Creating a continuous flow of motorcycle videos ain’t easy. Finding the balance between excitement, fun and entertainment while also delivering usable information about the bikes being reviewed in a five-minute-or-less timeframe poses enormous challenges.

None of the MO editors are actors. First and foremost we’re motorcyclists. Secondly we’re journalists trained to write coherent, well-structured prose while maintaining the codes of ethics, objectivity and accuracy taught to us in college. Modern media practices have thrust us into the camera’s spotlight adding the title Broadcast Journalist to our resumes.

So, we sometimes inadvertently tap the fuel tank while speaking, say “um” too many times or occasionally mispronounce names, but we’re always striving to better our performances.

The quality of our videos for 2012 has surpassed previous year’s efforts and we’re proud of our accomplishments. After recording nearly 24,000,000 total video views on our YouTube channel, we thought we’d take this opportunity to showcase the top videos of 2012.

Ducati is recalling certain 2011 Diavel units due to a risk of the license plate holder coming loose.

The license plate holder on the Ducati Diavel floats over the rear tire thanks to a bracket attached to the swingarm. According to documents released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, brass inserts in the chain guard may become deformed over time, potentially loosening the screws attaching the bracket to the swingarm.

Because of the way it is designed, a loose license plate holder may interfere with the rotation of the rear wheel, increasing the risk of a crash.

Ducati dealers will replace the chain guard on affected units with a new component using a steel insert instead of brass. The recall affects 964 units manufactured between Sept. 23, 2010 and May 12, 2011.

[Source: NHTSA, Campaign ID# 11V336000]

Ducati has released number of new photographs of the new Diavel ahead of the sports cruiser’s worldwide press launch.

Motorcycle.com‘s Kevin Duke has already shared his thoughts after having a seat on the Diavel at the L.A. Auto Show, and Pete Brissette will get his chance in his upcoming review.

Until then, we’ll have to settle for more images of the new Ducati Diavel on our Motorcycle.com gallery.

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Our sister site, AutoGuide.com is currently at the LA Auto Show covering all of the latest and greatest in the auto industry, managed to catch Nicky Hayden giving the crowd a smokey treat at the Mercedes-Benz booth, officially unveiling the Ducati Diavel for the first time to an American audience.  The press conference was setup to also announce Ducati’s partnership with Mercedes-AMG.

Hit the jump and check out the video.

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Diavel power cruiser. Below are his impressions from the event.

Carcano Theatre, Milan, November 1.

Fransesco Rapisarda, Gabriele del Torchio and Diego Sgerbati introduced us into Ducati’s financial and marketing status before Claudio Domenicali entered the stage and introduced all the news starting with the Superbike family we already know from Intermot that I have already tested at Imola. Then Domenicali continued with the EICMA news starting of with the Monster family where the Monster 1100 EVO is new. The 1100 EVO gets the Hypermotard 100hp engine, new exhaust with new tubing at the front similar to what’s on the Diavel. It also gets traction control.

Then it was time for the big one everybody had been waiting for – the Diavel. After showing several new videos showing the Diavel in action the stage exploded in light and smoke as a female rider rode the Diavel on to the stage. After some banter about the rider having to move off the bike so that we could appreciate the Diavel without any eye candy two more Diavels entered the stage. One white/aluminum colored and one in all black. The Red/black version is called Diavel Carbon and as the name implies it gets lots of carbon fiber bits.

Ducati revealed that the 1200cc engine is a devil indeed with figures claiming 162hp @ and 128Nm @ 8,000rpm. The Diavel gets DTC and ABS slightly modified from the items on the Multistrada 1200. New is also an extra display on the fuel tank dealing with the rider aids. The LCD panel is made from pretty much the same goodies as modern smart phones.

Interestingly Ducati has developed the bike to feature an all new rear tire size with Pirelli. The new Pirelli Diablo Rosso II in 240/45-ZR17 has an extremely low profile that makes the bike look menacing from the back coupled with an equally wide tail section. The front end is dominated by a huge round headlight flanked by what look like air intakes. The seat height is very low at 30.3 in. and the seat is well padded and looks comfy. ABS on Brembo monoblock brakes will be interesting to test. The bike is very long and it looks like the front would be pushed a bit with those powerful brakes and long wheelbase. The fuel tank carries 4.5 gal. of fuel.

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