It’s been nearly three decades since Ducati last produced a single-cylinder engine, with the Borgo Panigale firm’s last thumper being its Supermono — a roughly half-liter race bike that only saw 67 units produced from ‘93 to ‘95. Last month, however, Ducati announced that it will be entering motocross competition, and has spent the last few years developing a prototype. Not long after, it unveiled its all-new Superquadro Mono single-cylinder engine. Fast forward to today and the company has now pulled the cover off of the bike that this new engine will power with its all-new Hypermotard 698 Mono.

Though it shares its name and supermoto styling with its 937cc sibling, the new Hypermotard 698 Mono is a vastly different machine than the twin-cylinder Hypermotard 950. The existing 950 is something of a sportbike-supermoto hybrid as where the new model is a pure, purpose-built supermoto, through and through. Crafted around a tubular steel trellis frame, the 698 Mono features an inverted 45mm Marzocchi fork and a Sachs mono-shock that have been tuned for sporty performance riding. At the heart of the new bike is Ducati’s Superquadro Mono liquid-cooled 659cc single-cylinder engine with Desmodromic timing and a ride-by-wire fuel system. Essentially just the Panigale V2’s L-Twin engine with the front cylinder lopped off, the new Superquadro Mono single puts down 77hp and 46.5ft-lbs of torque at 9,750rpm and 8,000rpm, respectively — though with an available Termignoni exhaust system the bike’s power increases to an even more impressive 84.5hp. 

Tipping the scales at 333lbs dry — some 55lbs less than the 388lb twin model — the 698 also rides on a set of Y-shaped five-spoke alloy wheels shod in Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV rubber and sports a Brembo braking setup with a single M4.32 caliper and 330mm disc up front and a 245mm rotor in the rear. The motorcycle also sports a 35.6-inch seat height, a 56.8” wheelbase, and a full suite of electronic rider assists including cornering ABS with a special Slide-By-Brake function and wheelie control — both of which offer four levels of adjustability. As per usual, this new Ducati is offered with a host of other available factory upgrades including a bi-directional quick-shifter.

Scheduled to hit dealerships in February of next year, the 2024 Ducati Hypermotard 698 Mono is available for order now with pricing starting at $12,995 for the classic Ducati red livery and $14,495 for the special edition RVE Graffiti livery edition (seen here). And, like with the twin-cylinder Hypermotard, we expect Ducati will eventually offer an upgraded SP-spec of the new single-cylinder model.