Put the statistics aside, the notion you can’t compare eras and ask everyone from the experienced racer to the excited fan, who is the greatest Formula 1 driver of all time? The name Senna is repeated over and over again, and he is arguably the most talented individual to ever compete in motorsport full stop; a man of few words, and extreme passion. So, it made perfect sense that Ducati was his motorcycle of choice and he often arrived at races on his Monster 900. Just before his death, he worked with the Bologna factory to design the limited edition Ducati 916 Senna and now thirty years on comes this masterpiece from Analog Motorcycles. Based on a Ducati Hypermotard 1100, this modern missile has more than earned its name, ‘Hyper11 Senna’.
Before his life was tragically cut short, Senna was a serious Ducati enthusiast, who shared a personal friendship with the company’s then-owner Claudio Castiglioni. He personally gifted the F1 legend an 851 SP superbike, and Senna also owned one of the first Monster 900s to roll off the production line. His contract might have warned him against riding, but the brilliant Brazilian couldn’t be tamed. Then last year Ducati released a limited production Monster, featuring the colours of Senna’s famous Brazilian flag-inspired helmet. But you have to think, the king of street racers would have loved a Hypermotard if he’d been alive to see their release. “We decided if Ducati ever had a Hypermotard Senna edition it might look something like this,” Analog’s Tony Prust tells us.
And Tony is a man who would know, a modern renaissance man who has turned a tyre on the track and in Analog Motorcycles built a true mainstay of the custom motorcycle scene. His success has been hard-fought, but simple in that everyone recognises his talent. Customers only have to see one of his machines, before they fall in love and come knocking on his door wanting their own. “We built the Hyper8 a few years ago. It was a purpose-built race machine (Also based on the Ducati platform). A customer, Jorge, reached out and asked if we could transform his 2010 Hyper 1100S into a street version. He was not super concerned with engine performance upgrades but rather a very aesthetically similar custom version with lights,” Tony explains.
Three decades ago the 916 Senna was one of the earliest adopters of carbon fibre on a road bike to cut weight, so the visual transformation of the Hyper follows suit, with a carbon front fender originally intended for an 848, made to fit using a custom set of brackets. Just like the Senna, there is a carbon chain guard too, and Tony also further reduced the weight by using the ame material for the feather-like rear hugger. The fuel tank cover adds even more carbon to the party and is beautifully finished with a Driven Racing Halo fuel filler. The Aviacompositi carbon tail is a stunning piece of kit and really gives the back end a tidy appearance.
The rest of the bodywork was all made in-house, including the custom mounts and brackets to make everything fit so neatly. It starts at the front of the bike with the custom number board which gives the bike its unique look and is packed with a three-punch combo of Denali D2 LED headlights, all stacked vertically. The side number plates are brilliantly crafted and add a real touch of racer to the Ducati. “We had not had a paint scheme picked out when we initially started the build but after some renderings, we decided on the Senna paint scheme. I ordered up some powder coat samples and sent them to friend and executive Director Brian Case of the Barber Motorcycle Museum to colour match to an original Senna for the goldish/silver frame.”
The chassis is all brilliantly finished in the exacting Senna colour, with even the single-sided swingarm hit with the same hue. Jason at Artistimo Customs took care of all of the paint and has shown great restraint with just the right colours and only simple Senna graphics, with even the wheels matching the original 916 in their colour. The seat on a Hyper is no easy task, long in length and with plenty of challenging angles, but Dane at Plzbeseated has knocked it out of the park and it all ties in brilliantly together. The black forks are then neatly matched to a high-end Matris rear shock with a black spring, and a set of CNC rearsets in black help to finish out the chassis.
The braking package also gets a fair upgrade too, with Magura HC3 master Cylinders feeding the fluid via Spiegler brake lines, with the stock Brembo calipers clamping floating Galfer discs. Jorge might not have been too worried about engine performance, but Tony always builds a well-rounded machine and he’s used a set of MIVV exhaust headers and a Cone Engineering muffler to make a stunning full system by fabricating his own mid-pipe to merge the two together.
A K&N filter helps the Desmo engine breathe, while a CNC clear clutch cover lets you see the STM slipper in action, allowing for serious down changes without locking a tyre.“Later in the build process, the customer decided he wanted to go full MotoGadget set-up as well. So a full rewire took place using a Microtec ECU and custom tune by Mark from former Ducshop fame.”
Not only do you get a cleaner, lighter loom and more horsepower thanks to Mark’s expertly executed tune, but running the rest of the electrics becomes a breeze. There are all the best bits from Motogadget, like their Mo.Unit, MotoScope Pro and Mo.Switch Pro and then from Analog’s own catalogue come their stunning signal pods for the front and rear. To finish off the high-end build and keep it street legal, Tony’s fitted underslung mirrors and a super neat tail tidy. Hyper11 easily earns the legendary Senna name, exclusive great looks and excellent performance all in an Analog Motorcycles lightweight package. And can you just imagine the legend himself, rain pouring down, rear tyre spinning and that famous sly smile from ear to ear.
