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Ducati Reaches 50,000 Units Sales Mark for First Time Ever, And Other Red Herrings

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Ducati Motor Holding is reporting that it has sold over 50,000 units to customers, for the first time ever. This is a substantial improvement over the 40,650 units that Ducati delivered at this time last year, and the 45,100 units the company sold to customers in 2015.

This news is a bit of a red herring though, as the sales increase comes due almost solely because of the addition of the Ducati Scrambler line, which in the first three quarters of the year was at 13,609 units sold.

As we have reported before on Asphalt & Rubber, the sales increase being posted by Ducati is a bit of red herring with the brand. While the Scrambler line has shown strong growth for Ducati, the rest of the model lines have been weak for the year.

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Bikes

BMW R nineT Scrambler to Debut at EICMA

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In addition to the electric BMW eRR and learner-focused BMW G310R that we will see at the upcoming EICMA show, BMW Motorrad has confirmed that the highly rumored and expected BMW R nineT Scrambler will become an official model, debuting at the trade show in Milan, Italy.

“With the countless possibilities for individualisation offered by the BMW R nineT and the BMW R nineT Scrambler, we see tremendous potential in the US market, in particular,” said Peter Schwarzenbauer, Board Member of BMW Motorrad.

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Bikes

2016 BMW G310R Debuts for New Riders

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When BMW Motorrad showed us the BMW G310R Stunt concept, we knew that a small-displacement model from the German company was just around the corner, and sure enough here is the 2016 BMW G310R street bike – project undertaken by BMW with help from India’s TVS Motors.

A 313cc single-cylinder engine with four valves and a dual-overhead cam, the BMW G310R makes 34hp, and tips the scales at 350 lbs. Of note, the cylinder is racked rearward and has been rotated 180° from normal, with the intake facing forward, and the exhaust ports facing rearward, like some more advanced thumpers on the market.

The frame is made-up of tubular steel, with a long swingarm used for better handling characteristics. Suspension is done by upside down forks, and a linearly mounted rear shock, the latter having an adjustable preload. ABS is of course standard.

All-in-all, the BMW G310R should be ideal for the A1 tiered license structure found in the European Union, and the G310R should slot in well with its small-displacement counterparts for markets like the USA.

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Bikes

BMW eRR Electric Superbike Breaks Cover

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BMW Motorrad is ready to get into the electric motorcycle world, and as such has debuted an electric superbike concept, the BMW eRR.

Built in collaboration with the Technical University of Munich, the project explores the German brand’s options when it comes to electric motorcycles.

BMW Motorrad is pretty light on details when it comes to the eRR, and even states that it will announce technical details on the BMW eRR at a later date.

Considering how much vaporware is already in this space from up-start companies, it is a little surprising to see some coming from BMW, a company that is normally very forthwith on its plans.

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MotoGP

Casey Stoner Will Return to Ducati in a Testing Role

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Casey Stoner is set to make some form of return to MotoGP. The Australian is to switch back from Honda to Ducati, taking on a role as test rider for the Italian firm. There is a chance that Stoner could also be given one or more wildcard rides on Ducati’s MotoGP bike.

The news comes after a series of rumors and stories, starting with the German language website Speedweek, and culminating with unofficial confirmation from Israeli TV MotoGP commentator Tammy Gorali.

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Podcast

Paddock Pass Podcast – Episode 10 – Valencia

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We thought the MotoGP drama would subside at Valencia, but the final race of the season proved it would not go quietly into that good night.

David, Neil, and Tony talk about both the on-track and off-track shenanigans that occurred in Spain. The guys leave no stone un-turned as they examine Marquez’s pace, Rossi’s surge to the front, and Lorenzo’s Championship victory.

We also talk about the Moto3 Championship, and the drama behind the scenes for Danny Kent. This is surely an episode you do not want to miss if you are a Grand Prix racing fan.

As always, be sure to follow the Paddock Pass Podcast on Facebook, Twitter and subscribe to the show on iTunes and SoundCloud. If you like the show, we would really appreciate you giving it a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

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MotoGP

Tuesday Summary at Valencia: A New Frontier

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The 2016 MotoGP season got underway this morning, as the sound of MotoGP bikes out on track echoed round the amphitheater of the Valencia circuit, chasing away much of the bitterness and recriminations left hanging there in the wake of the 2015 season showdown.

With new bikes, new tires, new electronics, and new and old riders on new and old bikes, there was much to look forward to. It felt like MotoGP had a future again.

With new tires and new electronics, many teams had chosen to forego too many changes to their bikes, but there were still some novelties out on track. Honda had brought a 2016 bike, complete with a new engine.

Factory Yamaha had an intermediate version of their 2016 bike, complete with fuel tank moved to the rear of the bike. Despite Gigi Dall’Igna’s assurances yesterday that they would be testing nothing new to concentrate on the Michelins, Andrea Dovizioso confirmed that he had tried a new chassis.

At Suzuki, they spend the day working on adapting to the tires, and gathering more data for the 2016 bike. Engineers in Hamamatsu are getting that ready for the Sepang test – at least, that is what Maverick Viñales and Aleix Espargaro are hoping – a bike that will produce more horsepower and have a fully seamless gearbox.

There was some shuffling of faces and equipment in the satellite teams, with bikes being wheeled from garage to garage, and a few riders moving along with them.

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Bikes

Bimota Impeto “Hyper-Naked” Debuting at EICMA

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In addition to the Bimota Tesi 3D RaceCafe that will debut at the EICMA show in Milan next week, the boutique Italian brand has another new model for our two-wheeled consumption, the Bimota Impeto.

Bimota is calling the Impeto a “hyper-naked” model, which we take to mean a nasty-fast streetfighter machine, which will take over from the Bimota DB9. We say this because sometimes things get lost in translation when it comes to Bimota press releases.

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Bikes

Bimota Tesi 3D RaceCafe – Hub-Center Steering Café Racer

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Bimota has a number of things to debut at next week’s EICMA show, the biggest being the company’s latest model: the Bimota Tesi 3D RaceCafe.

The concept seems pretty simple, take the hub-center steering design of the Bimota Tesi 3D, and style it to look like the café racer of the future – if that oxymoron makes sense to you.

The above image is the teaser for the Bimota Tesi 3D RaceCafe, which shows a more traditional headlamp on the futuristic machine. Other changes include the use of Ducati’s air-cooled 803cc v-twin engine, which is currently powering the Ducati Scrambler line.

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Bikes

XXX: Even More Photos of the KTM RC16

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This is our third story about the KTM RC16, in I don’t know how many weeks, but the Austrian brand just dropped off a bunch of high-resolution images of its MotoGP race bike in the company’s media gallery, and we feel obligated to share them with you because they’re just that good.

While the MotoGP paddock is in Valencia right now testing machines, electronics, and riders for the 2016 season, KTM is busy looking farther down the road with their plans to join the premier class in 2017.

The KTM factory team is being cagey about how many resources it is devoting to the MotoGP project, though we do know that KTM is building a dedicated facility for the MotoGP project in Mattighofen and hiring top-level talent right and left for the effort.

So far KTM’s hard work has brought out a machine that visually looks like a lot like the Honda RC213V, and smart speculation pegs the power plant between the fairings as being very similar as well: a 90° V4 with a “screamer” firing order.

KTM is of course using a steel trellis frame design and WP suspension, and numerous more subtle changes abound. Reportedly KTM is keen to hire MotoGP suspension gurus to help add to the knowledge already found at WP – could we see a new brand come into MotoGP to rival standard-bearer Öhlins?

While we ponder all that, there are 22 ultra high-resolution photos for you to ogle over, after the jump.

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