Ducati Hypermotard 698 Mono First Ride w/ English subtitles

Stefan Pierer hasst diesen Trick.

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Ducati Hypermotard 698 Mono RVE. Will KTM lose the crown? We’ll look into it. Stay with me. Welcome friends of the petrol powered entertainment. Today I’m test riding the Ducati Hypermotard 698 Mono RVE. The RVE has a special livery, quick shifter and two tone wheels.

I’ve got the bike for 30-45 minutes and will tell you my initial impression. I’ve never sat on it. Let’s go! Sounds pretty moderate when standing. What have we here? Adjustable Brembo levers, urine sample pots…

Why am I riding the Mono? I usually ride two KTM 690s, a 2011 690 SMC (654cc) and a 2020 690 SMC R (690 cc). I want to find out how the Ducati performs. A new challenger in the game that must be inspected out of course. Oh, more induction noise compared to the 690.

It’s funny that Al Fagan (44teeth) said the clutch lever is so soft. I find it much softer on the 690. Ride by wire, nice. Wasn’t sure if it still had proper cables. Apparently it does have a fuel gauge but I can’t find it right now.

That’s very funny. The sound of the Ducati reminds me a lot of my brother’s former SXV 550. You can also hear the valve train. It’s a little clicky. I’ll try and get onto the Feldberg and take it for a little spin since I only have half an hour to ride it.

I’ll find a place to pull over so we can have a closer look in a minute. Feels very familiar to me. Seating position, knees on the tank, knee angle is similiar to the 690. Quite comfortable.

The seat is not as comfortable, but I have to mention that I have the ergo seat on my 690, which is more comfortable. At least to me.

Other than that it looks like you would expect from Ducati. Of course the dash is a lot more sophisticated than on the current KTM 690 SMC R. Hopefully KTM will therefore finally offer a proper dash and not a pocket calculator.

Be aware I am not a professional bike tester. I’m just a dude who rides his 690 SMC for 13 years and 96.000 km on the clock! Therefore I presume I am allowed an assessment of how well the Ducati would be suited for daily riding and touring.

I wonder how the feeling for the front end is with more weight at the front wheel (fuel tank is in the front). Al Fagan pointed out that the feeling for the front wheel is much better compared to the 690. Not sure if I can second that yet. Need to ride more corners first.

Quick sound check. She needs high revs, that’s for sure. Let’s try a lower gear. We’re at 5000 rpm. From 7000-8000 rpm you can feel there’s more torque available. Is it nimble? Yes, it is. The initial impulse is quicker than on the 690.

The Ducati has 45 mm forks, the 690 has 48 mm forks. Suspension travel is identical. The Ducati has a smaller tank. 12 litres compared to 13,5 litres on the KTM. The Ducati has a higher fuel consumption. About 4,5 to 4,8 litres per 100 km (50 mpg). The dealer guy mentioned a tunnel. Listen!

Wow. Nice pops! The Ducati definitely has less torque in the lower revs compared to the 690. From my experience a higher revving engine has a higher fuel consumption because you need to change gears more often. At least you can see what the revs ARE compared to the KTM!

I’ve never been in the Taunus (forest area) with a Supermoto. The conditions aren’t ideal. It’s all wet, as you can see. And I’m the first one to ride it. But I would definitely upgrade the seat for longer tours. But I will need at least 1-2 hours in the saddle to make a verdict.

That looks like a good place to pull over. Typical lean fueling pops. It’s a Euro 5 after all. Someone asked me about the build quality. The gaps here aren’t that great. And another guy moaned about the soft hand guards. But to be honest, the 690 guards are even wobblier.

That’s not painted, the paint is in the plastic material. Brembo brakes. 330 mm front disc as far as I remember. Slightly larger compared to the 690. Here we have the Darkwing Duck face. That’s my favourite… not.

Can’t quite remember but everything looks a little more tidy than on the 690. Here’s the lambda sensor. And the cat is underneath here. The rear end is very nice. You can leave that as it is (highest southern german praise).

Silver brake caliper in the front, black in the back. Why isn’t it the same colour? Pillion peg holders are quite pretty, too. Speaking of oil! This bike has maintenance intervals of 15.000 km! And in the KTM universe many people say: “I would never leave the oil in for 10.000 km.”

And now I wonder what kind of oil will still maintain its performance close to 15.000 km in such a high revving engine? I need to look up what oil should be used, because I believe 15.000 km is exaggerated. Another question was: “Is it closer to the 690 or closer to a racing Supermoto?”

For being a proper racing Supermoto this bike weights 50 kg too much. It’s not even close. For anyone who’s ridden a SXV 550… It feels very similiar. The seat on the Ducati however is more comfortable. The mirros are pretty, nice shape, slim frame. (highest souther german praise again)

In terms of vibrations… The Ducati feels a bit smoother. But the KTM has a lot more GRUNT in the low revs. Greetings to the dudes in the KTM forum.

Some smart guys over there worked out that the rev range on the Ducati is 15% longer than the 690, but the Ducati is geared about 15% shorter. Oh here comes the super famous corner. Where people cheer to daring riders. Noone’s cheering. Goodness! Those bumps! (to counter speeding)

Can’t say much about the suspension yet, but the dampening feels stiffer than the 690. When standing though the fork feels more squidgy. Could you fit a pillion on here? Guess that could work. Is it suitable for touring? Somebody asked me if you can buy panniers. *german giggles*

I have no idea. I’m aware of a Termignoni racing exhaust full system, open airbox lid and race mapping. You can bump her up to about 84 hp with that.

Straight from the dealer it has 77,5 hp which is just 2,5 hp more than the 690. I reckon they did that deliberately to annoy KTM. Who cannot claim to have the world’s most powerful single cylinder anymore.

F*ck me sideways! Should you buy this bike, order it with a quick shifter. It’s worth it, if you like the pops and crackles. As I’ve said, from 7000 – 8000 revs it pulls hard, but not for very long since it revs to 10.250 – 10.500 max.

But personally I don’t rev my bikes that hard. I prefer higher torque in low revs. I like it when the bike pulls in an instant. Riding the Ducati is very different. It’s more homogenous.

Weity1980 from the LC4 forum created torque and power graphs to compare the Ducati and the 690. It speaks for itself. By the way the Ducati has 4 riding modes: Sport, Urban, Road and Wet. And those come with 3 different power settings. Wet has reduced power.

Where am I going? Right! Sport and Road have full power, as well as Urban (not 100% sure). Check out this table. Of course it has traction control, wheelie control, slide assistant and all sorts of bells and whistles.

I don’t even need to take a picture of the bike, you won’t be able to see it. Let’s stop at the bus stop. Imagine you wanted to go touring, you could grab yourself some soft saddle bags from Ortlieb, Touratwat or Enduristan and throw them over the pillion area.

They will have a strap around the back and another two tied to the pillion pegs. There’s enough room. You could go touring just like that. There’s no dedicated splash guard. The rear shock will get yucky pretty quickly. Some engine sealant here? Well, well…

Shall we have a look under the seat? … If I can find the lock! That’s a nice detail. 698 Mono embroidery on the seat… Where is the lock?! I need to ask the dealer. Oh that’s not pretty. Looks like electrical tape… Where is the lock?!

Alright let’s head back then. With fantastic weather on the Feldberg. On the way back I will ride on the Autobahn and have a look how fast she is. But just for a little section.

Of course this bike is not run it, but… If you rev it high for just a short period of time, it won’t hurt. You shouldn’t buy this bike new and head straight to the race or kart track for a day. That’s not a very good idea.

I find it funny that Ducati presented the 689 Mono on a kart track instead of country lanes. Because I think that most buyers won’t take it to the cart or race track. I forgot to check the steering lock and turning circle. Yeah, similiar to the 690.

Originally I wanted to book a test ride in Aschaffenburg, since it’s closer to me and I know the roads around there like the back of my hand. I rode 100 km one way today to test the Ducati.

I really wanted to make a direct comparison to my 690, so I might have to book a second test ride there. The quick shifter works perfectly.

Let’s hear some more induction noise. Definitely more than on the KTM (standard spec). I would love to have a look under the seat. Let’s do that when we’re back at the dealership.

Anything technical to add? The Ducati can rev higher because it has a shorter stroke. The cylinder travels less and therefore it can rev higher. On the flip side it has less torque in the low revs, you kind of sacrifice that. Actually it’s more like a racing engine.

And if I may correct my YouTube colleagues Anica and Blackout: the cast or smithed wheels (not spoked) have lower rotating mass. It’s got nothing to do with the flywheel. The flywheel is in the engine.

Right, the most important question: would I buy this bike? I don’t think so, because I prefer bikes with higher torque in the lower revs. The Euro 3 SMC has pretty high torque, even more with an open airbox lid.

Alright, now I’ll head on to the Autobahn and give it the beans. If I missed anything I will add it here. After that I’ll give you my verdict at the dealership.

Feels more planted and stable compared to the 690. I could be mistaken but it feels like you have a slightly better wind protection. The mirrors are pretty rubbish in terms of visibility at high revs. Same with the 690.

It’s a little harder to find neutral, but that’s very nitpicky. Nobody would say: “I won’t buy the Ducati, because I can’t find neutral.”

It’s really subtle when standing, interesting. I do not have to top up the fuel, so I cannot work out how much I used. But I guess 4,5 – 5 litres sounds about right. Other than that, seat position etc. feels very similiar to the 690. Not a big difference.

One more remark for my comment on the agility: this bike is fitted with Pirelli Rosso IV, street sport tyres. I have fitted Metzeler Z8 Interact to my 690. Those are touring sport or touring tyres. Completely different shape.

So take my comment with a grain of salt. But in general it reminds me of the SXV 550 a lot. Very nice bike! If there would be no KTM/Husky/GasGas I would buy the Ducati. Absolutely no question about it!

There is a USB socket under the seat and the airbox lid is wide and flat. It faces forwards, hence why there is more induction noise compared to the 690.

“But that’s not the whole intake, is it?” -“Yes it is!” -“Now I know why my Monster sounds so good!” -“That’s because you drilled lots of holes everywhere! That’s illegal!” -“No, it’s all signed off by the TÜV/MOT centre!”

“She almost jumps at you!” -“I really dig it, too!” -“Luckily it’s too high for me.” … -“905 mm seat height, not for the vertically challenged!” … -“Thanks! (not)” “No matter how you decide, enjoy yourself!” -“Thank you guys, see you later.”

I completely forgot to give you my verdict! You can definitely tell the difference in torque in the low revs even though it’s just 10 Nm. You guys have seen the graphs. Would I buy the Ducati? I don’t think so, because as I’ve said, I prefer low rev grunt. It’s more fun to me.

The Ducati needs more revs, it feels more like a racing engine. Therefore it does make sense that Ducati presented that bike on the kart track. Hope I’ve covered as much as possible. If you are left with any questions, let me know in the comments.

Thanks for watching and I’ll see you in the next one. Bye!