Home > Moto Parts > Ducati Hypermotard 698 Parts > Ducati Hypermotard 698 Project Bike Keep in mind, we only have about 300 miles on this bike and are still trying to break it in like we do all of our bikes (not babying it, but not redlining it constantly either, somewhere in the middle, and varying the speed/rpm as much as possible). That being said, it's somewhat hard to get a feel for a bike until you can really start riding it normally. I do have some initial impressions that I'll discuss below, and you will likely see some comparisons to our KTM 690 SMCR Project Bike a few times since these bikes are so similar and will likely be cross-shopped. LIKES: After about 300 miles of riding, here are some of my initial likes for the bike... Bike feels very light and nimble, inspires confidence right away. Excellent cockpit and ergos for somebody my size (5'10", 32 inseam, 170 lbs). Wide, flat, and relatively comfortable seat. Engine has good power and a playful character to it Transmission is excellent, not one single false neutral, and finding neutral when you want to is a breeze. Display is LCD, but overall pretty good. Has gear indicator and tachometer. Air filter and battery are easy to get to, right up under seat. LED Lighting. Dual under-seat exhaust! Like most Ducati's, it's a very sexy looking bike, even completely stock! DIS-LIKES: As for my dis-likes, keep in mind, it's still early, and the bike is still mostly stock except for some protective and aesthetic mods... Fueling at lower throttle positions, in mainly 1st and 2nd gear, is not the best. The bike has a bit of surging and is not real smooth. (my guess is there will be updates to the mapping by Ducati at some point) Kinda tall seat height for a supermoto At startup/warmup, a few odd rattles and vibrations LCD dash does not have a fuel gauge Low fuel light seems to come on pretty early, with about 1 gallon of fuel left (3 gallon tank) No oil sight glass (has a dipstick instead) WISH LIST: The following features would have been nice to see on the bike, but I think Ducati left them out of the current spec, just to keep the price down... and also keep the more expensive Hyper 950 on peoples shopping list... TFT display with fuel gauge Skid plate to keep road crud off the engine (have the Ducati skid plate on order) Better handguards than the stockers, which are just cheap plastic Quick shifter... will be adding this at the first service FIRST RIDE IMPRESSIONS: Overall I'm pretty pleased with the bike after a couple rides. Right away I noticed how easy the bike was to ride, very light-weight feeling, nimble and confidence-inspiring. The ergo's are great for somebody my size (5'10", 32 inseam, 170 lbs) and it just felt very comfortable overall. It's a first year bike, and ours is probably one of the first in the country, so I expected there to be a few hiccups, and figured the low RPM fueling might not be the best. This seems to be common with the increasingly strict emissions restrictions we're seeing on motorcycles. I didn't have any issues with the bike stalling, but especially in 1st and 2nd gear, I noticed a bit of surging at lower throttle positions, and the bike just didn't seem smooth. Once in 3rd gear and up, that seemed to go away. On/off throttle is pretty good, and the bike didn't have a snatchy throttle like some EFI bikes have. It sounds pretty good for a bike with the stock exhaust, and is a bit louder than I expected it to be. The transmission was excellent, it shifted very smoothly, and I didn't experience any false neutrals. Finding neutral on the bike, which is sometimes an issue on Ducati's, was a breeze while moving, but can be a little finicky when you are stopped. The bike has 4 ride modes and lots of electronics to play with, so I'll be getting into that a little later as I ride the bike more. Suspension is fully adjustable. With the factory settings, our bike was setup a little soft for my liking but it did have a nice plush ride on our rough roads. The owners manual tells you how to adjust the front forks and rear shock, and provides some recommended settings to choose from. I've gone with their "Road Sport" settings and that seems pretty good so far. Brakes seem really really good but I haven't really tested them out much. For a stock bike, it looks fantastic. Fit and finish is also really good. You're immediately drawn to things like the engine and swingarm, which have a very high end look. 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