It’s been four years since the last update to Ducati’s SuperSport 950 platform, and now it’s on the receiving end of a significant rework ahead of MY2021. Tuned-up fairings enclose a more emission-compliant engine along with beefed-up electronics to complete the package. The SuperSport comes in the base 950 package, but if you’re a bona fide pegdragger, the 950 S version takes things up a notch or three.
The SuperSport family’s weapon of choice for the 950 and 950 S is the liquid-cooled Testastretta powerplant. It runs in an L-twin configuration (or a 90-degree V if you prefer). A 94 mm bore and 67.5 mm stroke give the two-cylinder lump its 937 cc displacement and sizzlin’-hot 12.6-to-1 compression ratio.
The signature Desmodromic valvetrain replaces the traditional valve springs for a pull-closed cam that provides positive poppet closure for the four-valve heads. That pull-closed system utterly eliminates harmonic valve float during high-rpm operation.
Ride-by-wire throttle control feeds rider demand to the 53 mm throttle bodies with their electronic fuel injection system that manages the intake. Both versions roll with a veritable alphabet soup of subsystems that include the Ducati Traction Control system, Wheelie Control, and variable Power Modes. Overall control of those systems comes bundled under the Riding Modes feature for quick and easy personality changes, even on the fly.
A slip-and-assist clutch couples engine power to the six-speed transmission and provides some back-torque mitigation for extra safety on hard downshifts and roll-offs. Both models come stock with the Ducati Quick Shift feature that lets you work both up and down the range sans clutch action or even bother to roll off between shifts. This will let you safely come out of the hole like a scalded-ass dog, and it turns the SuperSport into a proper stoplight burner if you have the nerve for it.
The plant churns out 110 horsepower with 69 pound-feet of torque, and the final drive ratio turns in Ducati Supersport 950’s top speed of 186 mph. Racing exhaust components are available ex-sale if you want to get the max out of the mill with a boost up to 234 horsepower and 87.7 pounds o’ grunt.
Ducati’s SuperSport design team borrowed heavily from its very own Panigale V4 platform drawing inspiration for the new SuperSport fairings. Across the board, the SuperSport 950 and 950 S roll with foil-shaped front-fender uprights that steer the air around the exposed inner tube of the inverted front forks. The fender itself is asymmetrical fore and aft with not a single ounce wasted unnecessarily.
New angry-bird LED headlight projectors split the night and ensure effective two-way daytime visibility and it’s here that we find something new. Vertical fins set just outboard of the headlight wells direct air to the rider’s legs to mitigate the heat from waste air coming out the vents when underway. The updated vents join the front fairing, which now extends all the way down to a chin fairing, closing off from view the exhaust headers and tidying up the front of the machine.
Along the bottom, the chin fairing extends into a belly pan ahead of upswept dual silencers that boost the SuperSport’s race-tastic looks. Tall stalks mount the mirrors that come complete with LED front turn signals so they’re separated from the fairing and headlights for effective visibility.
Up top, a new adjustable Plexiglas windshield contributes to the rider’s wind pocket and comes with two preset positions allowing you to tune your personal protective bubble. The windshield also protects the 4.3-inch color TFT display that bundles all of the instrumentation and sub-system info into a single screen.
In profile, the fairings quickly peter out to leave some of the underpinnings visible and are only as big as absolutely necessary for efficient penetration. A two-up seat comes stock, but if you’re about the solo racebike life, you’ll be glad for the cover that effectively turns the pillion pad into a tail fairing.
To wrap up the gear in the rear, a narrow rear standoff fender mounts the license plate and blinkers while the taillight bar mounts directly to the terminus of the subframe. The factory doesn’t explicitly say so, but I reckon the mirrors and tailpiece are easily removed and their mounting holes plugged for track days. For the rest of us, the SuperSport comes stock with oodles of curb appeal and street-racing potential.
As usual, the factory relies on a Trellis frame on the SuperSport 950 that uses the engine as a stressed member to reach its final rigidity and eliminate a large section of framing. Welded tubular-steel members form the frame sections, but lightweight aluminum is the material of choice for the single-side swingarm that finishes out the framing in an elegant fashion.
Here in the suspension, we find a difference between the base model and the “S” model. The base model rolls on 43 mm USD Marzocchi forks while the “S” has fatter 48 mm Öhlins stems, both of which come fully adjustable. Öhlins also supplies the fully-adjustable rear shock for the “S” model, but the base model rocks an adjustable Sachs mono-shock instead. No matter which you choose, you can count on being able to dial in the suspension for conditions and preference.
Suspension travel is 5.1 inches up front and 5.7 inches out back across the board. This is toward the top of the range for a non-offroad ride.
Fast bikes need fast rubber, so the factory chucked on a set of Z-rated Pirelli Diablo Rosso III hoops in a 120/70 ahead of a 180/55, both on 17-inch rims. Fast machines also need solid braking capabilities, and toward that end, the factory chucked on a pair of Brembo M4-32 Monobloc calipers that bite 320 mm front discs with a twin-pot caliper and 245 mm disc out back.
For this generation, both ends of both models now come stock with Bosch ABS/ Since the SuperSport now comes equipped with an inertial-measurement unit, the ABS is of the lean-sensitive variety for extra protection when braking in the corners. A self-bleeding radial master cylinder actuates the front anchors and rocks an adjustable lever so you can dial it in for your hand size.
The base-model 2022 SuperSport 950 rolls in Ducati Red over black underpinnings for $13,495. If you want that “S” model, you can expect to shell out $16,395 and you have a choice between Duc Red and Arctic White Silk.
Ducati plays in the same sandbox as the Big Four with its reinvented SuperSport family, so it was straight to Honda for its CBR1000RR ABS “Fireblade” for my head-to-head.
While it’s true that form should always follow function, the Italians still manage to instill some sexiness in the overall design that really sets it apart from the rest of the world. With that in mind I won’t ding Honda for looks, and to be fair, the CBR line has come a long way from its boxy beginnings, so there’s that.
Honda relies on a 998 cc inline-four engine for power. It produces 189 horsepower with a top speed of 186 (est) to just about finish dead-even with the Duc in the performance numbers, so a race between these two will absolutely come down to skill since neither can rely on brute power.
Honda keeps pace in the brakes with corner-sensitive ABS protection, plus it rides on adjustable suspension front and back to more or less break even in the stems as well. The similarities continue into the electronics with the CBR boasting traction control, engine-braking control, and wheelie control along with a variable-output Engine Power Level system that lets you dial in the power delivery.
Both of these bikes are perfectly suited for life on the race track but intended mainly for road use by the real fiery-eyed pegdraggers out there. Honda comes off looking a bit proud at the checkout with its $16,499 sticker though that might not leave enough money on the table to buy it some business from the “S” model.
“It’s hard to beat Ducati on looks, and the reimagined SuperSport is a perfect example. However, I don’t know how far the factory should go with the whole Panigale-style features thing they got going on now, I mean, if folks want a Panigale V4, they should buy a Panigale V4, and let’s leave the SuperSport to be the SuperSport and not a junior Panigale, m’kay?”
My wife and fellow motorcycle writer, Allyn Hinton, says, “I kinda feel like my husband in that making it look more like a Panigale takes away from its SuperSport-ness. I dunno, maybe I’ll change my mind tomorrow, but I’m not in favor of having a Panigale and a Panigale Lite."
"That said, the suspension and chassis on the base model are pretty much a carryover from the 2020 Supersport, but this year the “S” gets a nice tweak in that department. It’s one of those stupid-fast bikes that isn’t my cup of tea, but I have to respect it for what it is: a fiery pegdragger’s wet dream."
"Okay, maybe not that far, but the electronics are nice, suspension front and rear are fully adjustable, and overall, it’s a serious street machine on which I would never get the full experience. High-five to the pegdraggers out there. High-five, folks.”
2014 - 2022 Honda CBR600RR - Performance, Price, and Photos
2019 - 2021 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R
2017 - 2020 Ducati SuperSport / SuperSport S