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Asphalt & Rubber has gotten our dirty little paws on a 2009 Ducati Streetfighter for long-term review, which was a supremely poor choice according to the little old lady that gave us the bird on our first test ride out. Despite her discouraging use of the bird, we’re so far quite impressed with this spaghetti rocket. Built of the 1098 Superbike platform, the Streetfighter is true to its name, having the punch of a 155hp v-twin motor. This is the sort of bike that when you sling a leg over it, you just look down and say, “Scream if you want, no one is coming to save you.” Continue reading for our thoughts, impressions, and a few photos.

With the MotoGP paddock still up in the air as to where riders will land for the 2010, some riders are in better positions than others. Nicky Hayden finds himself in the unique position of deciding whether or not he will stay with a factory ride, or move elsewhere. Hayden currently has a one-year contract with Ducati, which has an option to renew the contract for another with the American rider.

You may remember that we reported earlier in July that Jorge “Aspar” Martinez was closing-in on realizing his dream of racing in the MotoGP series. Well, that day is finally upon us now. While at Donington Park this past weekend, Aspar announced that a deal with Ducati had indeed been reached.

The Spanish team principle will run a satellite Ducati team with a solitary bike, however a rider has yet to be determined. Alvaro Bautista, the most logical choice to pilot Aspar’s Ducati, has said that within the next few weeks he will make a decisions as to whether he will join MotoGP. Should he decide to move up to the premiere class, you can bet that he will land on the Spanish team.

For many, this will come with a sigh of relief. Ducati VP of Marketing, Diego Sgorbati, has confirmed that Ducati has no intentions of making a cruiser motorcycle…for the time being. Long rumored to appear at the upcoming EICMA expo, the Ducati Vyper concept has stirred a few imaginations, as well as a few stomachs. Reported in various forms, we still like to visualize it with the renders that Luca from Bar-Design provided us with last year.

Jorge “Aspar” Martinez is closing in on finally becoming a player in MotoGP. Aspar has had his eye on MotoGP for some time now, hoping to move out of the ranks of 250GP, where he has been making quite the showing with Alvaro Bautista at the helm. Despite his ambition, the right deal has never been able to materialize for Martine. But that now seems to be changing as Aspar could announce before Donington, his plans to enter MotoGP as Ducati Satellite team. Bautista, however, is still a question mark.

As we get closer to the unveiling of Ducait’s Multistrada replacement in Novemeber, the spy shots of the “GS killer” are becoming more apparent. After trolling the interwebernet, we’ve found two more shots that reveal some more detail about what the Strada Aperta (no word if that’s the official name, but it does seem to keep coming up) will look like from the side and front.

Ducati certainly has been taking its time in releasing details on its alleged BMW GS killer enduro bike. So until we get official reports, we’ll have to suffice with spy shots from Italy that seem to keep pouring in. This time around a pair of bikes was spotted in Costa of Rovigo, in between Padova (near Venice) and Bologna, by Andrea Böhm.

While far-away, this photo does reveal more about the bike than we have previously seen. For starters the front is more exposed, with less tape hiding the lines of the front fairings and fender. The effect is an almost sinister view from the side, with the headlights just coming above the bulge that is supposedly a part of the ram-air tubing