We expected more from Ducati at the 2012 Intermot show as the Italian manufacturer makes its first appearance at the Cologne show under its new German owners at Audi and the Volkswagen Group. Instead, Ducati chose to keep its juiciest reveals for its home market at EICMA in November while revealing a number of color updates to returning models at Intermot.

Ordinarily, we’d call this disappointing but one look at the 2013 Ducati 848 EVO Corse changed our minds. Yes, it’s just a color update to the red and white version unveiled last year, but the matte black and matte gray color of what Ducati calls its Test Team livery and red trellis frame really stands out. Look for more pictures of the Corse Edition and the base model after the jump. Continue Reading »

New spy photos have emerged of what appears to be either a Ducati Hypermotard 848 or perhaps an 848 version of the Multistrada. Photos of the new liquid-cooled Ducati emerged last month but these new images show the motorcycle in motion and from the left side.

At this point, we’re still not sure if this is Ducati‘s new Hypermotard or Multistrada. The beak front fender resembles that of the Hypermotard family but the rear more resembles the Multistrada. The new model is also liquid-cooled while the Hypermotard line is air-cooled, and we’re not convinced Ducati would introduce a single liquid-cooled model to that family. Continue Reading »

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 »

Ducati 848evo racers rejoice. Today the company announced racing contingency programs for select series throughout the country. FreedomRoad Financial has partnered with Ducati and is offering substantial cash payments to race winners.  Continue Reading »

Ducati revealed its new Streetfighter 848, adding a smaller-displacement version of the original 1099cc Streetfighter first introduced in 2009.

The 2012 Ducati Streetfighter 848 uses an 849cc version of the 11-degree Testastretta engine first introduced with the Multistrada, which should mean a similar 15,000 mile valve inspection intervals.

The design is similar to the larger Streetfighter including the dual exhausts on the right side. The suspension appears to be comprised of Marzocchi components instead of the Streetfighter’s Showa and Streetfighter S’s Ohlins components. Brakes are Brembos as well but they are not monobloc calipers.

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A photograph has emerged of what is reported to be a new, smaller version of the  Ducati Streetfighter featuring the company’s 848 engine.

The photograph, posted by a user on the Ducati.ms forum, was reportedly snapped outside Ducati’s factory in Bologna.

The banana yellow motorcycle sports a five-bolt hub on the rear wheel, similar to the Ducati 848EVO, whereas the current 1098cc Streetfighter has a six-bolt rear hub (pictured below from our 2009 Ducati Streetfighter review).

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Ducati’s 848 impressed us when it was introduced in 2007, offering exotic Italian style along with more power than any 600 supersport. Now Ducati offers a significant upgrade to it called the 848 EVO, which we had a chance to sample at the historic circuit in the town of Imola, Italy.

The EVO package includes 6 extra horsepower, a higher rev limit, upgraded Brembo monobloc brakes, and the addition of a steering damper.

That’s the short story for now. Stay tuned for a full report on the EVO, plus a sampling of the bitchin’ new SP version of the top-dog 1198.