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How About a Ducati 916 Superleggera?

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Yesterday we brought you an interesting Photoshop mashup, where Ducati 851 Superbike fairings were CGI’d onto a Panigale chassis (it was a 1199 Superleggera, to be precise), with drool-worthy result.

That lead to the guys at OTTO Revista pinging us, to show their work, which includes the bodywork from the venerable Ducati 916, photoshopped onto the Ducati 1299 Superleggera, Borgo Panigale’s latest and greatest.

Taking from arguably the most beautiful Ducati ever produced, and adding to it the most technologically advanced Ducati street bike ever concieved, well…the result (above) speaks for itself.

Just for kicks too, there is a Supermono mashup, as well as a TT2 (Pantah) version, after the jump.

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Ducati 851 Bodywork on a Panigale Looks Damn Good

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If you are a regular reader of Asphalt & Rubber, or listen to the Two Enthusiasts Podcast, you have probably heard our musings on where the next big design trend is coming, and know our affinity for the rise of bikes from the 1980s and 1990s.

So, with the being said, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that we are intrigued by the following piece of photoshoppery, which smashes together two Ducati superbikes, the 851 and the Panigale.

At first you wouldn’t think that the two designs would work together, but the more we look at this, the more we are intrigued to see one in the flesh.

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Bikes

Imagining the 2018 Suzuki RM-Z450 Supermoto

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It is a tremendous shame that the options for a road legal supermoto for are so limited, with the venerable Suzuki DR-Z400SM being the only offering in the 450cc on-road class.

For virtually a decade, Suzuki has left the DR-Z basically unchanged – as it has done with many of its sport models – so we would love to see Suzuki and other manufacturers give this space more attention (a hat tip to Husqvarna for bringing the track-only FS450 to market, long with the 701 Supermoto).

Although you can wake-up the DR-Z400 with a few simple modification, and there are a bevy of aftermarket kits that can punch the 398cc machine out in size, what we really want from Suzuki is a proper 450cc street supermoto – one that doesn’t stray too far from the brand’s current strong motocross offering.

So, when we saw this little bit of Photoshop work by the folks at the German Suzuki dealership of DSR-Suzuki, we got a little excited.

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Bikes

Alta Motors Redshift ST Street Tracker Concept

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The One Moto Show in Portland, Oregon is just a couple weeks away, an event where hipsters and custom bike builder will come together to celebrate all things two-wheeled. One of the show’s sponsors this year is electric startup Alta Motors, and they will be debuting a street tracker concept to the masses.

The concept bike is built off Alta’s Redshift platform, with changes made to the bodywork (made via rapid prototyping), lowered suspension, and an LED headlight, along with the addition of 19″ carbon fiber BST wheels shod in flat-tracking rubber.

As a concept, the Redshift ST still has some evolving to do before it can be a production model, but it shows that Alta Motors is considering adding something to its lineup that resonates with a younger, more urban crowd (The One Moto Show being a prime spot to test those waters).

More importantly perhaps, the Redshift ST could a model to Alta’s lineup that has a seat height below 32″ – a key dimension when it comes to making motorcycles accessible to a wider variety of riders, both in terms of physical height and experience level.

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Ducati MHLeggera Concept by Speed Junkies

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The Ducati 1299 Superleggera might be the most technically astounding machine ever to come from the Italian brand, but all those exotic materials and fancy electronics are lost on some riders – motorcyclists who prefer more simpler times.

So the good folk at Speed Junkies have heard this call, and mashed-up the 1299 Superleggera with Ducati’s perhaps most coveted nod to the past, the Mike Hailwood inspired Ducati MH900e.

Both the Superleggera and MH900e are beauties in their own right (a proper Ducati collection should be considerd incomplete if it is without an example of both machines), though there is something interesting to the design that Speed Junkies proposes with the two bikes together.

We thought you would find the concept interesting, and there is a second “race” version waiting for you after the jump as well. We are of the belief that either would look good in our garage.

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Digimoto’s BMW R1200R Concept

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The Digimoto concept is the creation of a collaboration between German designer Zanzotti, industrial design house GRAYDEV., and parts-maker Wunderlich.

The trio make a good pitch about how the Digimoto bike was made using virtual reality and other high-tech manufacturing buzzwords, but honestly we just like the simple lines that come from their creation.

Using a BMW R1200R as its basis, the minimalist and modern design is a unique take on the boxer twin. Disc wheels and fork shrouds add an aerodynamic flare to the machine, along with its clear swooping LED tail light.

The seat looks like a repurpose skateboard, and the headlight looks like a Daft Punk helmet to us; but the fuel tank has an interesting design, with the gap between it and the motor giving a sense of levitation.

One of the more interesting concepts on display at EICMA, it gives us something to chew on through the long motorcycle winter.

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The Energica Esse Esse 9 Concept Cannot Be Unseen

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When it comes to the technology that Energica uses to make its electric motorcycles, we can sing only strong praises. The Italian firm has one of the best electric motorcycle packages on the market.

However when it comes to more subjective matters, like the styling of their machines, we find Energica’s designs to be challenging to enjoy, if not sometimes impalpable.

The Energica Ego superbike and the Eva streetfighter are not the most beautiful machines we have ever seen, though their designs do grow on you over time.

We don’t think we will be making the same concessions about the Energica Esse Esse 9 concept though, which debuted at EICMA today.

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The Husqvarna Vitpilen 401 Aero Concept Is F’ing Gorgeous

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Anyone that reads enough Asphalt & Rubber should know that I don’t particularly shine to the café racer aesthetic. So knowing that upfront should add some gravitas to the statement that the Husqvarna Vitpilen 401 Aero is blowing my mind right now.

Based on the same unassuming 373cc single-cylinder platform as the Husavarna Vitpilen 401 and Husqvarna Svartpilen 401 motorcycles, the Husqvarna Vitpilen 401 Aero concept completes the post-authentic holy trinity of retro standards, scramblers, and café racers.

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The Honda CB1100 TR Concept Gives a Nod Towards Europe’s Flat Track Racing Fascination

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The American Flat Track aesthetic is catching hold over in Europe. We can see evidence of such by the popularity of flat track racing for Europe’s top MotoGP athletes, the rise of the Spanish Superprestigio event in Barcelona, and with the concepts we are seeing come from the European divisions of motorcycle OEMs.

Add the Honda CB1100 TR concept to that pile of evidence, as it is one of two motorcycle concepts that Honda Motor Europe is debuting at the 2016 EICMA show (the other being the very tasty Honda Africa Twin Enduro Sports concept).

Built off the Honda CB1100 street bike, the Honda CB1100 TR concept takes a motorcycle we otherwise would not be terribly interested in riding, and gives it a healthy dosage of sex appeal.

Go-fast parts come from Öhlins and Termignoni, with the #58 numberplate honoring the memory of Marco Simoncelli, who passed away five years ago, and whose passing is still deeply felt in Italy.

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KTM 790 Duke Prototype Debuts with Parallel-Twin Engine

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For KTM, the 2016 EICMA show is all about the Duke line of streetfighters. The KTM 1290 Super Duke R got a pretty sizable upgrade for 2017, the KTM 690 Duke received a facelift, and the KTM 390 Duke is now easily the best bike in its class.

The Austrians didn’t stop there though, they also gave us a taste of what is still to come for the Duke brand, teasing us with the KTM 790 Duke prototype.

Rumored heavily before the new bike season, this “KTM 800 Duke” features an 800cc parallel-twin engine, slapped into an upright motard-esque chassis.

The Kendo-styled LED headlight that’s finding its way into the entire KTM range features here as well, though that is hardly the most radical part of the 790 Duke’s design – checkout the undertail exhaust, which probably spit plums of fire before the lawyers got ahold of it.

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Oh My! The Honda Africa Twin Enduro Sports Concept

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File the Honda Africa Twin Enduro Sports concept under things we like, as the adventure-bike concept takes perhaps the most off-road competent ADV bike on the market, and raises its dirt credit by another factor of ten.

Built off the Honda CRF1000L Africa Twin, the Enduro Sports concept is intended to expand the Africa Twin family, and to help the new adventure bike attract more riders into its Cult of Brap.

To do this, Honda’s R&D department came up with several lighter weight chassis components (Honda does say what specifically, of course), which were initially developed for the Honda CRF450 Rally race bike, which competes in the Dakar Rally.

The styling is aggressive, especially with the revised headlight assembly. The windscreen and fairings have been re-styled for a sportier look as well, and of course the Termignoni exhaust system is eye-catching, in utilitarian sort of way. Overall, the effect is quite stark.

Honda concept bikes have a funny way of becoming production models in a year or two’s time. As such, we wouldn’t mind have one in our garage. Would you?

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