UPDATE: The water-cooled 2013 Ducati Hypermotard has now been released by Ducati.

We have a sneaking suspicion that the 2013 Ducati Hypermotard 848 that has been spotted tramping about is going to be a very interesting motorcycle indeed; as from out perspective, Ducati seems set to consolidate the Hypermotard line into a single water-cooled model, while simultaneously offering a smaller-displacement multi-tasker that will slot in under the Ducati Multistrada 1200.

Our best view yet of the bike’s exhaust side comes from the folks at Moto Revue, as we see what looks to be a finalized exhaust can and a clear view of the HM848′s water-cooled Testastretta 11° motor. There has been tremendous confusion/controversy as to whether the spied machine is a new Hypermotard or Multistrada model, and the confusion is rightfully so, as the bike takes cues from both machines.

Ducati is issuing a recall notice with the NHTSA for the 2010 Ducati Multistrada 1200 adventure-tourer motorcycle. Affecting 1,196 units, the MTS 1200′s recall stems from an ECU problem that could see the motorcycle stall while idling with the clutch disengaged (something we experienced when testing the Multistrada 1200 last year). To fix the problem, affected owners must take their bike to a Ducati dealership, where the ECU will be re-flashed with a modified firmware package.

Dubbed the Best Motorcycle of the 2009 EICMA show, the 2010 Ducati Multistrada 1200 S Touring has a lofty title that we’ve been itching to test since we saw the bike debut in Milan last year. While the new Multistrada 1200 comes in many flavors, we somehow managed to get our hands on the Multistrada 1200 S Touring version, or as we like to call it: “King Duc”. The Multistrada line has been Ducati’s attempt to be more than a sportbike-driven brand, and with this latest incarnation we can see that the Bologna-based company has taken a serious stab at making a go-anywhere GS-killer, with Italian style of course.

We were anxious to bring the Multistrada 1200 to our happy hunting grounds in Santa Barbara, CA where we had just recently test ridden the groundbreaking Honda VFR1200F a month back. Our adventures with the new Multi actually began with a very long and boring two-hour drive into Brea, CA on four wheels. Traveling on four wheels in Los Angeles is the stuff suicide notes are made of, and naturally the return trip from Brea was a more pleasurable experience for a certain test rider, than it was for one editor stuck in LA gridlock. Of course that didn’t stop me from having the pleasurable experience of becoming acquainted with the Multistrada 1200 in its natural territory, the open road.

Knowing the sporty nature of Ducati motorcycles (and the seemingly inverse relationship between sportiness and comfort), we were skeptical of how enjoyable the 150-mile ride back from Brea would be on the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S Touring. Suffering through the almost endless miles of parked cars on the highway that laid between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, I pulled over and sent the first text message back about the bike, “So much fun!!!!” it read, along with a picture of the Multistrada sitting on the side of dead-end road.

Racing to the clouds this weekend, Team Spider Grips Ducati took a comfortable class victory in the 1205cc Pikes Peak motorcycle group, racing on the special Pikes Peak Ducati Multistrada 1200S. Finishing 50 seconds ahead of second place finisher Walker Pew, Greg Tracy was the second fastest motorcyclist overall on the mountain (the fastest bike being in the 750cc class). Tracy’s run continued a strong showing for Ducati at the Pike Peak International Hill Climb, and was 13 seconds off an overall win motorcycle on the mountain.

Team Spider Grips Ducati has qualified 1st & 3rd at this year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, as the team gets set to race a pair of slightly modified 2010 Ducati Multistrada 1200S motorcycles up the 5,000ft ascent near Colorado Springs.

Taking the pole position is Pikes Peak veteran Greg Tracy, with a qualifying time of 5:22:659. Tracy won the 2008 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on a “skunk works” Ducati Hyptermotard, and is the favorite to win this years’ 1200cc class in the motorcycle division.

Taking up the third position is Alexander Smith, who qualified with a time of 5:45:470, just one second behind the second place qualifying Buell.

What does racing to the clouds look like on a Ducati Multistrada? Well it looks a little bit like this if you’re Greg Tracy. At the helm of one of the 2010 Ducati Multistrada racing at the 2010 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, Tracy is looking in-form for the event after this practice session. Also spotted in the video is Team Spider Grips Ducati teammate Alexander Smith, who Tracy catches about a minute into the video.

Ducati has reported that the first 500 initial pre-orders for the 2010 Ducati Multistrada 1200 have been filled, and there is now a 60 day waiting period for the new sport-tourer. Citing a strong reception to the Multistrada’s “four-bikes-in-one” capability, Ducati sees an additional 500 units to be sold in the coming months. This last statement seems sort of like a no-brainer, after-all another 500 bikes will be sold eventually, right?

Actually, the entire statement is sort of strange when you consider what 500 pre-sold orders really entails in a markets like the United States & Canada. With a plethora of dealers in these countries, the reality is that this statement amounts to dealerships pre-selling their initial inventory, which consisted of one or two motorcycles. Yes, the Ducati Multistrada 1200 is sold-out for the next two month, but when you ship only 500 units to the entire North American market, you can almost guarantee being sold out on a bike during its release, right?

We were lucky enough today to get some shots from an Asphalt & Rubber reader who was in attendance at the Newport Beach Ducati shop to check out the Pikes Peak Ducati Multistrada 1200S race bike. From what we can tell the race bike has a cropped windsceen, hand-guards, revamped tail section (no luggage racks needed!), and a killer paint job. The overall affect is pretty dramatic, and makes the Multistrada 1200S look like a real speed demon. Ducati North America, can you say race replica? Thanks for the photos John!

In what we assume is an effort to draw Ducati’s racing heritage onto their new sport-tourer, the 2010 Ducati Multistrada 1200, Ducati has announced that it will run a pair of the new Multistrada’s at the 2010 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Ducati is looking to reclaim its 1200cc-class victory from 2008, where the company secretly used a prototype Hypermotard 1100 (what later became the 2010 Ducati Hypermotard 1100 EVO), in what the company calls a “skunk works” mission. In order to secure victory, Ducati has partnered with Ducati of Newport Beach and Spider Grips of Southern California, the same people behind the 2008 winning team. More after the jump.

How important is the 2010 Ducati Multistrada 1200 to the Italian company? Consider this, despite releasing a bevy of new and revised motorcycles for the 2010 model year, only the Multistrada 1200 has seen the Bologna company bend over backwards to market its sport-tourer with a bevy of videos. Part of this is due to the extra pocket change seen in the adventure segment of motorcycling, but an even more important reason for Ducati’s aggressive media push is the need for the Italian brand to stand for something more than just expensive sport bikes.

Before there were Hypermotards and Multistrada 1200′s, Ducati still saw the lion’s share of its sales come from the Monster line, despite the company being better known for its Superbike line. Unlike some other companies, Ducati was fortunate enough to realize that you can’t play in only one market segment, and began looking for new ways to expand it’s product lineup…thus the Multistrada 1200 was born. In an effort to keep up with all the marketing around the beak-nosed bike, we’ve compiled all of the Ducati Multistrada 1200 videos we could find, so sit back, grab a beverage, and enjoy them after the jump.