Superbikes Vs. Sports Bikes: What’s The Difference? – At global headquarters, “Ducati” is a polarizing name. Editor Surj tends to highlight the Ducatistti brand loyalist’s little coffee cup and bike night lifestyle, An rides one of the smartest modified SportClassics I’ve ever seen, and Max has an older SuperSport in his garage (just Like Surj used to do).
Like Harley-Davidson, Ducati has long been more than just a motorcycle manufacturer, it’s a lifestyle brand, and lifestyle brands are complicated things.
Superbikes Vs. Sports Bikes: What’s The Difference?
The benefits of a loyal fan base are many, but there are huge risks in deviating from the formula that built the following. That’s my credit to Ducati for introducing and nurturing the Scrambler range.
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I’m not here to talk about scramblers today, though. We recently spent a few days with the SuperSport (No Space!) S, a bike Ducati has built for those who crave an everyday road ride.
The SuperSport S is quintessential Ducati. The SuperSport S and its non-S (still no room for that!) base-model sibling are based on a 937cc liquid-cooled V-twin, with a handsome steel trellis frame (in red, of course) connected to DOHC cylinder heads. An elaborate fairing wraps the front half but leaves just enough of the engine exposed to remind onlookers that this is more than just a sportbike.
Despite its relatively reasonable base MSRP of $12,995 (the S we tested was more expensive at $15,195), both trims of the SuperSport look and feel as exotic as you’d expect from a Ducat. Cady expected the same. The S version adds premium suspension, Ducati’s up/down quickshifter, and color-coordinated pillion seat covers.
To me, it’s clear that this is a bike built by Ducati to ensure that purists never forget what Ducati is all about.
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What exactly is Ducati? The number of bikes doesn’t stop there. While novelties like noisy clutches and frequent maintenance have been (mostly) left behind, Ducati continues to set the standard for modern V-twins. 200 hp sport bike ready to go, a 110 hp “sport bike that brings energy and sporty emotions anywhere, from the weekend to the everyday road” The sport bike looks slow, almost weird, on paper, but these days I Not much use for paper.
Offering 69 pound-feet of torque, 80 percent of which is available at 3,000 rpm, the SuperSport S isn’t a high-strung, barely streetable racing machine but a true sportbike. To say I was impressed by the engine would be putting it mildly.
Keeping the engine nothing less than the best Swedish engines. The standard SuperSport comes with a fully adjustable 43mm Marzocchi unit, and for an extra $2, $200 on the S model gets you a Sporting (SuperSporting) 48mm titanium nitride-coated front tube and Öhlins rear shock at the rear.
Olins remains the player with the most suspensions, and there’s a reason for that. The massive front fork transfers every bit of information from the front tire directly to the clamp bar. This is yet another example of paper and reality parting ways. This information is of course useful when road conditions are good and vehicle speeds are high. The downside is that the track-specific suspension simply isn’t up to the task of handling the “easy” twisty roads prevalent in much of the Bay Area.
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As a result, I found myself really unhappy with the front suspension. On more than one occasion, bumps and ruts overwhelmed the bike and I found myself struggling to keep the bike on the road, let alone enjoy the ride.
The other side of the coin comes into play on flatter roads, with higher-speed cornering: it’s in this environment that the SuperSport S demonstrates what can only be described as gloriously telepathic handling.
The rear of the SuperSport is less bipolar. The aluminum single-sided swingarm is controlled by rebound- and preload-adjustable Öhlins shock absorbers (the standard model features Sachs shock absorbers, which are also fully adjustable). The rear of the bike gives a pedaling feel and acts as an anchor when the front gets overwhelmed.
Judicious use of the throttle on corner exit produces a drama-free push that plants your body firmly against the seat’s back ridge. This raw, visceral experience is almost unique to big-bore V-Twin bikes, and the ability to capitalize on it can only be attributed to the geometry and setup out there.
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This fun is aided and facilitated by the SuperSport’s comprehensive electronics suite. Bosch-supplied ABS with three mappings covers the wow side, while Ducati’s proprietary eight-level traction control system manages the ride. In this era of rapid advances in ride-by-wire and engine management systems, traction control integration reaches a high standard: absolutely seamless. I had to deliberately apply the throttle in the gravel to convince the system to intervene in a clearly perceptible way. Even so, my progress was not interrupted.
That said, Ducati has some explaining to do when it comes to the interface. The bike has three modes (Sport, Touring and City) with pre-programmed TC and ABS settings in addition to a selected throttle curve and horsepower cut for city use.
The advantage is that mode selection is simple, can be done on the fly, and provides accurate settings. The downside is that individually personalizing or disabling ABS, TC or anti-wheel lift features bears an eerie resemblance to entering cheat codes on an old video game console. So this is probably the first bike in my career that I’ve spent more time on electronics.
About the modes… Let’s be honest: Sport mode is really what this bike is all about. After all, this is a super sport. Quick throttle response, minimal ABS intervention, effective and useful traction control. The auto-cue and quick gear changes are just icing on the cake.
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While drag racing may not be the focus of this bike, Sport mode resulted in one of my most memorable Bay Bridge meter launches ever.
If you’re not looking for brutal launches and relatively little rear-wheel intervention, Touring mode is for you. I liken it to what I imagine Max would expect from every motorcycle. Throttle response is crisp but not brutal. Electronics step in long before things get really bad. There’s still a quickshifter and auto chime, but the whole bike is softened.
Then there’s city mode. Power is reduced from 110 hp to 75 hp, and the traction control system cuts power when loose surfaces appear anywhere in the zip code you ride. But where City mode stands out is the still-perfect ABS function: rear-wheel intervention is quicker, but never erratic or intrusive. This system once again proves why Bosch technology is top notch.
While Bosch ABS is certainly great, brakes are ultimately limited by the hardware. This is a Ducati, and top-shelf Brembo components are standard. Twin 320mm rotors and radially mounted one-piece four-piston calipers aren’t unique to the SuperSport S, but Ducati’s sense of engineering is. “Two finger” braking is a bit of a cliché, but Ducati is still leading the way when it comes to fingertip braking, delivering such perfect feedback and feel.
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The 245mm rear disc is also equipped with Brembo two-piston calipers. As a heavy rear brake user, I really appreciate the effort savings and high feedback the SuperSport S provides me.
My favorite Ducati salesperson told me that some employees and customers in his shop thought the SuperSport was a touring bike. As refined as the SuperSport S is, it’s still a sportbike. Of course, if you’re just unrolling yourself from the Panigale, the SuperSport does offer an almost relaxing cockpit. But that’s like describing a Motel 6 as more luxurious than a prison.
Sometimes only the race position will do, and the SuperSport’s riding position meets standards like “race position lights.” This bike feels right at home on the flatter sections of Highway 1, blurring the ocean scenery and making you feel like your body is another perfectly integrated part of the bike.
But for me, arriving on Highway 1 required a lot of stretching, awkwardly extending my limbs one at a time to stimulate blood flow back to my recently spread limbs. I’m willing to accept that a sensible fitness regimen and diet may change the way my body interacts with the bike, but until I find the magical desire to do so, I’ll stick with a high wheel bike.
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So it all comes back to lifestyle. First and foremost, this is a lifestyle bike. Just like owning a Harley, moving a Bologna into your garage (or living room) means becoming a Ducati owner first and a rider second.
That said, if you want to do more than just ride your Duc on bike nights and track days, this is indeed a sportbike you can live with. The SuperSport S (and presumably the StandardSport) don’t need race leather with aerodynamic humps to ride reasonably. In fact, sitting in the SuperSport, the pre-curved arms and strategically placed stretch panels are less enjoyable than on my beloved Aerostich cousin, Jeremy.
Believe it or not, I actually transported a passenger on the Southern Line for an entire night.