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The last day of testing at Phillip Island has ended with Ducati on top of the time board. After losing Troy Bayliss to retirement last year, Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga have stepped up to show that they are ready to defend the Ducati crown. Fabrizio ended the day the fastest, with a time of 1’32.19 it was well under Bayliss’ winning lap time from last year’s race. Team mate Haga was not far behind, just fractionally ahead of new boy Ben Spies. The American took a second off his time from yesterday, on only the second day of riding at the track.

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multistrada-main

UPDATE: Two more full bike shots added to the gallery.

MCN has spotted Ducati’s shows some pieces from Ducati’s common parts bin, as well of a couple that appear to be unique to this bike only. This bike is expected to be one of the four new models that Ducati will be releasing over the course of this year, in preparation for the 2010 model year. Continue reading to see the rest of the spy shots.

MotoGP is a special animal. Like how Formula 1 is for automobiles, MotoGP is supposed to embody what the cutting edge of technology can bring to the sport of motorcycling. The talent is the pinnacle of its field, and the bikes are rolling R&D platforms.

This also means of course that the costs are exuberant, and instead of an instant applicable payoffs, the value of racing instead comes down the road many years later as the technology trickles down to the production-level bikes.

This makes MotoGP unlike the racing other series, whereas in World Superbike for instance, teams are working with a bike that is actually sold en masse to the consumer, costs for product line development can be absorbed, and the fabled “Race on Sunday, Sell on Monday” marketing buzz phrase has some bearing on reality.

Because of the intangible returns on investments, and escalating environment of prototype racing, it is not surprising to see the semi-departure of Kawasaki for 2009. So how much money are teams really losing by racing at the top of the sport?

ducati-enduro

While not exactly the most revealing photo we’ve seen, the much rumored Ducati R1200GS killer has been spotted in the wild. Rumors have been flying , about Ducati’s lastest creation, which will replace the Multistrada and serve as Ducati’s entrance into the Enduro market.

Sources close to the production of the bike have stated that it will be powered by the liquid-cooled 1098cc superbike motor (and not the 1200cc air-cooled motor rumored before). This will likely mean the same motor as found in the Ducati Streetfighter, which makes around 150hp. It is also reportedly to be very similar in design to the Moto Morini Granpasso, and features a single-sided swingarm, with an upright sitting position. In other news, engineers in Bavaria were put on notice today.

shakey_byrnes_ducati

Shane “Shakey” Byrne’s 1098R is up for sale. That’s right, if you’ve got £80,000 you can own one of the Ducati’s that won the 2008 British Superbike Series. An outfit called GSE Racing has put Byrne’s race bike up for sale alongside two of Leon Camier’s bikes. In addition to these bikes, a spares package of £150,000 is also up for grabs, and the first £350,000 takes it all. It’s really almost everything you need to start your own BSB bid….minus Shakey himself of course.

The three bikes are for sale at £80,000 each. If your interested, you can call GSE at 01283-532543.

stradaperta

More rumors abound about Ducati’s replacement bike for the Multistrada. We can stop calling is the”R1200GS killer”, as it seems the first iteration will not include a 19″ front wheel. That’s not to say higher-ups in the Ducati management aren’t considering the possibility of a line extension or optional dirt-ready package.

Additionally, the Stradaperta 1200 (no definite news if that is to be the production name) will showcase a 1200cc air-cooled motor that is the latest revision on Ducati’s air-cooled and currently Monster based power plant. Output is said to exceed the 100HP mark, while maintaining strong low and midrange torque.

We’re still sometime away from any sort of official launch or reliable leaked specs and pictures, so take what is here as perhaps “educated” day dreaming.

7,130 Ducati Superbikes are being recalled because of voltage regulators that could be damaged from the mighty v-twins radiant heat. Ducati 1098 and 848 owners will have to take their bike into the dealer to have the regulator replaced, a heat shield installed between the voltage regulator and the exhaust pipping, and have a new battery support installed. 

This recall specifically affects:

2007-2008 Ducati 1098
2007-2008 Ducati 1098S
2007-2008 Ducati 1098 R
2007-2008 Ducati 1098 Tricolore
2008-2009 Ducati 848

Owners can contact Ducati North America at 1-800-231-6696, with recall reference number: RCL-08-005. As always, you can contact the NHTSA at 1-888-327-4236 or visit safecar.gov.