Ducati’s forthcoming 939 Supersport promises to be an interesting machine. Built using off-the-shelf parts from other bikes in the firm’s range it nonetheless pushes Ducati into a market that it’s been absent from for a decade.
That market is one for real-world, usable, all-rounder sports bikes. It’s a market that was once dominated by machines like the Honda CBR600F, and one that has been largely ignored for the last few years as bikes have become increasingly focussed on specific tasks rather than all-round ability.
Ducati previewed the 939 Supersport in Ohlins-suspended ‘S’ form at World Ducati Weekend in Misano this year. Although shown in a closed room, with cameras banned, pictures inevitably leaked. However, these are the first shots of the bike in the wild. They also show the non-S base model, with Marzocchi forks instead of the S’s gold-coloured Ohlins.
It combines the chassis of a Monster 1200 with the 81.3kW engine from the Hypermotard 939 (in fact it’s 937cc, so the name is something of a mystery).
Priced right, the Supersport – the first bike to use the name since the 1000SS ended production in 2006 – could attract a whole new genre of buyers to Ducati. The sort who’d normally buy a CBR650F, Kawasaki Ninja 1000 or Suzuki GSX-S1000F could be tempted to the Italian option.
The full reveal is expected to be at EICMA in Milan this November.
