Ducati has just pulled the drapes off the new Hypermotard 698 Mono Nera, and somehow the company looked at an already ridiculous 77-horsepower thumper supermoto and decided the real issue was that it wasn’t dramatic enough.
So now they blacked it out.
Not matte-black commuter bike blacked out, either. This thing looks like it was designed by someone whose entire personality revolves around backing it into corners while revving at innocent pedestrians, and popping wheelies between stoplights. The new Nera edition gets a full black-and-red livery with red wheels, red frame accents, blacked-out Termignoni silencers, and Ducati Quick Shift as standard.
Underneath the rebellious exterior is, of course, the 698 Mono’s Superquadro Mono engine, which is basically Ducati asking, “What if a supermoto had Panigale DNA and absolutely no chill?” The thing revs to 10,250 rpm, makes 77.5 horsepower in stock form, and borrows actual hardware concepts from the old Ducati 1299 Panigale. It uses the same 116 mm bore architecture, Desmodromic valve timing, titanium intake valves, and combustion chamber philosophy from Ducati’s superbike program.
Then Ducati somehow made it even dumber in the best way possible. If buyers fit the optional track-only Termignoni racing exhaust, power jumps by another seven horsepower, but more importantly, the electronics unlock something called Wheelie Assist. And yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like. Ducati literally engineered software that helps riders hold longer wheelies by managing engine torque. That pretty much tells you what this motorcycle is really about.
The Hypermotard 698 Mono was never meant to be practical transportation. Ducati built this thing to terrorize canyon roads, kart tracks, and city streets with equal energy. It weighs just 333 pounds ready to ride without fuel, gets fully adjustable suspension, a lightweight trellis frame, and enough electronics to put literbikes to shame on a set of tight canyon roads. Cornering ABS has a dedicated Slide-by-Brake function specifically designed to let riders back the bike into corners supermoto-style. Because naturally, Ducati saw riders sliding into corners and thought, “We should probably optimize that.”
And interestingly enough, the timing for this bike makes total sense. Lightweight chaos machines are cool again, and Ducati clearly wants in on the same energy that’s made bikes like the KTM 690 SMC R such cult favorites. Except, of course, this is Ducati, so instead of building a simple hooligan bike, the company built a high-revving, Desmo-equipped engineering flex that costs 13,990 euros (around the equivalend of $16,300) before you inevitably start adding accessories from the Ducati Performance catalog.
And you know what? That’s probably the whole point. Because nobody in the market for a Hypermotard 698 Mono Nera is trying to make sensible financial decisions. They want something loud, twitchy, theatrical, and just self-aware enough to know exactly how absurd it is. Ducati simply leaned into the bit harder than everyone else.
