Ducati Vyper Rumor Won’t Go Away
A Spy Shot of a clay mock-up reported by Motorcycle News seems to add further credence to the rumor that Ducati really is going to produce a power cruiser for their increasingly important US market in the vein of the Yamaha V-Max and Harley Davidson V-Rod.
ducatinewstoday first reported on the Ducati Vyper Power Cruiser rumor in March after noticing that some comments made by the Australian importer originally confirming the 1098 powered 2010 Ducati Multistrada replacement / Adventure Tourer seemed to also support rumors promoted by Spain’s Motociclismo magazine.
Warren Lee, official Australian Ducati importer: “If Ducati produced a cruiser it would be a high powered, good handling machine.”
Since then, Motorcycle News has released what it calls an exclusive spy shot taken inside the Ducati factory. Although the photos appeared in print, the post on their website was removed without explanation which could be consistent with the receipt of a take down notice from Ducati attorneys.
French language Motorevue (English translation) has weighed in on the story pointing out that although the model has clay elements there is also clearly an inverted fork and a rear damper placed under the engine. The frame appears to be purpose built looking dissimilar in structure to either the Monster 1100 or the Streetfighter.
If the photo is a hoax it is a pretty elaborate one and although the purists will hate it, a Ducati power Cruiser would probably sell quite well in the US. The model would also move closer to competing with Harley Davidson’s V-Rod range which would be a retaliation against the American company’s recent acquisition of MV Augusta. That purchase showed the willingness of Harley to take on new market segments and begin to compete with Ducati.
The last Ducati cruiser was the embarrassing pantah powered Ducati Indiana. Let’s hope if the Vyper is for real, that it has more success. This model will most likely be revealed at the EICMA Show in Milan which runs from November 10-15.
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