Episode 24 of the Brap Talk podcast is now out for your two-wheeled audio pleasure, and as always, it is packed with some interesting motorcycle discussions.
In this show, we give a preview of things to come at the EICMA show in Milan, but first we recap what we have seen from the Ducati unveiling event in Rimini, as well as the Tokyo Motor Show.
While the Streetfighter V4 S was center stage at the Ducati stand at EICMA, our eye drifted over towards the Scrambler setup, where the Italian brand was showcasing two concept bikes for the Milan show.
At the Ducati launch event in Rimini, the Ducati Scrambler Desert X concept was the big tease, with the Italians saying very little about the bike.
Really, all that was revealed (beyond a couple sketches) was that the motorcycle would use the brand’s 1,079cc air-cooled engine, and instead Ducati encouraged fans to see the bike at the EICMA booth, if they wanted more than a rendering. So, we obliged.
For us, the Ducati Scrambler Desert X concept was the star of the Ducati EICMA experience, perhaps because we knew so far in advance that the Streetfighter V4 was coming, and had a pretty good idea about what this 205hp street-shredding machine would look like.
While the Ducati Streetfighter V4 was the crown jewel of the Ducati unveiling event in Rimini last week, the items that everyone seems to be still talking about after the media launch are something else, they are the two concept bikes for the Scrambler range.
For those that didn’t watch the live stream, Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali presented two different Scrambler models that have the potential to go into production, an ADV bike and a supermoto.
We knew going into it that the Ducati Streetfighter V4 would be an expensive motorcycle, and I have been telling readers to brace for a $20,000 price tag since this bike first began teasting.
Well, sometimes it sucks to be right, because the 2020 Ducati Streetfighter will certainly come with an MSRP of $19,995 – which is a lot of money for a naked motorcycle, and places the red bike at the top of the pricing heap in the category.
We have been waiting for Ducati to make this motorcycle for literally years. Ever since the Ducati Streetfighter 1098 debuted, we have begged the Italian brand to follow-up this mean machine with models from its new superbike lines.
Now with the Desmosedici Stradale V4 engine, our prayers have been answered, and the 2020 Ducati Streetfighter V4 is ready for public consumption.
Based obviously on the Panigale V4 superbike, the DNA from the track is obvious in this street-focused machine.
Ahead of Ducati’s special media event, we knew that the Bologna brand was going to update the Ducati Panigale 959 for the Euro5 regulations, with spy shots showing the bike getting a heavy remodel, to make it look more like the Panigale V4.
Well, now we know how far Ducati is going to make its v-twin superbike look like its four-cylinder sibling, taking things all the way down to the name of the 2020 Ducati Panigale V2.
While the MotoGP paddock is away, the test teams will play. In the middle of the Asia-Pacific flyaways, back in Europe the test teams are preparing for the start of 2020.
In the coming days, test teams for Aprilia, KTM, and Ducati will all take to the track, while Honda will be testing directly after Sepang.
We are one week away from seeing the production form of the upcoming Ducati Streetfighter V4, and this means that the Italian brand is starting its hype machine for this hotly anticipated motorcycle.
Borgo Panigale won’t have to work too hard to get us excited about the Streetfighter V4, however, as the bike’s specs do much of their own talking.
Try this on for size: 208hp @ 12,750 rpm from its 1,103cc Desmosedici Stradale engine; 392 lbs of dry mass, biplane winglets attached to the fairings, and an electronics package straight off the high-tech Panigale V4.
A couple weeks ago, we talked about the prospects of seeing Ducati Corse going racing in the Endurance World Championship, and if the Ducati Panigale V4 R could make an appearance at the Suzuka 8-Hours.
It might be a while before we see the Italian manufacturer in the FIM EWC series in an official capacity, but the start of the 2019-2020 season is already giving us a glimpse of what we can expect from Ducati.
This is because the Hertrampf Racing Endurance Team from Germany is using the Ducati Panigale V4 R in the endurance series this season.
In an unusual move, Ducati has confirmed in a press release that the Italian brand will be brining the much-rumored Multistrada V4 not for next year, but instead for the 2021 model year.
In its announcement, Ducati said that the V4 machine will be available alongside the 1260 and 950 v-twin models, which adds some more intrigue to what form-factor the Ducati Multistrada V4 could take, and where it could slot into Ducati’s lineup.
This tidbit comes on the news that Ducati has just built its 100,000th Multistrada, in preparation for the 2020 model year.
With Ducati joining the ranks of proper 1,000cc superbikes with the Panigale V4 R, it opens up a list opportunities that previously weren’t available to the Italian brand. One of those events is the Suzuka 8-Hours.
Of course, we already did see a Ducati Panigale V4 R at this year’s Suzuka race, but what we are ruminating about here is a full-factory effort from the Ducati Corse crew.
According to Paolo Ciabatti in his talked to Italy’s GPOne publication, the Ducati Corse Sporting Director, the idea isn’t off the table, though the circumstances of Ducati’s involvement in the Suzuka 8-Hours is very specific.