Latest Posts:
Asphalt & Rubber
Tag

Ducati

Browsing
Bikes

Pocher 1:4 Scale Model of the Ducati 1299 Panigale S

By 8 Comments

Italian scale model maker Pocher is known for its exquisite work, and the company specializes in making high quality 1:8 models of some of the finest cars ever to grace the open road.

Looking for a new challenge, Pocher has expanded its line to include motorcycles, the first of which is the Ducati 1299 Panigale S that you see above.

At nearly a foot long, and fitted with real rubber, metal, and plastic pieces, this isn’t just some tiny hobbyist kit, but instead a true collectible that has been engineered to be as close the Panigale S as you can be, at 1:4 scale.

Keep Reading
By
MotoGP

Friday Summary at the Jerez MotoGP Test: Redding Reveals Ducati Dominance, & Where Honda Is Going Wrong

By 17 Comments

So, testing is over and the winter test ban can start. Riders who intend to race in 2016 are banned from testing between December 1st, 2015 and January 31st 2016.

Engineers now have a long winter ahead of them to try to make sense of the data gathered at the test at Valencia and Jerez, or else send their test riders out in the chill of winter, as Aprilia intend to do at Jerez in a few weeks. Those engineers have an awful lot of work ahead of them.

The men and women at Ducati will be getting the most time off over the holiday period. It is clear from the first two tests that the Italian factory has hit the ground running with the new unified software, and have the systems working relatively well.

One Ducati engineer reckoned that they were already at about 50% of the potential of the software, far more than the 10% MotoGP’s Director of Technology Corrado Cecchinelli had estimated at Valencia.

Keep Reading
By
MotoGP

Thursday Summary at the Jerez MotoGP Test: Honda’s Overpowered Engine vs. Ducati’s Friendly Delivery

By 3 Comments

Have HRC made the same mistake again? In 2015, the Honda RC213V was a nasty beast to tame, suffering with an excessively aggressive engine.

The engine was probably the single most important reason Marc Márquez could not mount a realistic defense of his second title, forcing him to try to make up in braking what he was losing in acceleration, and crashing out as a result.

At the Valencia test, all eyes were on Honda’s new engine, to see if they had finally fixed the problem.

Valencia turned out to be a little too complex to make a real judgment. The switch to spec-electronics and Michelin tires introduced way too many variables to be able to filter out a single factor, Honda engineers taking a long time to extract some kind of consistency from the new unified software all MotoGP bikes must now use.

The 2016 RC213V engine seemed a little less aggressive, but the new software made it hard to tell. The current test at Jerez was supposed to give a clearer indication, with HRC’s engineers having a better handle on the unified software.

Though the verdict is not yet in, it is not looking good for the 2016 engine Honda brought for the tests in Spain. Both Dani Pedrosa and Marc Márquez have reported the engine as still being too aggressive, and difficult to manage, though the engine character has changed.

Keep Reading
By
Podcast

Two Enthusiasts Podcast – Episode 9 – EICMA, Part 1

By 3 Comments

The 2015 EICMA show is finally over, and of course the guys from the Two Enthusiasts Podcast have something to say about everything that was unveiled in Milan. There is so much to talk about, in fact, that we had to break up the EICMA coverage into two separate shows.

So first up is Episode 9, which is Part 1 of our EICMA round-up. It covers all the happenings from the Italian OEMs: Aprilia, Benelli, Bimota, Ducati, Energica, Moto Guzzi, and MV Agusta.

Keep an eye out for Part 2 (Episode 10), which should debut on Wednesday, and will feature an in-depth discussion on the rest of the OEMs. Yes, that means double the Two Enthusiasts Podcast goodness for this week. Booyah!

Keep Reading
By
MotoGP

Officially Official: Casey Stoner Leaves Honda, Becomes Test Rider & Brand Ambassador for Ducati

By 31 Comments

Casey Stoner is to leave Honda and work with Ducati as a test rider and brand ambassador from 2016. Two press releases, one from Honda and one from Ducati, today confirmed the rumor that had emerged at Valencia during the race weekend, and especially after the test.

Honda thanked Stoner for five years of collaboration, including two years of racing, during which he won fifteen races and a MotoGP championship. After his retirement, at the end of 2012, Stoner continued as a test rider for HRC, but rode only sporadically, no more than a couple of days a year.

This, it appears, seems to have been the trigger for Stoner to make the switch to Ducati as a test rider. The Australian had always retained good ties with the Italian factory, and the arrival of Gigi Dall’Igna as the head of Ducati Corse made a return to Ducati even more attractive.

Stoner knows Dall’Igna well from his time racing an Aprilia in 125s and 250s, a period in which he finished as runner up in the 250 championship to Dani Pedrosa.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Photos of the Delicious Bimota Supercharger

By 18 Comments

Bimota is known for making drool-worthy motorcycles, and at EICMA the boutique Italian brand debuted two fine motorcycles. But, we think the real show-stopper for Bimota was its add-on supercharger system for its Ducati-powered motorcycles.

Good for 15% to 20% more power (probably more, if you like to tinker), the Bimota supercharger kit uses a Sprintex dual-screw supercharger, which has been tastefully made to match the belt covers on the Ducati Testastretta engine.

As you can see from the photos below, the supercharger looks pretty damn good, especially when paired with the “Bimota Experience” package, which adds a carbon fiber frame and swingarm to the chassis.

The Bimota Impeto is the first model to officially have the supercharger as an option, but the Italians say it can be made to work with any of its water-cooled Ducati-powered models.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Bimota Impeto, Supercharger Optional

By 12 Comments

The Bimota range has a long history of Ducati-powered machines, as the Italian brand has been used the most out of all the motorcycle manufacturers to power Bimota’s street and race bikes.

The Bimota Impeto adds another Ducati-powered model to the slew of others, but it differentiates itself as the only 162hp streetfighter in the lineup. If the Impeto looks familiar to the Bimota DB8, there’s good reason, as the two bikes share the Ducati Diavel’s Testastretta 11° DS engine.

As such, the chromoly steel chassis share a number of components, leaving most of the differences down to styling choices between the two liquid-cooled models. Our personal favorites are the exhaust and seat, which mirror each other with a rising flair.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Ducati 959 Panigale Gets Normal Exhaust for the USA

By 7 Comments

Judging by the amount of traffic the story is getting, we imagine the sight of the 2016 Ducati 959 Panigale at the EICMA show has ruffled a few feathers.

That’s understandable, since the Euro4 emission standards have forced the Italians to give the Ducati 959 Panigale an exhaust system that we’ve previously only seen on the Japanese-spec model of the Ducati 1199 Superbike.

While the shotgun exhaust isn’t as gawdy as one would think, it’s certainly a stark departure from the underslung units we are used to. We imagine it’s a moot point though, considering how many 959 Panigales will get some sort of slip-on or full-system exhaust from their new owners.

Just the same, the issue seems to be isolated to European soil, as the US-spec version of the 2016 Ducati 959 Panigale exhaust is just how we remember it. Check out the photos, after the jump, and compare it to the European-spec model (the first photo in the gallery).

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

2016 Ducati Multistrada 1200 Pikes Peak

By No Comments

I have a soft spot for the Pikes Peak models to the Ducati Multistrada 1200 line. Perhaps it’s because I have spent many a cold morning on Pikes Peak, photographing the race version of these machines. Or perhaps it’s that I’m drawn to the Ducati Corse livery, which drips carbon fiber and Rosso Corsa.

Either way, here we are, talking about the 2016 Ducati Multistrada 1200 Pikes Peak motorcycle – the latest model from Ducati to get the special livery from “The Race to the Clouds”, which also comes with Öhlins suspension, forged aluminum Marchesini wheels, and a Termignoni exhaust.

If you have seen the previous Ducati Multistrada 1200 Pikes Peak models, this is perhaps not something that moves the dial on your rev-limiter too far, but the newly updated Ducati Multistrada 1200 certainly looks good with the Pike Peak package.

It seems that the 2016 Ducati Multistrada 1200 Pikes Peak will be available in both Europe and North America, thus bringing more awareness to Ducati’s racing efforts on the 14,000+ foot mountain.

More photos are after the jump. Bring your drool-rag with you.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Ducati Scrambler Sixty2 – 400cc of Hipster

By 42 Comments

The eagerly awaited 2016 Ducati Scrambler Sixty2 is the small-displacement machine we have been waiting for from Ducati, and it has finally dropped at this year’s EICMA show in Milan. The Scrambler Sixty2 joins the Scrambler Flat Track Pro as one of the two new Scrambler Ducati models for 2016.

Accordingly, the Ducati Scrambler Sixty2 takes the basic Scrambler chassis and re-sleeves the machine’s air-cooled v-twin for 400cc of displacement, with a 72mm x 49mm bore and stroke (compared to the 88mm x 66mm bore and stroke on the 803cc models).

The result is a bike that Ducati says is better suited for new riders with its 41hp and 368 lbs dry weight. That’s only a 7 lbs reduction from the the 803cc models, so the Scrambler Sixty2 is still a bit heavy, but the Ducati Scrambler Sixty2 does fit into Europe’s A2 license format, so there’s that.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Ducati Scrambler Flat Track Pro – When Hipsters Go Racing

By 11 Comments

Debuting today in Milan, Italy – just ahead of the EICMA trade show – Ducati has announced the Ducati Scrambler Flat Track Pro. The model comes from Ducati’s foray into the flat track realm, where Troy Bayliss made a tough return to motorcycle racing.

Ducati’s flat track race bike hasn’t really mimiced anything in the Italian company’s lineup, until now of course. Behold the first new model to the Scrambler Ducati brand, the Ducati Scrambler Flat Track Pro.

Keep Reading
By