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The 2012 Ducati 1199 Panigale represents a huge step in motorcycle design, mostly due to its frameless chassis or monocoque design. Using the engine as an integral component to the Panigale’s chassis, Ducati’s hallmark achievement was building an integrated headstock/airbox off the front cylinder. With the seat and subframe built off the rear cylinder, and the swingarm bolting directly to the motor, the Ducati 1199 Panigale was able to not only shed 22 lbs of its predecessor’s design, but also continues the Italian company’s new design trend of having components that take on multiple functional roles.

Being sure to keep the fairings on the Ducati 1199 Panigale fastened at all times, we have very little insight as to what Ducati’s new chassis looks like underneath its clothing, and after hounding Bologna for the past few weeks over the issue, these four renders of the Panigale’s frame are the best we can muster for our readers. The black background makes the black frame components hard to see, but the CAD drawings do provide at least some insight as to how the 1199 comes together. If the Panigale goes as well on the track as it does on the spec sheet, you very well could be looking at the future of production motorcycle chassis design.

It’s only a matter of time before Ducati releases some race replica paint jobs for the recently unveiled Ducati 1199 Panigale. It almost certainly won’t be during the 2012 model year, but in 2013 don’t be surprised to see some race-inspired colors adorning Bologna’s flagship superbike. Seemingly beating Ducati to the punch, the guys over at MotorBikeTV have put together some fine photoshops of what the Ducati 1199 Panigale race replicas would look like. Hayden, Bayliss, Checa…the only thing missing is perhaps the most important race replica of all: Valentino Rossi’s.

With The Doctor signing onto the Italian MotoGP squad for two seasons, the match was a marketing director’s dream come true. And while the Rossi yellow might clash with the Rosso Corsa, you can beat anything stamped with a 46 and the Ducati Corse logo will sell like hot cakes…it did for the Ducati Monster at least. A Rossi-branded Ducati 1199 Panigale? The sound you just heard was Ducatisti worldwide having spasms of joy, of the change-your-pants variety. Thanks for the tip Sergio!

Here’s some Friday eye candy for you, courtesy of Morgan Driessen. When Morgan isn’t out working on his multiple degrees in graphic design (he graduated with honors we might add), he’s likely jumping over things on his trials bicycle (training to compete in the world championship on that as well).

Now in the unlikely situation where you would be unable to find Morgan doing either of those afore mentioned things, then well he’s probably day dreaming about two-stroke racers, and putting pen to pad on a motorcycle designs. Today finds us catching the young Mr. Driessen at the latter, as he has done up some splendid drawings of alternative paint jobs and sponsorships for the Honda RC212V (above) and Yamaha YZR-M1 (after the jump).

Confederate is readying its next iteration of its Hellcat series, posting these CAD renderings of the Confederate C3 X132 Hellcat on its website. Originally set to debut on Halloween of this year, Confederate has pushed back the launch date to the second quarter of 2011. For a bike that seemingly only exists on a computer screen, Confederate is being rather cheeky with its tech specs, simply stating that the new Hellcat will have 145 lbs•ft of torque, while listing the horsepower as “sufficient”.

If you liked the BeOn SXV 450 (and we know you did from the comments and traffic the article got), then you’ll love Luca Bar‘s take on the SXV platform as a more purposeful street bike. Based around the peppier SXV 5.5, the 550cc Aprilia motor and its 70hp of pony power should be more than enough “umpf” to get you into trouble on this svelte frame and body.

While we are suckers for a v-twin (especially in a dirt bike frame), what really catches our attention is the styling Bar has done to the bike. Showing off the motor with a minimalist fairing, and then slinging the exhaust underneath gives that streetfighter/naked look you’re looking for, while the minimalist lines are simple and refined. We’d add one to our garage if it ever left fiction and became reality. Simply delicious.

Drawing inspiration from Daniel Simon’s Cosmic Motors series (Simon designed the Tron lightcycle in the up-coming Tron Legacy movie by the way), designer Bruno Delussu has dreamt up the Snake Road motorcycle concept. Set in a nondescript time in the future, the Snake Road uses a fiberglass body to house its internal combustion engine (apparently EV’s still haven’t taken off in Delussu’s future).

Made for fun, Delussu admits there are some deficiencies in the design (the front wheel can’t turn for example), and explains the choice of an internal combustion engine as follows: “Being a motorcyclist myself, I love the sound of a motorcycle engine (reminiscent of a raging lion), so the engine is a traditional internal combustion engine rather then electric, as the new trend would have it (a matter of ecology).”

When we talk about Buell motorcycles that fail to see the light of day, people are almost universally referring to the Buell Barracuda, the 1190cc successor to the 1125R series. Dubbed “The Buell We Wouldn’t Have to Make Excuses For”, the Barracuda lives on in many ways in the EBR 1190RR superbike, which we’ll see next year take its street-going form as the EBR 1190RS.

While the limited-production EBR 1190RS certainly is exciting to think about, and the Buellisti are already counting down the days until Erik Buell re-enters the street bike market, what has us chomping at the bit is the fact that in 2009 Spanish design firm Edda Design was commissioned by Buell to revamp the 1125CR street bike; and with the result they came up with, we wouldn’t mind seeing life breathed back into that project, just like the Barracuda.