Tag

Ducati

Browsing

One of the more compelling designs we have seen grace our pixels lately, today’s concept sketch is by young automotive designer Steven Galpin, and harkens back to when MotoGP racer Valentino Rossi was still a part of Ducati Corse’s GP program.

Imagining a special edition version of the Ducati 1199 Panigale, a bike whose “frameless” monocoque chassis is based off the Ducati Desmosedici race bike, Galpin has smoothed out the lines of the Italian superbike, creating something entirely different, though clearly related to the Panigale.

A quick glance at Galpin’s drawings, and you may be wondering where the Ducati’s underslung exhaust has gone (it’s a noticeable hole on the bike’s clean lines). We suggest you train your eye onto the concept’s swingarm, as an integrated exhaust has been added to the single-sided swingarm.

Galpin’s work is intriguing, and should satiate some of the issues that people have had with the Panigale’s busy bodywork; however, the Ducati VR|46 brings its own criticisms as well (we’re not so sure about its 2018 delivery date either). Overall though, we like what Galpin has done here — sometimes less is more. Thanks for the tip Nik!

It’s been a weird year for factory MotoGP bike debuts. With Ducati now a part of Audi AG, the Italian team’s Wrooom! debut event was nixed, as it was jointly hosted with Ferrari.

Meanwhile in Indonesia, Yamaha Racing debuted in what looked like a basement service closet, though thankfully Movistar has come on-board as a title sponsor, creating the need to retake the team’s livery photos — hopefully with a little post-processing this time.

Just two weeks away from the opening round of the MotoGP season, in Qatar, Ducati Corse has now officially debuted its racing machine, the 2014 Ducati Desmosedici GP14.

Ducati Corse has finally debuted its 2014 MotoGP team, with Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso showing off the team colors with the Ducati Desmosedici GP14. The reunited teammates have their work cutout for them this year, honing Ducati’s GP machine.

Under the guidance of Gigi Dall’Igna, Ducati will compete under the Open Category, though Dorna has now made Ducati’s entry a “Factory 2” option, in an attempt to appease the complaints of Honda and Yamaha.

Regardless of what you want to call it, Ducati is free to develop the Desmosedici GP14’s engine, for the modest concession of using the spec-ECU software. Hopefully this means Cal and Dovi will be more competitive as the season wears on this year.

The CRT-replacement Open class in MotoGP is causing an even bigger shake up of the class than was expected. The outright speed of the Forward Yamaha at the first two Sepang tests provoked a testy response from Honda, who claimed it was entirely against the spirit of the rules.

Then came news that Ducati was to switch to an Open entry, giving them the freedom to develop their engines and use more fuel, in exchange for giving up their own ECU software.

This provoked an even angrier response from Honda, Repsol Honda team principal Livio Suppo telling the MotoGP.com website that they were unhappy with the introduction of the new ECU software Magneti Marelli brought to the second Sepang test, which was much more sophisticated, though it was not used by the teams.

It seems Honda’s complaints have not fallen on deaf ears. Today, in an interview with Spanish sports daily AS, Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta announced that a third, intermediate category is to be introduced for 2014.

The Ducati 1199 Panigale is perhaps the pinnacle of technology for sport bikes from Bologna, Italy. With 195 horses of fury, and a positively anorexic dry weight of 367 lbs, the spec-sheet racing for the Panigale is intriguing, if getting around a race track the absolutely fastest way possible is your primary goal.

But what if you enjoy the finer things in your Ducati life as well? In that case, the brains at Moto Puro might have just the thing for your Desmo addiction: the Ducati Elite II.

To build the Elite II, the Dutch builders of Moto Puro took a Ducati 1199 Panigale S, and stripped the machine down to its Superquadro engine and electrical components. From there, those crazy Dutchmen built a café racer style motorcycle, complete with tubeless wire-laced wheels on single-sided swingarm.

When you tell most people that you ride a motorcycle, their usual question is “so, what do you ride, a Ducati?” The only other brand name so synonymous with motorcycling would be Harley-Davidson.

The famed Italian brand’s distinctive Euro-styling and cultural cachet seemed to resonate with nearly 45,000 people in 2013, as the brand from Bologna sold a record 44,287 motorbikes worldwide last year.

Sales in South Asia rose by 26% with 5,200 motorcycles sold, while the United States, Ducati’s top market, accounted for 24% in sales, followed by Italy at 11.3% and Germany at 10.7%.

Announced today at the Geneva Motor Show, the updated Ducati Diavel is being called a second-generation model, though the power cruiser offers only modest changes for the new model year.

For most riders, the key differences are the addition of the Testastretta 11° DS engine, new exhaust system, and full-LED headlight. These changes come with an additional $1,000 price tag to the “Dark Stealth” base model, and two Diavel Carbon machines (Ducati Red & White Star).

Peak power is the same (162hp) though comes in at 9,250 rpm rather than last year’s 9,500. Like the Dual Spark engine update on the Multistrada, the power range has been broadened, with more power lower in the revs than before. Peak torque is up though, to 96.3 lbs•ft — up from the 94 lbs•ft of last year.

Visually, the big changes are the stock exhaust (tailored to look more like the Ducati Performance Termignoni exhaust), as well as the radiator guards and LED headlight. It’s the headlight element that will catch most people out visually though.

Fans of the Diavel design will enjoy the refresh and modern tech, however if you happen to be in the group that never cared for the looks of Ducati’s Devil, we imagine the change will do little to woo you over. We fall into the latter group, as we’ve never been big fans of the Monster aesthetic, until we saw the Monster 1200 of course.

Without having swung a leg over the machine, we expect the “second-generation” Diavel to be just as much fun to ride as its predecessor. Low, comfortable, and fast…there isn’t much to dislike once you’re behind the handlebars of this machine. Expect to see bikes in or after April; but until then, enjoy the high-resolution photos we have after the jump.

As expected, Ducati has unveiled an updated version of the Diavel power cruiser today at the Geneva Motor Show, during Volkswagen’s presentation. Expected to hit dealerships from April onwards, the 2015 Ducati Diavel features a Testastretta 11° DS engine, a new exhaust system, and a new full-LED headlight.

With the additional of the “Dual Spark” engine, top power remains the same as before, at 162hp, while mid-range power has been improved upon. Tipping the scales at 452 lbs dry, 11 lbs lighter than before, the updated Diavel is pretty much the same everywhere else though.

The big news on the final day of testing at Sepang was not what was happening on track, but rather what was happening off track. The announcement – trailed here and all around the media since early January – that Ducati would switch to the Open category was the talk of the paddock…and social media…and bike racing forums…and biking bars around the world, I expect.

Even though we knew this was coming, it is only now becoming clear just how much of a game changer this decision is.

The announcement was timed curiously, made at the end of the day when the bosses of Yamaha and Honda had already left the circuit and were unavailable to the press. Likewise, the press room had largely emptied out. It appeared to have been made to minimize the impact, especially on the other manufacturers.

Honda and Yamaha now have a couple of days to gather their PR might and put together a carefully worded position on the move by Ducati, which will both give the impression they are entirely disinterested in what Ducati have decided to do, while at the same time exuding a vague air of disapproval. Expect to see the verb ‘to disappoint’ in various conjugations.

On track, however, the situation was largely unchanged from the last couple of days of testing: interesting names at the top of the timesheet, belying the utter dominance of the Repsol Hondas, in the person of Dani Pedrosa. Valentino Rossi was the fastest man on the day, and leaves as the fastest rider of the test, pleased with the progress they have made.

But dig deeper, examine the times set during the long race simulations, and Dani Pedrosa comes out streets ahead, half a second or more quicker than the competition. Pedrosa’s average pace is faster than any other riders best lap on their long run.

After assessing its position during the two Sepang tests, Ducati Corse has decided to enter the 2014 MotoGP Championship under the “Open Class” rules, which means the factory Ducati team will have more fuel, more engines, and more importantly no engine development freeze for the 2014 season.

In exchange for those advantages, Ducati Corse will be forced to use the Magneti Marelli ECU package supplied by Dorna, rather than the company’s factory-developed electronics.

Explaining its decision, Ducati says that “after carefully considering the two options, [Ducati] has decided that the most suitable one for the current needs of the Bologna-based manufacturer is the Open one, which gives the possibility to the race department to continue the development of the bike and the engine throughout the entire season.”

According to users on Diavel-Forum.com, Ducati dealers have been telling customers to get ready for an updated version of the Ducati Diavel, which should break cover Monday, March 3rd.

The surprise unveiling for the 2014 model year will see the Ducati Diavel get a host of improvements, most notable the dual-spark Testastretta 11° DS motor. Other updates are said to include a revised headlight, new exhaust, indicators, and side panels.

If the reports turn out to be true, we should see the Diavel get a modest power boost from the Testastretta 11° DS engine (likely only in the mid-range, as was seen on the Multistrada 1200).

Expect a small premium for the model over the standard Diavel, with three trim levels being available, including a “Dark” base model and a high-end “Carbon” model.