KTM AND DUCATI

     

              

The 796 rides the common ground between manners and madness, mixing Ducati's unrivalled twin-cylinder power and sportbike heredity with the lightweight and minimalist supermotard concept.

ENGINE
 The 796 engine is a completely brand new, lightweight Desmodue power unit designed to provide the torquey, smooth and enjoyable character famous of all Desmodromic L-Twins. The new engine produces an impressive 81hp (59.6kW) @ 8,000rpm and 55.7lb-ft (75.5Nm) of torque @ 6,250rpm.

The APTC ‘wet’ clutch gives a ‘slipper’ type action that prevents destabilizing of the rear-end under aggressive down-shifting and also gives the extra benefit of a super-light feel at the lever, a great benefit in stop-start city traffic or during longer journeys. The 21-plate oil-bath clutch (11 friction and 10 steel) represents a power-enhancing weight reduction over the ‘dry’ system as well as having a quieter operation and requiring less maintenance.

The incredible valve performances of our engines are only possible because of Ducati's unique Desmodromic system, where valve closure is activated mechanically.At high rpm it would be almost impossible for the valve to follow the steep closure profile of the cam lobe if it were relying upon a normal valve spring. With the Desmo system, the valve is closed mechanically with the same accuracy as it is opened, enabling steep cam profiles and radical cam timings. This system is used on every single Ducati power unit including our world-beating Superbike and Desmosedici MotoGP engines.

The new crankcases hug the gearbox internals much closer to create a smaller and more compact outer profile and achieve considerable weight savings over previous cases.

The crankshaft assembly uses a lightweight 848-type flywheel and has a 66mm stroke instead of the 696’s 57.2mm.

To protect power delivery and maintain optimum efficiency, an oil cooler similar to the 1100 is used, adding even more family resemblance to its bigger brother.

The 2-1-2 catalytic exhaust system uses an efficient pre-silencer configuration with twin lambda probes providing finer fuel mapping and Euro3 conformity. The system’s lightweight and compact design is achieved by using 1mm thick tubing and terminates in Ducati’s trademark twin under-seat, black exhaust mufflers, stylishly contrasted with great looking aluminium end caps.

CHASSIS
Suspension duties up front are taken care of by very capable 43mm Marzocchi forks, which are gripped by completely redesigned top and bottom fork clamps. The fork bottoms, which also have radial mountings for the brake callipers, are redesigned with a far more compact profile.

The rear suspension of the Hypermotard uses Ducati's signature Hypermotard single-sided swingarm. The robust solution contributes considerable engineering style and, on this type of motorcycle, is a feature unique to Ducati.

The rear suspension is managed by a Sachs suspension unit featuring adjustable spring preload and return damping, allowing adjustments for riding style or load. 

Twin 305mm semi-floating discs gripped by radially mounted 4-piston Brembo callipers provide powerful and progressive front-end braking with that all-important rider-friendly ‘feeling’, while the rear is equipped with a 245mm disc and 2-piston calliper, also by Brembo. 17" 5-spoke wheels by Enkei are produced in lightweight aluminium to keep the unsprung weight low and handling, braking and acceleration performances high.

An improved frame layout eliminates almost all of the forged elements used on previous Hypermotards, replacing them with precision machined components. The lightened frame retains its torsional strength to become even more agile and easier to handle than before. Through decades of racing and development, Ducati has proven that innovative chassis engineering and evolutionary frame advancements win races. The tubular Trellis frame, used on every Ducati motorcycle, is a signature design element. This unique Ducati frame is light, rigid and beautiful thanks to its ingenious Trellis design and use of high quality ALS 450 tubing. Each tube is mitred and micro-fusion welded in a complex triangulated pattern and our incredibly strong L-Twin engine cases are functional 'stressed members' of the chassis.

At 825mm (32.5in), the seat height of the 796 is a sure-footed 20mm (0.8in) lower than the 1100.

EQUIPMENT
The digital display is programmed with a stopwatch function that, when enabled, can be triggered by using the high-beam flash button and each recorded time stored in a memory. After your journey or track session, the times or lap times can be recalled from the memory and scrolled through by using the instrumentation buttons on the left-hand switchgear. The instrument display also doubles as a control panel for the activation of the Ducati Data Analyser (DDA) system, which is available as an accessory from Ducati Performance. The bike has been built ‘system-ready’ for the data acquisition kit, which consists of special DDA software and a memory key that slots into a plug under the seat. The same plug also doubles as the connection for a handy new battery charger available as an accessory from Ducati Performance. The orange back-lit display provides an extensive amount of data including speed, revs, time, oil temperature, battery voltage, A & B trips, fuel reserve trip and scheduled maintenance, while the warning lights illuminate for neutral, turn signals, high-beam, rev-limit, oil pressure and fuel reserve. In addition, it can list recorded lap times by using the high-beam flash button as a stopwatch.

User-friendly 4-point adjustable levers provide easy-to-reach control for all hand sizes.

The slim-line switch bodies house easy-to-use switches and buttons and feature a unique weapons-like 'trigger catch' that slides down to cover the starter button when the kill-switch is activated.

The headlamp uses a highly compact lighting shape which blends with the single piece nose fairing and front fender moulding, while the rear light employs a specially designed strip of LEDs enhanced by a high diffusion lens shaped into the sleek lines of the tailpiece. The same LEDs are intensified under braking. The front directional indicators also employ the latest in LED technology for illumination, and are ingeniously integrated into the handguards which support the foldable rear view mirrors. The high intensity LED rear light assembly is moulded into a unique tailpiece positioned high behind the seat.

The challenge of maintaining a clean, racing look around the handlebar area, motivated the design of the folding mirror concept which is based on the handguards typically found on off-road bikes. Flipped out for high visibility street mode and easily folded in for a quick change to ‘Hypermode’, the mirror handguard assemblies also integrate the LED directional indicators for an even cleaner front-end.