Getting Hyper
Another OEM Embraces The Custom Craze.Ducati has seen the light and is turning its attention to the growing aftermarket and custom scene. The biggest name in Italian motorsports commissioned custom bike builder Roland Sands Design to trick out its made-for-the-street Hypermotard.
Sands unveiled his vision of the motard Ducati should have built at a swanky nightclub in Long Beach, California, to an excited group of motorcycle VIPs. The crowd went wild as Sands roared the Hypermotard into the viewing area.
Complete with Performance Machine wheels, a trellis-style swingarm with a 240mm tire, one-off slash-cut pipes and a score of other body modifications, Sands' creation screamed performance, with a little bit of Italian sex appeal. Using incredible details in the paint and a strikingly aggressive look, Roland Sands Design utilized the best parts of the Hypermotard while adding its own signature style to create a pimpin' road ripper.
Ducati has definitely embraced the boulevard bruiser market. Plasma monitors throughout the club (even in the bathrooms) showed a video that, unlike most manufacturers' promotions, featured stunting and bike-night burnouts aboard the streetwise Hypermotard. The "un-named" stunter who rocked the long stoppies and sick wheelies really served to Teach [McNeil] other manufacturers how to put together a video demonstration.
Ducati has made it very apparent that it has noticed the growth of the pure street market. With both a custom bike and stunt feature, the brand that epitomizes racing and style has set a new standard for how manufacturers will address the new streetbike culture.