Ever wonder what great action footage of the 2010 Ducati Multistrada 1200 would be like if you set it to the music commonly found in a piano bar? Well never fear, Ducati has the answer for you. Check it out after the jump. And just a tip, queue up your own tunes.
Ducati has announced that the first 2010 Ducati Multistrada 1200 has rolled off the assembly line in Bologna, Italy. The white MTS 1200S with Öhlins suspension got the usual Ducati welcome, with champagne toasts and even a “baptizing” ceremony. The first Multistrada 1200S’s are set to be available by April of this year, while the MTS 1200 base model and ABS version should be out later in in May.
The Multistrada 1200 is an important motorcycle for Ducati as it shows the brand extending its mark beyond the performance bike realm, and into the sport-touring class, which is no easy feat considering the adventure bike/sport-touring king, the BMW GS, is the best selling motorcycle in the world. To help battle the GS, Ducati has made the Multistrada 1200 to have an engine with the longest service intervals in Ducati history: 15,000 miles. Photos of the first production Multistrada 1200 after the jump.
Belarus isn’t exactly known for its thriving motorcycle scene, let alone for its custom bike eye-candy, but Yuri Shif Custom is about to change all that. The small custom shop is creating quite a stir with its latest custom streetfighter the DUster. The DUster takes your normal mild mannered Ducati water-cooled motor, and dips it in an all white finish. Wrapping a completely custom chassis around the powerplant, Shif and his crew have made a very unique and eye-catching design.
The bike uses gold and italian themes for accents, with our favorite bit being the headlight casing, which has a gold band around it that looks almost like the focus ring on a camera lens. Other interesting pieces are the fuel tank filling cap, and perimeter brakes up front.
We still have several months before the Ducati Multistrada 1200 is released here in the United States, but Ducati North America has revealed that the cost of owning the $14,995 Multistrada will be even cheaper with the now announced 15,000 mile valve service interval. With the longer mileage between major services, the Multistrada 1200 better positions itself as a touring/adventure option and to compete against the BMW R1200GS.
Ducati has officially launched its 2010 MotoGP race bike, the Desmosedici GP10, at its yearly press launch with Ferrari in the Italian Dolomite mountains. The Wrooom event launch comes just two weeks after Nicky Hayden accidently leaked photos of the GP10 from his camera phone, much to the chagrin of Ducati Corse. Click past the jump for more details on the GP10, launch photos and studio shots of the new Desmosedici, and also for Hayden and Stoner’s views on the new bike in a video.
Keeping today’s trend of showing off designer concept motorcycles, we bring you Dan Anderson‘s stunning Ducati 599 Mono. You may remember Anderson as the man behind the Voltra electric concept that made its way around the internet not too long ago. Well he’s back and his latest pen work is jaw-dropping. With a 352lbs dry weight, and big single cylinder thumper of a motor, we could see this Ducati embarassing some wouldbe racers on any given Sunday Morning Ride.
In the hands of one Frenchman, what began life as a mild-mannered Ducati 1098S Superbike, has turned into a water-cooled Hypermotard that would do the engineers in Bologna proud. Known to us only as “Krisfox”, this builder was looking for more than the standard streetbike experience. Wishing to see the more powerful water-cooled 1098 motor in a motard format, he set out to make one of his own, dubbed the Hypermotard 1098S. Pictures and more after the jump.
It’s been confirmed that Davide Tardozzi will indeed move down the World Superbike paddock, and into the BMW’s WSBK effort for the next three years. The Italian team manager was at the center of some controversy after rider Noriyuki Haga failed to win the 2009 World Superbike Championship by a handful of points.
Some critics inside and outside of the paddock chastised Tardozzi for not implementing team orders, which would have kept Xerox Ducati teammate Michel Fabrizio from capturing valuable points that Haga would later need in the series.
After Ducati North America announced its pricing for the United States, we now know what the 2010 Ducati UK pricing is going to be. Unsurprisingly, Ducati has raised it’s prices to be in-line with the UK’s return to the 17.5% VAT rate. Check the prices after the jump, some are not what you’d expect.
Which is faster, bike or car? The debate has gone on for ages and the folks at Autocar have revisited the issue with this comparison video. Taking one of our favorite sports cars, the Nissan Skyline GT-R, and pitting it against the Bologna Bullet better known as the Ducati 1098S, we get to see some impressive results from both vehicles. Make your pick now, and see who won the track battle after the jump.
In a slightly bizzare manner, Nicky Hayden is responsible for the latest bit of news and photo leak from the MotoGP paddock. Making a stop in Bologna to celebrate the holidays with the Ducati Corse crew, in route to India to help open a Ducati store, Hayden got a chance to see the new Ducati GP10 race bike up-close. Armed with a cell phone, and a little indiscretion, the American rider snapped a photo of the new bike, posted the photo to his personal website, and there you have it.