The Ducati Hypermotard is a great bike, but boths its 796 and 1,100 air-cooled twins run out of revs too early for seriously enthusiastic riding. This spy photo, though, shows what’s clearly a liquid-cooled motor in the Hyper chassis. Il Ducatisti suggests its the Testastretta 11 from the Ducati Streetfighter 848.
Everyone’s favorite street racer/personal trainer/male model/art director/fashion designer, Adey, just borrowed a Ducati 1199 Panigale for a couple days from Beverly Hills Ducati. You know what he did with it too, The Snake. Here’s what you’ve all been waiting for, a real rider on a real road on the world’s fastest motorcycle.
Update: two more videos added. :continue:
This 23-photo sequence shows South African Superbike rider Chris Leeson crashing his Ducati 1199 Panigale in Turn 1 at the Kyalami Race Track. Chris was entering the turn at high speed when he lost the front over the track’s notoriously bumpy pavement. No major injuries, to the rider at least. As you can see in the photos, the Ducati sheds pretty much every major sticky-outy part.
Need to advertise speed? What better way than by associating your technically obtuse product with a vehicle intrinsically associated with performance by every man, woman and child? That’s what T-Mobile did in this new ad for its not-really-4G network. It’s made all the better by putting the T-Mobile girl, Carly Foulkes on the bike in full safety gear and making sure her sex appeal is used in an empowering way. Empowering like high-speed cell networks, get it? :continue:
Tasked with developing social content around the breaking acquisition of Ducati by VW, an Audi marketing intern dashed out of HQ this morning, parked a Diavel next to an R8 and snapped these pics. Man, are they going to look good on Ferdinand Piech’s Facebook timeline too. “Life Event: Bought Ducati. Suck it Quandt.”
After weeks of rumor, Bloomberg and Reuters are both independently reporting that VW has agreed to purchase Ducati for something in the neighborhood of $1.12 billion. But why does a gigantic auto conglomerate want a tiny bike manufacturer? What will VW do with Ducati? And, what does the deal mean for that most evocative of bike brands? Let’s examine the background, business and speak to experts that may be able to share some insight.
Photo: Grant Ray :continue:
Snapped at NOLA Motorsports Park by Pro Italia, dozens of identical Ducati 1199 Panigales are lined up in the pits, ready for the brand’s dealer introduction. Riding the bike on the track, speaking to its designers and engineers and learning how to work on the new superbike enables dealers to better serve their customers with real knowledge and experience. For us it’s just a rare opportunity to see so many of this year’s new Duc in one place.
These are the CAD drawings that helped transform 848 Evo into Ducati Streetfighter 848. Changes include that Testastretta 11° motor, a 35mm longer swingarm, lengthened trail, the suspension off the Monster 1100 Evo, non-Monobloc radial Brembo calipers and wider footpegs and 20mm higher bars than the bigger ‘Fighter. The Streetfighter was penned by Ducati designer and Art Center College of Design grad Damien Basset.
Speaking at the US media launch of the Ducati Streetfigher 848 yesterday, North American general manager Dominique Cheraki described his ideal motorcycle — a real sportsbike sans the fairings and equipped with high bars to make it comfortable. The perfect bike for riding fast on real roads, whether they be city streets or mountain curves. That’s certainly not a new concept, but it’s not one that’s ever before been fully realized; in the translation from faired to naked, the handling and performance that makes a sportsbike a sportsbike has traditionally been lost. Is this new Streetfighter finally the real deal? A naked 848 Evo? Not really, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Photos: Brian J. Nelson
Ever used a motorcycle to create a much needed break from the humdrum routine of family life? Brand new dad Jamie Robinson left little Giacomo (you know who after) in bed with mom and took off for the California desert aboard a Ducati Diavel. Hell, I don’t even have a kid and this kind of ride is often all I can do to keep sane. :continue:
