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Video: What Moves You?

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I am always amazed by the sort of people that read Asphalt & Rubber on a daily basis — we have some very talented people in our ranks (including some even very famous ones), and it’s great to get email from them, even if it’s just to say hi.

Along those lines, I got a message from a reader named Brian recently, just showing us a spec commercial he and some friends made about motorcycling a while back. It features a Ducati, so I guess you could say it is aimed at the Ducati community, but honestly I think any motorcyclist would resonate with its words. Enjoy!

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News

Ducati CEO Leaves the Door Open for a Scooter Model

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In a recent interview by Moto.it with Claudio Domenicali, the Ducati CEO fielded a number of questions about the Italian company’s business and its relationship with its German owners (read it here in Google English), but one question was of particular interest: a Ducati Scooter.

The often rumored, often debated, and often denied subject is perhaps the most feared topics for Ducatisti, and it ranks generally just below discussions on which oil to use, which tires are best, and how to break-in a motorcycle engine properly.

That being said, it seems we are headed for another round of debate, as Domenicali is quoted as saying the following to Moto.it: “a scooter marked Ducati is not blasphemy.”

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Racing

Interesting Entries for the 2015 Pikes Peak Hill Climb

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The 93rd running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb may be over three months away, but the historic American road race released its official entry list this week, with some interesting participants for 2015’s Race to the Clouds.

So far with 78 motorcycle entries confirmed, our attention was piqued with the entry of a 2015 Kawasaki H2 sport bike by Japan’s Takahiro Itami — an unsupported race entry according to Kawasaki USA.

Bringing things more locally, Colorado-based Ronin Motorcycles has an entry with one the company’s 47 heavily modified Buells, with Pikes Peak class-winner Travis Newbold at the helm.

Coming straight from the Isle of Man TT, Rob “The Bullet” Barber will compete in the electric class with The Ohio State University’s Buckeye Current team.

Other entries of interest include a Ducati 1299 Panigale S by Eric Foutch, a still to-be-determined ride for Cycle World’s road test editor Don Canet, and a TOBC Racing Suzuki GSX-R600 for Asphalt & Rubber contributor Shelina Moreda.

While Pikes Peak has several “To Be Determined” motorcycle entries still to disclose, noticeably absent from the entry list are many of the race’s recent top-finishers.

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Bikes

Watch Ducati Assemble the New Multistrada 1200

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When you think about the assembly process involved in making a motorcycle, it is pretty staggering. Not only do Ducati engineers have the task of making the best motorcycle possible, but they also need to design the machine to be easily built by the factory workers at Borgo Panigale.

Which parts should go on before the next? where a cable should be routed through the frame and bodywork? The planning that must go into building out an assembly line is certainly an undertaking I would not want to have.

So while the latest video from Ducati is perhaps not the most ouvertly entertaining, it is certainly impressive nonetheless to watch Italy’s finest assemblying a 2015 Ducati Multistrada 1200.

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WSBK

Troy Bayliss Will Continue Racing in WSBK with Ducati

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A subtle “see you soon” and the photo above from Troy Bayliss set the news on fire that the Australian will continue to ride for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike team, confirmed for the round in Thailand, and with rumors of Aragon and Assen.

The news continues the fanfare from Phillip Island — where Bayliss asked Ducati Corse to let him replace the injured Davide Giugliano, who crashed earlier in the week at the pre-season test, fracturing two vertebrae — giving Aussie fans a special treat at Bayliss’ home round, not mention a renewed buzz for the WSBK series in general, around the world.

While Ducati had perhaps more competitive riders to choose from, such as Michele Pirro and Xavi Forés, in continuing to replace Giugliano, the Italian racing squad chose the fan-favorite again in the 45-year-old retired World Champion.

It probably helps too that World Superbike engine rules play to Ducati’s favor if Bayliss continues to replace the injured Davide Giugliano, but imagine the fanfare with the previous story, and this one, is the result Ducati Corse was hoping to achieve.

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Bikes

2015 Ducati Multistrada 1200 Mega Gallery

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The international press launch for the 2015 Ducati Multistrada 1200 is underway, and accordingly we have a mega gallery of high-resolution photos for you to ogle over. While the 2015 model looks much like its predecessor, Ducati says the adventure-sport machine is all new, from the ground up.

The chassis is new. The engine is the new 160hp Testastretta DVT motor, which has Desmodromic Variable Timing on both the intake and exhaust valves. And while the large-stroke of the styling cues are obviously similar, Ducati has changed the subtle strokes of the Multistrada’s design.

Like the Ducati 1299 Panigale, the new Multistrada comes equipped with an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), which aids the motorcycle in applying traction and stability control electronic systems.

Also, the Bosch MSC “cornering ABS” package is also standard on the new Multistrada, while other options include the LED “cornering” headlight, the Ducati Multimedia System, and other electric tidbits.

The ADV bike also comes in a variety of flavors, first base and “S” trim. The Ducati Multistrada 1200 then comes with five different flavors: Sport, Touring, Enduro, Urban, and D-Air — the latter of course being a collaboration with Dainese and its airbag equipped apparel, which is only available in Europe.

The base model starts at $17,700 while the “S” model has an MSRP of $19,700.

We have 111 high-resolution photos for you to peruse, download, and generally lust over — after the jump of course. Enjoy!

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Opinion/Editorial

Has Ducati’s Success Flat-Lined?

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The saying goes that one time is a fluke, two times is a coincidence, but three times…three times is a trend. Looking at Ducati’s last three years of sales (2012-2014), which spans only a 2% margin of growth, by definition one has to conclude that the Italian company is experiencing sales stagnation.

Granted each of the last three years have been record years for the Italian motorcycle company’s sales figures, but each year has been a nudging over the last, seemingly at the cost of Ducati dealers who have found more and more inventory on their showroom floors.

But it shouldn’t surprise Ducati followers to hear the recent departure of Cristiano Silei, Ducati’s now-former Vice President of Sales and Marketing. With Ducati seemingly hitting a wall on expansion and model diversity, Silei’s departure may have been expected in some circles, and certainly all eyes will be on his successor Andrea Buzzoni, to see what he can do with the role.

Is all of this a sign that Ducati has lost its magic, seemingly during the leadership transition from Gabriele del Torchio to Claudio Domenicali? Or is there growth to be had from the Italian brand, now that it is owned by Audi AG? We examine that thought in more detail, after the jump.

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MotoGP

2015 MotoGP Sepang 2 Test Preview – Seamless Gearboxes, Brand New Ducatis, & Fast French Rubber

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The engineers have had two weeks to pore over the data from the first MotoGP test at Sepang, identify problems, analyze strengths, and find more ways to go faster. Their analyses have been translated into designs, into new parts, into yet more software, ready to put their theories into practice.

On Monday morning, at 10am Malaysian time, the MotoGP riders get to try out all of the new parts and ideas thought up by their factories and teams in search of a few more fractions of a second.

The eyes of the world will not be on what the engineers did between Sepang 1 and Sepang 2, however. Attention will be focused on Yamaha and Ducati, who will be testing hardware which has been a long time coming.

Yamaha is bringing its fully seamless gearbox to the Sepang 2 test, and Ducati will roll out its Desmosedici GP15 for the first time. Both could make a significant impact.

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WSBK

WSBK: Troy Bayliss Replacing Giugliano at Phillip Island

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Australian World Superbike fans are in for a very special treat this weekend, as Troy Bayliss is confirmed to be Davide Giugliano’s replacement at the WSBK season-opener at Phillip Island, after the Italian fractured two vertebrae during a crash earlier this week.

Ducati Corse initially did not plan to replace Giugliano at the Australian round, but instead the Italian company decided to fullfill every Aussie racing fan’s wet dream, and put the former WSBK Champion on the seat of the Ducati 1199 Panigale RS15.

The move comes after Troy Bayliss requested to ride at the Australian event, which is the 25th anniversary of World Superbikes at Phillip Island.

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MotoGP

Analyzing The Ducati Desmosedici GP15

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Anyone watching the presentation of Ducati’s 2015 MotoGP bike will have learned two Italian phrases: “Emozionante” and “tanto lavoro”. Both were extremely apt.

Getting from where Ducati was to where it is now with the Desmosedici GP15 had needed “tanto lavoro”, a lot of hard work, and they still have “tanto lavoro” ahead of them.

The results were “emozionante”, a fantastic word nearer to exciting than emotional. But both exciting and emotional were apt phrases. The sense of eagerness was palpable among Ducati staff at Bologna on Monday. For good reason, the GP15 presented in a long, loud, and rather meandering show is radically different from what came before.

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WSBK

Davide Giugliano Will Miss the WSBK Season Opener

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Bad news for Ducati Corse WSBK fans, as Davide Giugliano has been confirmed to miss the World Superbike opening round at Phillip Island this weekend.

The news comes as a result of the Italian fracturing his L1 and L2 vertebrae in a crash at Turn 11 on the Australian track during a testing session.

The news is especially unfortunate as Giugliano had shown good pace on the Ducati Panigale RS15 through-out testing, and the Italian has shown that Phillip Island is one of the tracks he excels at in racing conditions.

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