagining the beautiful Italian curves underneath. We’re just glad the angry face was kept and can’t wait for the official unveiling.
Ducati recently confirmed that a mid-sized Hypermotard is on the way and – according to MCN – it will be unveiled next week. The entirely new bike is supposed to be powered by the 696cc air-cooled V-twin currently found on the middleweight Monster, but nothing is sure until Ducati takes the wraps off the new model next weekend.
Drawing inspiration from the current 1100/1100S Hypermotards, the new model should be a much lighter and very nimble motorcycle capable of performing well both during urban adventures and track riding sessions alike. The engine should be tuned for more low-to-mid rpm power and that always gives riders a rush. Still, we should wait until Ducati finally releases some official info about this model. To be continued…
