 Your new post is loading...
Much like Harley-Davidson and Moto Guzzi, Ducati is associated with a single engine design—its signature 90 degree “L-twin.” Save for the V-four-powered MotoGP racebikes, it’s been since the ultra-rare, race-only Supermono single was discontinued in 1995 that the Italian firm has produced anything other than desmodromic-valved V-twins. But this wasn’t always the case. For the three decades prior to 1985, the year Cagiva bought Ducati and decided to focus almost exclusively on the V-twin layout, the company also produced a variety of singles and parallel twins, while the testing department experimented with a wild diversity of engine configurations and designs—most of which have been lost to history and not even displayed in Ducati’s factory museum.
Read more: http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/features/122_1306_abandoned_ducati_prototype_engines/viewall.html#ixzz2TqxAqZLJ
There is something about a motorcycle that is fundamentally manly. Even if there’s a woman on the bike (for the picture obviously) the beast beneath always shines through. If you don’t own a motorcycle, you want one. If you do own a motorcycle, you want more. No amount of crashes, kids, or horror stories will dissuade men from their love of an engine strapped to two wheels. These bikes don’t just put the wind in your hair and a hottie in your lap, they’re a direct line to your testosterone and adrenaline.
The MotoGP World Championship found itself “hostage” of the Spanish riders, something obvious for a long time, but yesterday to raise the issue was the number one of Dorna. “Maybe it is the time to put a limit on the maximum number of riders of the same nationality in each category” he suggested, worried about the chance that an Iberian championship could have little appeal in the rest of the world. “It is a difficult problem, so the solution can't be easy” thinks Paolo Ciabatti, this year Ducati MotoGP Project Director, but until the last year “on the other side of the fence” as the Superbike Director .
Read more: http://www.gpone.com/en/2013051810247/La-MotoGP-ha-bisogno-di-nuovi-Paesi.html#ixzz2TkYxSwvM
Discover the Le Mans Circuit OnBoard the factory Ducati.
Sometimes you just need to push the boundaries. Like Ducati did with its power cruiser, the Diavel.
So we took a Diavel Cromo the desert, and in the best spaghetti Western tradition, let the horse run free. We hope you like the ride....
No more stuffing your suitcases with delicacies bought in Italy, hoping the sniffer dogs at JFK or other American airports won't detect the banned-in-the-USA foodstuffs inside your luggage. In the U.S., they're called cured meats, the French say charcuterie and in Italy, the word for cured-pork products is salumi. Starting May 28, a four-decades-old ban on the import of many Italian salumiwill be lifted.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced that the Italian regions of Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto and Piedmont, and the provinces of Trento and Bolzano, are free of swine vesicular disease. Imports of pork products from those areas, says the USDA, present a low risk of introducing the disease into the U.S. The disease was first detected in the 1960s and can survive cooking and even long curing.
For the whole article click HERE
Ducati has built and brought to market another extremely successful piece of engineering with the new Hypermotard SP. Beautiful to look at and exhilarating to ride, the dramatically updated 2013 model of the Italian company's supermoto bike is fast and fierce, and equal parts demanding and rewarding. It's basically a race bike, which means it's not a cozy mount for a cruise up the coast. The ready-for-the-track set-up means stiff suspension, an unforgiving seat, increased seat height, plenty of engine heat and a muffler growl that will wake the neighbors.
In other words, it's awesome. I enjoyed my first hour on this bike as much as I've enjoyed any ride this year.
For the rest of this story click HERE
While he hadn't yet been named CEO when this photo was taken, Claudio Domenicali has long been a force of nature inside Ducati. From the days when Ducati Corse was just formed to his later progression into production, Domenicali's hands are all over nearly every aspect of Ducati as a company. His love for racing is well known.
WELCOME TO 'PERFORMANCE' Öhlins Racing is excited to invite you to view the latest edition of PERFORMANCE, the exciting online magazine that gives an intriguing insight into the diverse world of this legendary suspension brand.
You will have free, exclusive access to stories from around the globe on two and four wheels, racing, street, dirt and even snow...
In this edition we look into Öhlins' racing successes, the challenges of the Dakar, the big bucks world of Supercross, the firebreathing 550bhp Volvo Polestar machine and two readers specials; a gold leaf retro US Ducati and an ultra trick Fireblade from Croatia of all places.
Click on the magazine below and enter the World of Öhlins...
The motorcycle industry is littered with Minnesotans. People from the midwest who are offered positions in the bike industry usually gravitate towards the west coast where the local weather allows for more than 3-4 months of decent riding a year. Ex-Minnesotan Jason Chinnock worked his way up the ladder at Ducati USA--he's been based in their Cupertino office for several years--and although bikes are undoubtedly his first love, a chance to move up within the VW/Audi Group was something he could not let pass....
Bomber gets his first race on a Bologna bullett British Superbike veteran Karl Harris has switched to Ducati power for this year's North West 200 and will stand in for Lee Johnston on the Moto Rapido Sport 1199 Panigale in the Superstock and Superbike races next weekend.
Harris' PR Kawasaki squad weren't able to field a bike for him at this year's first roads international but he will now use Lee Johnston's bike as the Ulsterman is still injured. He tested the bike yesterday at Kirkistown.
‘I have never ridden a Ducati before but the Panigale seemed very strong for a Superstock machine," said Harris, who will race the bike in four outings - the Superstock event on Thursday evening and again in Saturday’s Superstock race as well as both Superbike events on race day.
Checa will not race Monza tomorrow
Checa's shoulder injury forces him to forfeit the Monza weekend Monza (Italy), Saturday 11 May 2013: Carlos Checa and Team SBK Ducati Alstare have decided that the Spanish rider will not take part in today's sessions or tomorrow’s races at the ‘Autodromo di Monza’. During the last week Carlos Checa has been receiving treatment for an osseous edema to the humerus of the left shoulder. This physical problem conditioned yesterday’s sessions, with Checa reporting pain in his shoulder. Overnight the inflammation worsened and early this morning, after consultation with both the doctors of the Clinica Mobile and Ducati Alstare’s management, it was decided that Carlos should not ride and should instead continue to recuperate in order to be back in shape in 2-3 weeks time. Checa will therefore not participate in the rest of the practice sessions or tomorrow’s races and will concentrate on preparing for the next round, to take place in two weeks at Donington Park (UK).
Our man Melling spreads a juicy bit of gossip about the state of Ducati in MotoGP and posits some interesting scenarios for the 2014 season.
|
There’s nothing like a barn find to get the motorcycling juices flowing, and this Ducati 750 Super Sport is one of the best. The bike was discovered in Belgium in 2009, after sitting in a shed for 15 years. It’s now been resurrected by Harné Heuvelman of the Dutch specialist Back To Classics, and it’s as close to vintage perfection as you can get...
This morning I got up at 3:30 am to watch the warmup of the MotoGP race from France live. To be honest, as passionate as I am about the sport and the Ducati brand I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that the last couple of seasons have been hard to watch. And that’s from the outside which is, lets be honest, nothing like being on the inside and taking it on the chin every day. So the 3:30 am ritual for the Euro rounds has been less and less appealing, in the battle of sleep vs race fan, sleep has been winning....
For the rest of this blogpost click HERE
MotoGP News. “I was surprised to do a 1:33.6, as I didn't think I'd be able to do that, but it was a beautiful feeling” - Andrea Dovizioso..
Andrea Dovizioso claimed Ducati's first front row start of the 2013 MotoGP season with a brilliant final lap in qualifying at Le Mans.
The Italian jumped from seventh to third, 0.4s from pole, and will line-up alongside Marc Marquez andJorge Lorenzo on Sunday's grid.
Team SBK Ducati Alstare in collaboration with Team Barni Racing have come to an agreement that will see Italian rider Niccolò Canepa participate as a wildcard in the Superbike category this weekend. Canepa, who is currently leading the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup with Team Barni Racing, is available to compete in the Superbike category this weekend as the Stock bikes do not race at the UK circuit. The Ducati Alstare and Barni Racing teams are therefore pleased to announce that Canepa will join official Ducati Superbike riders Checa and Badovini for this fifth round of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship.
Meet in the Middle is also our first Passport Event of the year details of which we will be posting soon.
This starts ride from several corners of New England and met for an excellent BBQ lunch at Curtis' BBQ in Putney VT. This is an excellent place to hang out and chat with your fellow Ducati enthusiasts. Riders of other makes are welcome too, it will give us a chance to show them the light . Afterwards you can head home or hook up with others to take advantage of some local knowledge of some great New England Roads. More details HERE
Some parts of riding are simple. When the choices of action are limited or easy to grasp, riders feel in control. When choices are more complex or not fully understood, errors can occur. If riding sometimes feels like a coin toss—heads, I brake; tails, I gas it—realize that you have some work to do. A rider’s skills are improving when his or her choices yield consistent results. Recognizing when our choices produce good results is the first step in trusting ourselves as riders. Choices come in all shapes and sizes. Common ones, like choosing which part of the lane to occupy, are both simple and powerful. Consider, for example, the choice to avoid the middle of the lane. Identifying the situation—the dark middle is mostly greasy car droppings—and combining that knowledge with an action—shifting to one side of the lane or the other—results in a more predictable and often confidence-building outcome: In this case, better traction.
Read more: http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/features/columns/122_1306_riding_skills_code_break/#ixzz2TYuCFAbW
That MotoGP is too Iberocentric – too many Spanish races, and too many Spanish riders – is obvious to all who follow the sport, with the possible exception of a blinkered Spanish journalist or two. The series has to change, to move away from having four races a season in Spain, and to explore new markets in South America and Asia.
This is exactly what is to happen, according to an interview Dorna boss Carmelo Ezpeleta gave to the Reuters news agency on Friday. Reuters reporter Alan Baldwin spoke to Ezpeleta at the Barcelona circuit, where the Dorna CEO was attending the Formula 1 race.
Bike-obsessed comedian Ross Noble set off on a six-week long round the UK trip today on his own personal Ducati Multistrada. Only his Twitter followers can tell him where to go next. Noble sent Bike Social these exclusive pictures.
The moral of this story is simple: Do not let non-motorcycling bureaucrats run a motorcycle company. Ducati had a pretty successful run from its inception in 1946, especially after it introduced the Diana 250 single to the American market in 1961. However, financial problems cropped up in the early ’70s and, in the typical Italian way, the government stepped in to save the company. The new board, a governing body made up of gentlemen in Brioni suits, knew little about the realities of motorized two wheelers. 1977 Ducati Sport Desmo 500. Although Ducati had made its reputation on singles, the board decided to phase them out after 1974…and replace them with 350 and 500 parallel twins. The idea of a 350cc bike was sensible, as the government provided a huge tax break for motorcycles under that size. And building a 500 version would be inexpensive, as all the hard work would have gone into the 350.
A week after the Rolling Stones played a semi-secret club date as a musical publicity stunt, reggae scion Ziggy Marley did the same -- performing a short set of his father's standards and his own originals Friday afternoon at a remote roadside cafe on the Angeles Crest Highway, to an audience of several hundred motorcycle riders....
Join us on Ducati Island for the 2013 Red Bull US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca!
Come experience Ducati and feel the energy that only Ducati Island brings. Cheer on Nicky Hayden as he returns on his Desmosedici, and welcome Andrea Dovizioso to the Ducati Team as they take on this legendary track July 19 - 21, 2013. Also, celebrate the renewed partnership between Ducati and Pramac Racing, who will continue to be entrusted with management of the satellite team. This year, Ben Spies and Andrea Iannone will be on the grid with official factory equipment.
|
