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Opinion/Editorial

Ducati’s Deal with the Devil: A Business Case for the Diavel

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If you had told me a few years ago that Ducati would build a cruiser-segment motorcycle, I probably would have called you a couple cylinders short of a v-twin. Up until recently, mentioning the thought of the Bologna brand chasing after Harley-Davidson riders would have invited fisticuffs in most Italian motorcycle cafés. And even despite the launch of the Ducati Diavel, you can start a heated debate among loyal Ducatisti by bringing up Italy’s latest power cruiser.

Make no mistake, the 2011 Ducati Diavel is a controversial motorcycle…and that’s putting things lightly (at worst it’s a complete dilution of the Ducati brand). If the Diavel is Ducati’s deal with the Devil, then let me play the Devil’s advocate for a moment, and put forth the business case about why this motorcycle had to be built, and what it means to the Ducati brand — minus the pandering to the Ducati faithful.

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Racing

Photo of the Week: Sunday Night Lights

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With the MotoGP season about to begin, all eyes are on Rossi and what he and Jeremy Burgess have been able to accomplish with the Ducati GP11. Will Valentino be thinking of his glory days under the lights on his beloved Yamaha M1? This image, from 2009, shows Valentino in peak form as he began his final championship season with Yamaha. Though Casey Stoner won by almost eight seconds, Rossi began his title chase with a strong second in the first ever Monday night race after a rare desert rain storm ruined the Sunday night schedule.

In this photo Rossi’s bike wears the Forza Abruzzo logo on its tail section, representing Rossi’s contribution to the relief effort to help L’Aquila recover from a devastating earthquake that struck the city on April 6th, 2009. Of all the bikes braking for Turn 1 after Losail’s long front straight, Rossi’s showed the brightest brake discs, glowing hot like fire in the desert.

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News

Del Torchio Puts the Kibosh on Ducati Scooter Rumors

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Ducati Motor Holdings Product Chief Claudio Domenicali set the internet on fire last week when he mentioned that the famous Italian brand was working on a maxi-scooter offering. But before Ducatisti can begin sharpening their pitchforks, Ducati CEO Gabriele Del Torchio has put the kibosh on the idea, stating that Ducati is “concentrating on the next project for the sports market…We have no maxi-scooter in mind.”

The “sport market” project del Torchio refers to is of course the 2012 Ducati Superbike, which our sources have confirmed will be a quantum leap from the current generation 1198 Superbike, and more importantly will be Ducati’s anchor as it dives deeper into non-core segments.

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Bikes

Bottpower BOTT XR-1 – If Buell Made a Harley

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Bottpower may have not had the most success in the Moto2 racing category, but they sure know how to make some drool-worthy motorcycles. Taking its hands to a different style of motorcycle, the Spanish firm envisions a flat track racer that’s not too disimilar from the Harley-Davidson XR1200. Cool, but not crazy, right?

Well the best part about this one-off motorcycle, which Bottpower is making the frame for a special customer (a kit for other customers may be possible if the demand is there), is that the BOTT XR-1 will be built from spare Buell parts, which is a sorta of perverse and ironic twist of fate if you ask us.

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News

A Rainbow of MV Agusta F3 Colors

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As far as we can tell right now, you can get the 2012 MV Agusta F3 in just about any color you want, as long as it’s white & red. While the F3 looks good in the classic MV Agusta livery, that fact didn’t stop some Italian fanatics from photoshopping the bike into a variety of other color schemes MV has used over the years. Big ups to our commenters for pointing them out to us, you can find a gallery of the photoshops after the jump.

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News

Gone Riding: Ducati Diavel

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Things will be a little slow on Asphalt & Rubber today, as we’re in Los Angeles testing the new Ducati Diavel. We’ll be spending most of the day figuring out how to turn with a 240mm rear tire, and getting rocketed by the Diavel’s 162hp reported power figure. You can follow our thoughts on the bike via Twitter, and our last five tweets will automatically post here on this post. While we ride The Devil, the press photos of the Diavel after the jump should tide you over until we finish our ride report.

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Racing

Yoshimura Suzuki to Wild Card at Miller Motorsport Park & Enter Suzuka 8 Hour with Josh Waters

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Josh Waters will continue to race for Yoshimura Suzuki in 2011, wild carding at the Miller Motorsports Park World Superbike round, and also making an appearance at the Suzuka 8 Hour Endurance Race. “Josh showed he has the potential,” explained team owner Fujio Yoshimura, “I have told him we’d like him to ride again in America at Miller Motorsports Park. It’s a good start for the team and Josh and we will both get better.”

With Yoshimura indicating that Waters would be a member of the Yoshimura entry contesting the endurance race at the Suzuka circuit on July 31, that date would obviously rule out a wildcard WSBK entry at Silverstone, though the team is interested in entering Waters in other rounds later in the season.

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Bikes

Rendered: MV Agusta Brutale 675 B3

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Naturally with the new MV Agusta F3 supersport, which according to MV Agusta will be available in the Fall of 2011, comes the news that we’ll be seeing a naked version of the 675cc three-cylinder motorcycle. Dubbed the Brutalina by Castiglioni, the MV Agusta Brutale B3 675 seems a more appropriate and official name for the smaller Brutale, and is a sign the project is becoming more cohesive. While official details are still scarce, judging from how the larger predecessor compares to the venerable and iconic MV Agusta F4, we have some vague idea of how the Brutale B3 675 will compare to the now officially debuted F3.

Helping us form a more cohesive thought though is photoshop master Jérôme Vannesson, of French magazine Moto Revue, and thankfully he has done up some renders on what the MV Agusta Brutale B3 675 could look like. Vannesson’s work is flawless, and in the past he’s been spot on with the design cues used by the OEMs. Time will tell if MV Agusta follows Vannesson’s line of thought, but until the Brutale B3 unveils, we’ll have to drool over his renders instead. Check Moto Revue‘s site for all four of Vannesson’s photochops (we like the black and white bike with the red frame the most).

Source: Moto Revue

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News

Primer: The Ducati Diavel

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Tomorrow Asphalt & Rubber must make the trek down from perfect Northern California, to SoCal and the pits of Los Angeles, where dreams go to die. As we descend down through the lower rings of Dante’s ladder and into hell that is the perpetually sunny and warm Los Angeles, our final destination will in fact bring us face-to-face with The Devil himself. Riding the latest creation from Bologna, the American motorcycle press will get its first chance at the highly anticipated Ducati Diavel.

Since we’ll be bringing you live coverage from the event, and writing a few pieces on Ducati’s stab at the performance cruiser segment throughout the rest of the week, we thought it best to start with a primer on the motorcycle. Find after the jump the 2011 Ducati Diavel‘s technical specs, photographs, and design synthesis, and features.

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Racing

Hopkins to Wildcard in World Superbikes at Silverstone

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Despite newly announced title sponsor Samsung, British Superbike squad Crescent Racing will not enter John Hopkins as a wildcard entry for the Donington Park round of World Superbike racing as previously expected. Instead, both the American rider and his new teammate, reigning BST Champion Jon Kirkham, will be entered for the British WSBK round at Silverstone later in the season.

Originally, the team had announced that Hopkins would race at Donington, but with a rider new to the team testing today at Cartagena, it seems as though Crescent Suzuki has decided to wait to join the WSBK fray. They will continue their testing March 8th at Guadix, Spain in advance of the BSB opener at Brands Hatch on April 25th.

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