Michael Rutter left Snetterton with two fourth places from three races but was robbed of a possible win when his gear lever snapped while he was leading Sunday’s first race. Rutter was in great form all weekend on the RidersMotorcycles.com Ducati. His strong fourth place finish on Saturday was just a taste of what was to come in Sunday’s races.
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The recent release of ‘spy shots’ of the new Ducati Power cruiser that was previously dubbed ‘Vyper’ indicate that Ducati is once again confident to push its brand further into unfamiliar territory. The question is not only will motorcycle buyers consider a power cruiser from Ducati but what is the damage that could be done to a brand that is currently in ascendency?
The German MotoGP at Sachensring was won in a stunning performance by Dani Pedrosa ahead of Jorge Lorenzo who hasn’t finished lower than 2nd all season. But the attention of fans worldwide was on the return of Valentino Rossi to MotoGP just 6 weeks after fracturing his right leg.
In a rather cryptic and unanticipated invitation to the motorcycling press, Ducati has announced plans to unveil a new model on Saturday, July 24th at the Ducati Island as part of the US round of the MotoGP series.
Despite being the head of Ducati North America during a period of unprecedented success for the business, Ducati has announced that he will be leaving the company at the end of July. Under Lock’s leadership Ducati achieved its highest ever US market share in 2009.
We are Absolutely Not Building a Cruiser. That word does not exist in our vocabulary! That’s what Ducati told me when I enquired about the Ducati Vyper (I like this name) slash Mega Monster slash, yes, Power Cruiser. Response to the leaked spy shots of the new model have been leaning towards the vitriolic so Ducati is probably just a little sensitive right now.
Absolute magic, Fun all the Way!! A nice review of the 1974 Ducati 250 Desmo single from Don Hall. He concludes that Dr Taglioni created a jewel of a motorcycle. Video after the jump.
A post on a Ducati forum provides fresh evidence that the new Ducati Power Cruiser alternatively dubbed the Mega Monster or Vyper is powered by the same Testastretta 11º V-twin as Ducati’s new Multistrada 1200.
Finally we have some news from the horses mouth! MotoGP World Champion, Valentino Rossi, says it is too early to announce his decision on whom he will race for in 2011 until after the racing at Brno.
With new spyshots appearing of the Ducati Power Cruiser that has been referred to variously as the Vyper or Mega-Monster, we can now speculate a few things about its specifications. Claims of 150bhp and the desire for a robust bottom-end and midrange power delivery probably mean the shove is going to come from the Multistrada 1200′s testastretta 11º powerplant.
