Spy photos have emerged of what appears to be a new liquid-cooled Ducati model As you can tell from the utilitarian-looking exhaust, it’s still a prototype, but the production version could be ready for this fall’s EICMA show. It’s not clear at this point whether this new model will be a new Hypermotard or possibly a new mid-sized Multistrada.

At first glance, the front “beak” fender and hand guards evokes the existing Ducati Hypermotards, but existing Hypermotard 796 and 1100EVO are both air-cooled and this model is liquid-cooled.

The Multistrada 1200 is liquid-cooled and also sports a side-mounted exhaust while the Hypermotards use twin underseat exhausts.The Multistrada has been far more successful than the Ducati’s Hypermotard line, and it seems odd to add a new liquid-cooled model to the air-cooled Hyper line. A new, smaller Multistrada slotted under the Ducati Multistrada 1200 makes more sense than another Hypermotard. Continue Reading »

BMW earned its first-ever World Superbike race win at the U.K.’s Donington Park, but missed out on sweeping the round after teammates Leon Haslam and Marco Melandri crashed on the final corner while battling for the lead in the second race.

Melandri earned BMW its landmark first win in Race One leading Haslam in a one-two finish. They could have repeated that finish in Race Two but Haslam low-sided after making contact with Honda‘s Jonathon Rea trying to pass on the inside. That sent Haslam skidding into Melandri, ruining the chance for another double-podium.

The Race Two incident could have overshadowed the milestone victory in Race One, but BMW must be relieved its flagship S1000RR superbike finally earned a race win in its fourth year of competition. Continue Reading »

Ducati is issuing a recall on several 2012 models because of a problem with the rear brake. The models included are the 848 EVO, the Streetfighter 848, the Hypermotard 796, the ABS-equipped versions of the Multistrada 1200, and the Monsters 796 and 1100 EVO.

According to documents released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the friction material on the rear brake pads may detach from the backing plate, resulting in a drop in rear braking efficiency and increased stopping distance.

The problem affects a particular batch of rear brake pads from supplier Federale-Mogul. Internal testing by both Ducati and Brembo determined the problem is with the adhesive used to attach the friction material to the backing plate of the affected brake pads. The problem Continue Reading »

Barni Racing‘s Lorenzo Savadori led for nine of 11 laps on his way to earning the first every Superstock 1000 Cup victory for the 2012 Ducati 1199 Panigale.

Racing in mixed weather conditions at Italy’s Monza circuit, Savadori took the lead on Lap 3 from his teammate Eddi La Marra.

Savadori would hold that lead until the end, crossing the finish 1.651 seconds ahead of BWG Kawasaki‘s Christoffer Bergman and 1.884 seconds ahead of La Marra. Continue Reading »

Harley-Davidson dealerships topped the rankings for the 2012 edition of the Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index, an industry benchmarking study examining how well dealerships treat customers, and turning shoppers into buyers.

The Pied Piper PSI rated different manufacturers’ dealerships in a number of categories to produce an overall score. The study was conducted between July 2011 and April 2012 with 1,653 anonymous “mystery shoppers” gathering information at different dealerships across the U.S.

The study gave Harley-Davidson dealers a score of 108, a four-point improvement from 2011 and five points above the industry average. According to researchers, Harley-Davidson dealers scored the highest of all brands in 16 different categories, including offering test rides, obtaining contact information and asking customers if for the sale. Continue Reading »

For the second time this season, Superstock 1000 Cup racer Federico Sandi has lost his ride on a new Ducati 1199 Panigale race bike.

Sandi was cut loose from Liberty Racing in March after the team decided to focus its resources on a four-rider World Superbike effort. The 22-year-old racer then landed with Althea Racing, the team that captured the 2011 Superstock 1000 Cup as well as the 2011 WSBK Championship with Carlos Checa.

That might sound like a solid opportunity but such was not the case. Althea had originally planned to race just the WSBK class with last year’s Superstock 1000 champion Davide Giugliano graduating to the premiere class. Althea offered Sandi a ride on the Panigale, in part as a favor to the rider and, perhaps, to Ducati as well. But after back-to-back DNF results at Imola and Assen, the team has pulled the plug on Sandi and its Superstock effort. Continue Reading »

Motorcycle aficionado and owner of GP Motorcycles, a San Diego dealership specializing in European manufacturers, Paul Lima, suffered a paralyzing crash while riding an MX bike on April 4th. Following a 9-hour surgery to realign and stabilize his back, Paul is recovering well and undergoing rehabilitation. Paul has health coverage, but the costs not covered by insurance are mounting and the Lima family can use any help benevolent motorcyclists can afford.

A PayPal account has been setup to accept donations and you can follow his and the family’s progress on the their Facebook page.

Continue Reading »

Former 500cc World Champion Kevin Schwantz headlines a star-studded group of racers taking part in a parade lap during the 2012 Isle of Man TT.

Schwantz leads the group of six racers, past and present, selected by helmet-maker Arai to take part in the parade lap of the Isle of Man’s Mountain Course. Schwantz has visited the Isle of Man before, but this will mark his first closed lap of the circuit.

Joining the 1993 World Champion will be fellow American Randy Mamola, former TT racer Phillip McCallen, former British and World Superbike Champion Neil Hodgson, eight-time TT winner Ian Hutchinson, and MotoGP racer Cal Crutchlow. Continue Reading »

The Netherlands hosted a dramatic weekend of World Superbike racing that featured a red-flagged wet race, several riders crashing while leading, a first-time race winner, a photo finish between two teammates and the reigning World Champion finishing out of the points because of a poor choice of tires.

The 2011 WSBK Champion Carlos Checa arrived at Assen with the lead in the championship and a three-race winning streak, but opting to run wet tires in Race Two cost him the lead and may have contributed to a crash that severely injured Liberty Racing‘s Brett McCormick. Continue Reading »

As expected, Mercedes-Benz’s performance division AMG announced it is cutting ties with Ducati following the motorcycle manufacturer’s acquisition by rival car-maker Audi.

AMG released a brief statement saying, explaining the split and saying it we never in the running to purchase Ducati: “Since the end of 2010 a successful marketing cooperation has existed between AMG and Ducati. The company takeover by a rival car manufacturer has understandably resulted in the end of any further collaboration. The takeover of Ducati was never our aim – our focus lies clearly in developing and producing premium performance cars and we will be concentrating all our energy on this.”

AMG and Ducati have shared a marketing partnership since 2010, with AMG sponsoring Ducati Corse’s MotoGP team. The two companies also collaborated on a special-edition version of the Diavel, which instantly becomes a bit of a collector’s item as the world’s only AMG-branded Audi product.

Continue Reading »