Quick Honest Review of the Ducati Hyperstrada 821

The Hyperstrada has pros and cons. I have no vested interest (other than selling it at some point) so I’ll lay them out on the table.In a nutshell, the pros of the Ducati Hyperstrada 821 are that it’s:Of course, not everything is perfect. The Hyperstrada 821 does have a few weird points, and those are worth mentioning.Common complaints about the Ducati Hyperstrada 821 are…I have no other complaints. OK, it looks a little weird. It’s definitely not the most attractive Ducati in the world (that’s things called Panigale). But it isn’t as ugly as the ugliest, either… that would be my old 2003 Ducati Multistrada.

The Hyperstrada is the “Practical Ducati” (that’s also awesome)

Ducati motorbikes aren’t meant to be practical.I should know this. My other bike is a 1098S. I can’t see out of its mirrors. It gets hot all the bloody time. It doesn’t like to go slow, or do u-turns, and it eats tyres for breakfast, lunch, and dinne...

Riding the Hyperstrada 821 is EASY

Just like the Hypermotard on which it’s based, the Ducati Hyperstrada has wide handlebars covering a wide turning circle, sporty tyres, easy-to-manage suspension, and electronics to stop you from dying.I’ve ridden a lot of motorcycles over the years. Th...

Is the Hyperstrada an Adventure Bike? (Or an off-road bike?)

The Hyperstrada 821 (and all other models) is upright enough that it’s almost an adventure bike.The “strada”, after all, reminds you of the Multistrada. And isn’t that an adventure motorcycle?Firstly, anything can be an adventure bike. You can have adv...

Must-do mods on the Ducati Hyperstrada 821

I’m not talking about a Termignoni exhaust (something I usually look for on a used Ducati… this one was cheap enough for me to not worry). The Hyperstrada 821 and Hypermotard 821 actually suffer from two critical flaws that are so bad that many called them a “lemon” and “unrideable” when new.

The Grabby Clutch of the Hyperstrada 821 and Hypermotard 821

The first, and most glaring problem with Hyper 821 is the grabby clutch.When you first get one, you’ll notice that is’ basically impossible to ride. It’ll either wheelie at stop lights or stall… or you’ll launch so slowly you’ll wonder: what’s the point of this?The solution is to either replace the clutch pack with a 2015+ one or to add in an anti-judder kit. I did the latter. It already had an Adige clutch pack in there, after all. Look at my how-to on how to install anti-judder springs.I can’t stress enough that fixing the Hypermotard/Hyperstrada 821’s grabby clutch is absolutely mandatory. Without it, the motorcycle is ridiculously unpleasant to ride.

The Hyperstrada 821’s Poor Low-RPM fuelling

The second problem with the 821 is poor low-RPM fuelling.The Hyperstrada 821’s fuelling was so bad, for me, that it prompted me to write a whole article on how open- and closed-loop fuelling works, because it was so confusing to me why it ran so badly ...

Replace the failing starter motor

One thing I didn’t mention when I originally published this review, but which I learned later (to my chagrin), is that the starter motor absolutely must be replaced.I’ve put more detail in my article on must-do mods for the Hyperstrada, but essential...

The Fans and the Community

One thing I like about the Hyperstrada 821 is that it has a raving fan base.Go to Hyperstrada.com and you’ll see… those guys are insane. They’re very knowledgeable about every bike released since the original 1100 through to the most recent ones.It’s important to realise that it’s Hyperstrada.com. In other words, the owners are fanatical about the touring version, not the motard! This is notwithstanding the fact that most parts are 100% interchangeable. I just think it’s interesting that it’s the ‘strada version that got the biggest enthusiasm.There are a few other motorbike cult followings — maybe hundreds. They all come with their own forum of lunatics. I usually gravitate towards those motorbikes that have raving communities. I’m glad to see that the Hyperstrada is among them.