Ducati Supermono Strada

I’ve just returned from a blissful week touring the back roads of south-eastern Australia. On some of the more twisty stretches of asphalt, I found myself wondering: what would be the ideal motorcycle for powering out of tight hairpins and down short straights? Even some of the 600 sportsbikes on those roads were looking a little unwieldy at times. I came to the conclusion it’d be a sporting single that’s light on weight and heavy on torque—something like the Roland Sands 450 SuperSingle or the Ducati Supermono Strada shown above. The original mid-90s Supermono was a limited-production design from Pierre Terblanche, with 80 hp pushing just 126 kg (277 lb). Only 67 of these machines were built, and the leading expert on them is Alistair Wager, who managed Ducati’s AMA Superbike team. Wager has now built a street-going replica—hence the ‘Strada’—using his unparalleled mechanical knowledge and access to the Ducati parts bin. The Supermono Strada uses much of the original engine, but with the addition of the Testastretta (“narrow head”) top-end from the 999. The English-built chassis is a replica of the original, but crafted from light chromoly 4130 steel. The swingarm is a 1000SS item, headlights are from the 749, and the starter is from a 916. Öhlins suspension, revised gear ratios and Brembo brakes help keep the power under control. Wager quotes a cost of around GBP35,000 to build this bike (US$56,000): a lot of money, yes, but undoubtedly a lot of fun too. Motorcycle Daily has the full story and specifications.