The new Vyrus 987 flies high even in the rarefied air of ultra sportbikes. It marries a 185-horse Ducati 1198R engine with a hub-center-steered Bimota chassis unlike anything else on the market. Still not cool enough for ya? Then make sure to inspect the chassis made from carbon fiber that helps achieve a claimed curb weight of just 342 pounds! Our Euro correspondent, Tor Sagen, takes a spin on this exotic among exotics!
I’m pleased to say that I recently tested my very first Vyrus. Vyrus have basically worked nearly exclusively with Alan Catchcart and Roland Brown in the past. They’re simply too small and busy with building their highly exotic bikes to deal with all of the press on a regular basis, let alone organizing test rides.
But I was granted audience with one very angry beast of a motorcycle. The 2010 Vyrus 987 follows in the 985’s footsteps (999R powered) and features a full on barking mad Ducati 1198R tuned engine. With homologated exhaust and engine map the 987 produces a claimed 185 hp and weighs in at only 155kg fully fueled and ready to ride. The 987 is also available with a compressor that boosts power to 211hp where the compressor only runs at one fifth of its capacity. That compressor version is the one I’m desperate to test, but until that may be possible later this year I had to settle for the “standard” 987.
My first impression is that this is a completely crazy motorcycle that’s as hardcore as they come. With the race exhaust and race Vyrus engine mapping the test bike produces a mind blowing 194hp and God only knows how much torque. Ducati’s 1198R Testastretta engine is a pure racebred beast in itself, now imagine that engine in tuned state in the hub-steered Vyrus chassis that weighs the same as a supermoto chassis and you’ll start to get an idea. It’s bonkers and I was allowed out on it in the hills of San Marino on Pirelli Superbike slicks. It doesn’t get much better than this for a humble motorcycle journalist.
