North American debut of the Ducati Hypermotard

By: Abel Lin

SMR was in attendance today at the north american debut of the Ducati Hypermotard. It was awesome to finally view (and sit on!) the Hypermotard up close. In addition to the Hypermotard, there was a smorgasbord of different jaw-dropping exotic bikes, both modern and vintage.

Thanks to the guys at Moto-Forza for putting on a great show.

	A crowd of vintage Ducatis and Moto Guzzis.
	SMR Editor STP sits on the new Hypermotard.
	The first thing you'll notice when on the bike is its compact size and light weight. This bike is begging for a rip up Palomar.
	A shot of the Hypermotard from the front. If you've stared at the prototype photos as long as I did, you see that the turn signals on the production bike are on the handguards rather than on the foldable mirrors.
	An artistic shot of the gorgeous MH900e. I think it has the best swingarm that I've ever seen.
	Ever wish you could take your Monster off-road?
	Our friend Raj preparing to take the Benelli TNT on a test ride. They were kind enough to let folks test ride bikes on nearby Elfin Forest Rd.
	A closeup of the wicked frontend of the TNT. The integrated turnsignal, side-mount radiator is a thing of beauty.
	A cool shot of the Benelli TNT. While I came primarly to check out the Hypermotard and 1098, I was blown out the water by the Benelli TNT. Already being a fan of naked bikes I was immediately smitten with this Italian beauty. The tubular framing is unbelievable. The TNT is powered by an 1130cc triple making a claimed 135 horsepower and 85 lb-ft of torque.

Published: Jun 9, 2007

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