The official word on Ducati's new cruiser

As JT Nesbitt noted when the first Ducati Vyper spy shots appeared, the bike represents, “a monumental breach of brand trust and honesty. Never before have Ducati fitted a piece of equipment to their motorcycle that absolutely, factually, objectively, compromised the ride quality, safety, and performance of one of their motorcycles. The 240 [rear tire] will require greater lean angles, and the slowness in turns will be exacerbated by the huge difference in cornering rolling radii front to rear.” Now, a second round of spy photos have appeared and Ducati’s issued an official statement that appears to attempt, in part, to reassure fans that there’s more to this bike than the 240-section rear suggests.

Update: an apparently official sketch of “Project 0803″ — the bike’s internal codename — has leaked, giving away significant mechanical details like the Testastretta 11 degree engine, traction control, ride-by-wire throttle and Brembo Monoblock calipers. Also, there’s a new high-res spy shot below courtesy of MCN, who have more images here.
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