Hyper Mono 659: Custom Ducati Hypermotard 698 Mono

 

From Fuller Moto: World’s First Custom Ducati Hyper Mono!  

Last year, Ducati unveiled their new Superquadro Mono 660 single-cylinder engine to scintillating fanfare. Superquadro means “oversquare” in Italian, and with a bore/stroke ratio of 1.86, Ducati’s potent new single is more oversquare than any engine in MotoGP, translating to a supremely rev-happy, short-stroke character.

“The 659 cc Superquadro Mono with desmodromic timing is the most sophisticated and high-performance single-cylinder road engine ever built…” -Ducati

The head is straight from Ducati’s 1299 Panigale V-twin, making the Superquadro something of a “half Panigale” engine, and the piston is 116mm (4.57 inches) wide — bigger than a big-block Chevy’s! A pair of gear-driven crank-speed shafts with eccentric weights reduce vibration, allowing the engine to make maximum power (77.5 hp) at 9750 rpm.

The first bike to boast this exotic new single-cylinder engine is the Ducati Hypermotard 698 Mono — a stunning street-legal supermoto designed to battle the high-performance singles from KTM, Husqvarna, and GasGas.

“With an aggressive chassis, feisty engine, and a low weight, Ducati’s new Hypermotard 689 Mono…is easily one of, if not the most, fun and agile machines that you can purchase from a showroom today.” –MCN

One of the very first of these “Hyper Mono” models we saw Stateside, and certainly the first to land in our home state of Georgia, ended up in the hands of our friend Bryan Fuller.

Fuller needs no introduction to most of you. Not only is he the well-known builder, hot-rodder, and “Metal Magician” behind Fuller Moto Shop, but he has and does host a slew of car and bike television shows, including Caffeine & Octane, CarFix, Ride of Your Life, and others.

In typical Fuller fashion, he couldn’t wait to tear into the brand-new Duc. In fact, he put only about 5 miles on the clock before he started stripping it down. His vision for the bike was clear, a combination of 21st century performance and good old-fashioned hot roddery:

“I love the incredible electronics suite and perfectly tuned engine combined with custom paint, exhaust, and just bare bones old-school nakedness.”

The first step was stripping the plastics off to reveal the heart of the build, the Superquadro engine itself. Within 24 hours, Fuller and the boys had welded up a custom exhaust and in-house upholsterer Jonny Mac (@jmacsshack) had sewn up a new seat cover out of leftover Moore & Giles leather, complete with an embroidered Fuller Moto logo.

However, Fuller would have to reassess the original silencer, which did little to muffle the thump of the single big piston:

“The first muffler iteration was so loud I had to turn it off at lights to save embarrassment. FU Loud for sure. It’s crazy how quiet they start from the factory only to thump so hard it hurts your chest!”

They swapped the big factory blinkers for a low-profile LED set from Purpose Built Moto — “Stylish, bright, and small!” says Fuller. Then they did a “quick scuff and shoot” over the original graffiti graphics that come with the upgraded RVE model.

“They’re a bit busy for a guy my age to be sporting around town.”

Agreed. We much prefer the more traditional Ducati red of the standard model ourselves. What’s more, the new livery set the stage for one of the best of the hand-painters in all the land, Georgia’s own Chastin Brand, to work his magic.

Chastin hand-lettered and pinstriped the Ducati red canvas, working from the tank to tail to fork guards — a perfect infusion of hot rod style on the Italian thoroughbred.

At the same, Fuller decided to make a slight correction to the Ducati naming convention:

“I didn’t agree with the marketing team at Ducati calling the bike a ‘698’ when it’s 659cc…so we changed the lettering to that. Also, I liked the Hyper Mono name more so we went with that.”

Overall, this “Hyper Mono 659” is a leaner, meaner, more old-school version of the factory machine, freed from all the plastic and corporate convention — just as Fuller intended:

“I just love taking what I feel the engineers and designers would have wanted the finished product to be and following through. It really is a beautiful meeting of modern running, electronics, and some old world custom to make it nasty!”

As for the riding experience, Fuller is no stranger to potent big-bore singles — in fact, his favorite personal bike is his Husky Vitpilen 701. However, he says the Hyper Mono is a whole ‘nother level. Faster, lighter, better handling, and “shockingly” comfortable.

We sent our man Drew Perlmutter out to the Fuller Moto Shop in Tucker, Georgia, to wrangle these gorgeous shots of the bike, and he made sure to get some riding shots as well. After all, the Hyper Mono is an experience as much as a bike — a high-powered piece of eye candy from one of the world’s best builders.

Below is our full uncut interview with Fuller about the build for those who want to delve into deeper detail along with more shots of what may be the world’s first custom Ducati Hypermotard Mono. Enjoy!

Hyper Mono 659: Builder Interview

• This was one of the first Ducati Monos we saw in the wild stateside. How and when did you get hold of the bike, and how long until you started stripping it down?

This was the first one in Georgia and probably the first one customized in the world as far as I can tell. I barely made it home before taking it apart! The TV studio where we’ve been filming Ride of Your Life with Courtney Hansen for Motortrend is right down the street…it had about 5 miles on the ODO and 5 minutes of my personal ride on it. The first muffler iteration was so loud I had to turn it off at lights to save embarrassment. FU Loud for sure. It’s crazy how quiet they start from the factory only to thump so hard it hurts your chest!

• What was the design concept and what influenced the build?

Mainly just to strip everything down to the bare essentials. I love the incredible electronics suite and perfectly tuned engine combined with custom paint, exhaust, and just bare bones old-school nakedness.

• What custom work was done to the bike?

First was to get all the plastics off. Even on this bike, the engine had covers. I’m assuming they’re for noise reduction unless some designer went weird and decided to cover up that gorgeous Italian stallion powerplant.

Within 24 hours we had a custom exhaust, Jonny Mac our in-house upholsterer had used some leftover Italian Moore and Giles leather to recover the seat, and the blinkers had been removed along with reflectors, pillion seat, license plate mount, etc.

The Purpose Built Moto blinkers are awesome we discovered recently. Stylish, bright, and small! I’ve had trouble with a couple of other brands breaking prematurely so we’re trying a new brand for us.

I did a quick scuff and shoot on the graffiti graphics that come with the upgraded model. They’re a bit busy for a guy my age to be sporting around town. Chastin Brand came in of course and did his magic to set it all off.

• Does the bike have a nickname?

I didn’t agree with the marketing team at Ducati calling the bike a “698″ when it’s 659cc…so we changed the lettering to that. Also, I liked the Hyper Mono name more so we went with that.

• Can you tell us what it’s like to ride the finished bike?

My 701 Husky Vitpilen is my favorite bike in the stable, and I thought it was the lightest and most powerful single you could imagine…then came this Duc. Damn, this powerplant is insane. The bike is probably 20 lbs. lighter than my KTM and it’s taller for me, which is nice around town. The torque curve is more linear than the Austrian unit and at 7000 rpm hits a bit harder to 9K! So smooth and perfectly balanced it just sounds intoxicating. Get up to 100mph and she’s singing and still steady smooth. The seat is shockingly comfy and for a couple hours very pleasant on the body.

I don’t think I’m really skilled enough to take advantage of all the electronic aids, but it does give you confidence knowing it’s trying to keep you on the road. The handling of this bike is just like flying a wing suit around the canyons in Utah! Seriously an incredible motorcycle.

After adding a little baffling and getting rid of the airbox, the computer is totally happy with the mods we did.

• Was there anything done during this build that you are particularly proud of?

I just love taking what I feel the engineers and designers would have wanted the finished product to be and following through. 2024 really is a beautiful meeting of modern running, electronics, and some old world custom to make it nasty!

• Is there anybody you’d like to thank for help with the build?

Our team here Fuller Moto all pitched in but in particular Ezra Evans helped the most with some of the fab. Lane Spruell made the custom aluminum ARP Bolted license plate mount on the swinger. Thanks to Jesse at Mountain Motorsports our local dealer who got me one in early.

Detail Gallery

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Website: fullermoto.com
Instagram: @fullermoto | @fullermotoshop
Facebook: Fuller Moto Shop

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Drew Perlmutter: Website | @drewperlmutter

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