The Ducati HyperMotard 698 Mono RVE is a beautifully bonkers supermotord that'll have you grinning every time you twist the throttle.
Sometimes the most entertaining bikes are also the most perplexing. The new Ducati HyperMotard 698 Mono is exactly that kind of motorcycle, a machine that'll have you grinning like an idiot every time you twist the throttle, then questioning your life choices when you see the price tag.
There's something beautifully absurd about Ducati's latest offering. Here's a company that's taken the supermoto concept, traditionally the domain of budget-conscious hooligans and weekend warriors and dressed it up in Italian finery with a price tag that'll make your accountant weep.
At $25,000, the HyperMotard 698 Mono is entering premium naked bike territory while looking every bit like a dirt bike that's lost its way to the trails. But don't be fooled by those long-travel forks and that towering stance, this is a road bike through and through, complete with sticky road rubber. It's the motorcycle equivalent of wearing hiking boots to the office: it looks ready for adventure, but it's really just dressed up for the daily grind.
The Grin Factor
Let's start with what this bike does exceptionally well: making you feel like a complete legend. Fire up that 659cc single (yes, it's called the 698 but displaces 659cc – only the Italians could make that make sense), and you're greeted with that distinctive Desmodromic valve clatter that screams "proper Ducati." It's a sound that never gets old, a mechanical symphony that reminds you why some of us are willing to pay premium prices for the privilege of Italian engineering.
The riding position is pure supermotard, tall, commanding, and ready for mischief. At 77 horsepower, it's not going to set any land speed records, but here's the thing: it doesn't need to. Every traffic light becomes an opportunity for a small wheelie. Every corner becomes a chance to hang off the side like you're Rossi's younger, more reckless brother.
Then there's the twin exhaust setup, because apparently one pipe wasn't enough for Ducati's single cylinder. It's completely unnecessary from an engineering standpoint, but absolutely essential from a "looking cool in the café car park" perspective. Single cylinder, twin exhausts? It makes no logical sense, but it looks fantastic and sounds even better.
The suspension setup is genuinely impressive. Marzocchi forks up front and a mono-shock at the back provide a magic carpet ride over Sydney's crater-filled roads. You'd think all that travel would make the bike feel compromised but the Ducati engineers have worked their magic. It's compliant when you need it to be, yet surprisingly controlled when you're pushing hard through the twisties.
The Reality Check
But then reality sets in, usually around the 40-minute mark. That seat, if you can call it that, feels like sitting on a vinyl-wrapped plank and the heat from that single-cylinder engine will cook your right leg in traffic on a warm day. The tiny LCD screen looks borrowed from a 2014 Monster, and good luck finding the rider modes buried in the settings menu.
The Competition Conundrum
Here's where things get really interesting. The natural competitors for this bike are the KTM 690 SMC R and Husqvarna 701 Supermoto, appartently both excellent supermotos with similar single-cylinder engines and supermoto DNA. The kicker? They're both around $18K. That's right, the Ducati costs about $7K more than what its direct competitors charge.
But you get that Ducati badge, the Desmo engine, and arguably better suspension components. Is all that Italian flair worth an extra $7,000? Probably.
Who's This For?
So who exactly is dropping 25 grand on a single-cylinder supermoto? It's not the practical commuter as the seat rules that out after half an hour. It's not the budget-conscious hooligan, they'll buy the KTM and pocket the change. It's not the touring rider – good luck doing anything more than a café run on this thing.
No, this bike is for a very specific type of rider: someone who values the experience over the practicality, the grin factor over the spreadsheet analysis. It's for riders who understand that sometimes the best motorcycles are the ones that make the least sense on paper.
The Ducati HyperMotard 698 Mono is a contradiction wrapped in Italian styling and priced like a premium motorcycle. It's simultaneously one of the most fun and most frustrating bikes I've ridden this year. It'll make you laugh, it'll make you curse, and it'll definitely make you question it is worth it over the price of its Austrian competitors.
But here's the thing about Ducatis, they've never been about making sense. They're about making you feel something, and this bike delivers that in spades. It's not practical, it's not sensible, and it's definitely not cheap.
But damn, it's fun.
Have you ridden the new Ducati HyperMotard 698 Mono RVE? Let us know in the comments – we'd love to hear your thoughts on this beautifully bonkers machine.