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Ducati Owners: You Are Not Ready for the 1299 Superbike

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You would have to be living under a rock not to know about the upcoming Ducati Scrambler, Bologna has made certain of that. But as we surmised in our analysis of Scrambler’s marketing, Ducati is due to update the Panigale as well for the 2015 model year. That educated guess, it seems has been proven correct, at least in part.

While Borgo Panigale will continue to sell its namesake Ducati 1199 Panigale, the Panigale R model will be replaced for 2015 by the new 1299 superbike.

As such, the 1299 will be Ducati’s consumer-facing machine for its World Superbike program — a project that has been greatly affected by WSBK’s intake restrictions for v-twins — thus race teams can expect an upgraded RS15 as well to be coming forth.

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Bikes

Has Ducati Built a Bridge Too Far with the Scrambler?

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Bologna is readying to debut the Ducati Scrambler ahead of the INTERMOT show, in case you missed the bevy of “spy” photos, the World Ducati Week unveil to attendees, the dedicated Tumblr website, the Instagram account, and the claymation animated video series…

A more modern riff on the Ducati models of the 1960’s, the 2015 Ducati Scrambler will unveil to the public in a couple weeks’ time, and the model is another motorcycle from Ducati that speaks to outside the core Ducatisti demographic. But, is the new Ducati Scrambler a bridge too far for the Italian brand?

I have talked before about Ducati’s process of brand extension as it related to the launch of the Ducati Diavel, as the iconic Italian brand moved past being a “sport bike brand” and into a robust full-feature motorcycle marque.

Since that writing, we have seen the breakdown of the Italian dream team that was Valentino Rossi and Ducati Corse in MotoGP, the floundering of Ducati’s World Superbike efforts with the Ducati 1199 Panigale superbike, a stagnation of the company’s yearly growth in terms of motorcycle sales volume, and the abandonment of Ducati’s iconic air-cooled motors (the Scrambler will likely be the last Desmo Due from Bologna).

Where Ducati Motor Holding crescendoed under the leadership of Gabriele del Torchio, growing constantly in unit sales, pushing into new market segments with ease, and debuting compelling new motorcycles year-after-year, this next stanza written by Claudio Domenicali has been more of a coda to Ducati’s symphony of progress.

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Bikes

BMW Confirms New S1000RR Will Debut at INTERMOT – Two More New Bikes to Debut at EICMA

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We already know that BMW Motorrad has a bevy of new machines coming out for the 2015 model year, and now the Germans are ready to admit as much. Confirming that a new BMW S1000RR superbike will debut at the INTERMOT show, BMW has also teased that two more new models will also debut at EICMA.

From the spy photos that we obtained, we know that the 2015 BMW S1000RR features modestly updated bodywork, a restyled exhaust, and likely features a mild engine reworking. We will have to wait a couple more weeks to get the full details though, but expect a modest hp boost, semi-active suspension, and the Bosch MSC cornering-ABS system as standard — much like the BMW HP4.

As for the two new machines debuting in November at the EICMA show, BMW Motorrad is surely referring to the S1000XR adventure-tourer, which we have spied on several occassions, as well as the expected new water-cooled version of the R1200R.

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Rumors

Mercedes-AMG to Take a Minority Interest in MV Agusta?

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News of Mercedes-AMG eyeing an acquisition of MV Agusta have been circulating for some time now, likely as the deal has continued to evolve between the two parties.

Now, Italy’s reliable Motociclismo is reporting that AMG has agreed to purchase a minority position, likely around 20% of the company, the announcement of which will be made at the EICMA show in Milan, Italy.

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Bikes

Matchless Model X Reloaded – Blending Old with New

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Two years ago we spoke of the rebirth of the Matchless motorcycle brand, and today we see the first fruits of that company’s labor. Debuting three renderings that depict a future model, we get to see our first glimpse of the Matchless Model X Reloaded – a motorcycle that blends both the modern technology of today with the iconic lines of the British marque’s past.

Borrowing its name from the Matchless Model X, the Model X Reloaded keeps some of the 1920’s motorcycle’s aesthetic, helping connect the brand of the past to the company of the future. Other details are thin, though we do know that the Matchless Model X Reloaded will have an S&S X-Wedge v-twin motor with 1,916cc of displacement.

With oil in frame, and a number of other vague features named in its press release, the highlight has to be Matchless’ statement regarding a 12-piston front brake caliper up front, and a 6-piston rear caliper. We expect to see the marque come to its senses by its November 2014 debut though, at the upcoming EICMA show. More info as we get it.

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Bikes

Facelift Coming for the 2015 BMW S1000RR

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As we already reported, the BMW S1000RR is set to get some updates for the 2015 model year…we even have a spy photo to prove it. We didn’t get too good of a look at the front of the new S1000RR earlier though, but thankfully our Dutch friends at Oliepeil have found a rendering of the 2015 BMW S1000RR.

Fans hoping that the BMW S1000RR would lose its winking face, will be disappointed, though the effect has certainly become less pronounced in the newest iteration. Since the render matches the bodywork we saw in our spy photos, which see different subtly venting outlet shapes being used, we can be extremely confident is the final design.

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This Isn’t the 2015 KTM 390 Adventure, But It Is Coming

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The autumn trade shows, INTERMOT and EICMA, are nearly upon us, and that means a plethora of new bikes are just weeks away from being unveiled to the public.

Some of the bikes we have seen coming for some time now, like the Ducati Scrambler and BMW S1000F (or whatever BMW plans on calling it); other bikes we have only just learned about, like the Yamaha TDM-09 (as the press is calling it) and the Suzuki GSX-S1000; and then there are the motorcycles we can only speculate about.

However, no machine has been more leaked, rumored, and anticipated than the KTM 390 Adventure. Like its sport bike counterpart, the KTM RC390, the smaller adventure bike is built around the KTM 390 Duke platform.

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Bikes

Yamaha FZ1 Fans Sleep Well, The Fazer Will Continue On

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When we saw that Yamaha had a sport-tourer based off the FZ-09, we had some worry for fans of the Yamaha FZ1. The venerable “Fazer” is certainly long in the tooth, and one doesn’t have to have an overly active imagination to see the FZ1 being replaced by an FZ-09 variant.

Applying for CARB certification this week though, Yamaha seems content to sell the four-cylinder Yamaha FZ1 within the borders of the Golden State in 2015, presumably along with the rest of the United States.

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Bikes

Energica Eva – Italy’s 2nd Electric Motorcycle Coming Soon

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Just a couple weeks ago, we got to ride the Energica Ego, a bike that made quite an impression on us. Now it seems Energica is readying an encore to its first electric motorcycle, the Energica Eva. Details are light at the moment, though we know the Eva will debut at EICMA, and be based off the Ego’s platform.

A streetfighter to the Ego’s superbike format, we expect the Eva to come with the same 134hp PMAC motor and 11.7 kWh battery pack. With less fairings and a more upright riding position, the Energica Eva will go more head-to-head in form-factor to the Brammo Empulse R and Zero SR.

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MV Agusta F3 800 Ago Now Officially Debuts

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It’s a little peculiar that we bring you news today of the MV Agusta F3 800 Ago, as we already announced the bike last November, and brought you a bevy of hi-res images of the special edition machine. Although now that we think of it, MV Agusta never released anything on this Giacomo Agostini tribute motorcycle — better late than never, right?

Back at the EICMA show launch, where the MV Agusta F3 800 Ago was first shown to the public (and Agostini himself), the Varese brand promised us two additional motorcycle launches in early 2014. MV Agsuta made good on half that promise with the Dragster 800 model, hopefully this Ago special edition isn’t the other half of that statement, and MV Agusta still has something waiting in the wings.

That being said, the Tricolore & Gold paint scheme is gorgeous, and looks even better in person. Whether or not you are an Agostini fan, the tribute from MV Agusta is a heart-felt one, as Giacomo spent the majority of his GP career on the Italian brand’s machinery.

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News

MV Agusta Will Debut Two More Motorcycles in 2014

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MV Agusta had only a single new model to show at the 2013 EICMA show, its new sport-touring machine, the MV Agusta Turismo Veloce 800. An important brand extension for the Italian company, CEO Giovanni Castiglioni admitted that MV Agusta scrapped its original design for the Turismo Veloce, simply stating that the produce design didn’t have the same “wow effect” that the MV Agusta motorcycle should evoke. Developing the current iteration of the MV Agusta Turismo Veloce in just eight-months time, time will tell on whether the Turismo Veloce has been rushed to market or not.

MV Agusta has cleverly spun its recent history of releasing half-baked motorcycles to market (the press debut of the MV Agusta F3 675 and its horrible fuel-mapping are still fresh in our memory), by saying the company has adopted a strategy where its machines are in “constant upgrade” from the MV Agusta’s legion of engineers. There is an interesting story there about the sophistication of electronics now, though we would just prefer the bikes work properly in version 1.0, not 1.1.

Now raising its own bar on sophistication, the Castiglioni says that the MV Agusta Turismo Veloce 800 is the most advanced model ever to come from Varese. Time will soon tell how the sport-tourer rides (we hear it was a non-runner in the company’s promotional video), but as for the future of the Italian company, it is still full-speed ahead on other projects, which brings us to where we are today.

Some news that seemingly got lost with all the other announcements at EICMA, Giovanni Castiglioni shared at the Milan show that his road map for the future of MV Agusta includes two more yet unannounced new models, in two new market segments, which will debut in the first-part of 2014.

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