The Essence of Hyper - Ducati.ms

sakurama · Jun 20th, 2010, 9:34 am

So this is sort of an intro and build thread. I've been soaking up information here for a while ever since I negotiated a Hyper as part of my work shooting bikes for Ducati NA. I've shot and ridden a few Hypers and had mixed feelings about them as the first ones I shot/rode were very stock. Most bikes are lacking in their stock form but the Hyper seemed particularly hobbled. Once I rode an uncorked one it was an easy decision.

I've built a few bikes and the most notable one is my BMW boxer which was also my first:

That bike sort of helped launch our idea that our little group of friends could in fact build motorcycles. So for the last 15 years or so we've had an informal club and our collective shop has grown from 2 guys in a basement to 10 guys in a 10,000sqft loft with over 100 bikes. We have a nice shop. We have mills and lathes, a 4th axis CNC, a paintbooth and a dyno. One of our crew is building a Moto2 bike from scratch sandcasting his own cases to make a 600cc V4 and another is building a turbocharged 3 cylinder diesel land speed bike. My machining and welding skills are good enough to be dangerous but I can throw down some good paint and certainly spin a wrench and luckily I have some of the best talent to back me up when I need.

To me the Hyper is a motorcycle distilled; the essence of motorcycle. My goal with the bike is to further distill it. Here's my bike right now after my first ride yesterday - perfectly stock right off the showroom floor:

One of the things I do when I shoot bikes for Ducati is retouch out the mirrors, the reflectors, the urine cups, the warning stickers - anything that takes away from the bike. That's the first step for me. The next is to bring the bike up to the performance potential of the designers original concept - back to the essence of the idea. My job is to create the lust that makes you want the bike when you see the first photo. My hobby is to do the same thing in metal to the actual bike. To create the physical manifestation of the idea.

So far my favorite Hyper is this one from Germany:

That, to me, is pretty well distilled. I want to try to go a step or two farther and I'll try to document the process along the way.

Gregor

hyperdookie · Jun 20th, 2010, 10:08 am

Looking forward to the progress reports.The BMW is beautiful.

CAlexio · Jun 20th, 2010, 10:21 am

subscribed

PKM · Jun 20th, 2010, 10:37 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by hyperdookie

Looking forward to the progress reports.The BMW is beautiful.

+1

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexio

subscribed

+1

The tools at your disposal are enviable!

Raiden · Jun 20th, 2010, 10:51 am

Looking forward to seeing what your bike evolves into. That is one beautiful BMW.

yabo0569 · Jun 20th, 2010, 1:00 pm

Hey Sakurama,

If you need any help with the project, I'm more than welcome to give you a hand or just to checkt it out in person. I have some experience with CNC and mills from school projects. My girl lives in Williamburg so I'm always in town.

08hyper · Jun 20th, 2010, 5:45 pm

Can't wait to see what you have up your sleave....

Aloha Alex

MTScott2 · Jun 20th, 2010, 5:51 pm

Well it doesn't look like you are afraid to experiment , that's for sure...
yets see what you come up with...
Wringing hands...

AXE · Jun 20th, 2010, 5:58 pm

A chopped fender, a tail kit, some paint and a few bolts = distilled? There are much better examples than that bike. That Beemer is nice.

Out!

sakurama · Jun 21st, 2010, 12:04 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by AXE

A chopped fender, a tail kit, some paint and a few bolts = distilled? There are much better examples than that bike. That Beemer is nice.

True, it's pretty simple but like good art sometimes it's what's not there and knowing when to stop. Carbon fiber is to Ducati what chrome is to Harley and I don't want my bike to become a carbon full dresser.

Todays ride almost has the bike broken in. I felt the engine really loosen after 400 miles but the tranny is still tight as hell. I've got a track day on the 9th so I want to get it functionally done by then. She should be broken in by this weekend so we'll be hitting the dyno and installing the intake and exhaust and doing some basic stuff like the damper. I probably won't get too far right away.

I will say though that this bike is an absolute blast to ride.