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Here is the First Photo of the Ducati Superleggera V4

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What has four-cylinders, two sets of wings, and 234hp on tap? This bike, right here. Just leaking onto the internet a few hours ago (thanks for the tip, Dana!), here is what appears to be the first photo of the Ducati Superleggera V4.

The image seems to come from a leak at a private viewing event, which we can tell you is not the way to win the affections of Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali, but with bikes arriving in May and production starting in April, a pre-production machine was surely going to end up on the internet before the Ducati Superleggera V4’s official debut.

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News

Ducati Sales Flat Worldwide, But Down 2% in the USA

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While news of the Ducati Superleggera V4 is breaking the internet right now, other headlines are also coming out of Bologna, as Ducati has released its 2019 sales figures.

Tallying a total of 53,183 motorcycles delivered to customers worldwide, Ducati managed to beat the 53,004 units from 2018 – an increase of 0.34% in worldwide sales, for those who are counting.

Holding that figure back though was the brand’s progress in the United States, with the American market dropping close to 2% compared to last year, with 7,682 motorcycles sold last year.

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MotoGP

Paddock Pass Podcast #126 – 2020 Season Preview

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Episode 126 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this one covers a little bit of everything – the MotoGP Paddock, the Superbike shuffle, and a bit of palace intrigue.

In this episode, we once again have Steve English, Neil Morrison, and David Emmett on the mics, as the trio discusses the upcoming 2020 racing season for the MotoGP and WorldSBK Championships.

In addition to looking ahead, the guys also take a look back on the headlines that have developed in the off-season, most notably the doping results from Andrea Iannone, which the show spends a fair amount of time discussing.

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Rumors

Ducati’s “Project 1708” Promises a 234hp Superbike

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We knew the time would come when Ducati would create a Superleggera version of its Panigale V4 superbike, and while it was premature to think that we would see that machine at EICMA last year, we are indeed closing in on that magical date.

The news starts with an email sent to very select Ducatisti, straight from Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali, which teased the “Project 1708” superbike was coming soon.

Today, we get our first glimpse of the specs, which have been leaked onto the internet (shown at the end of this story). How does 234hp, 335 lbs dry (152kg), MotoGP-derived biplanes aerodynamic wings, and of course unobtanium at every detail, sound to you?.

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Bikes

Ducati Monster “Braida” Concept by Tex Motorbike

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A little something to get the week headed in the right direction, here is the “Braida” Ducati Monster concept by Paolo Tesio at Tex Motorbike.

The machine exists only as a digital render (for now), but it has some interesting ideas for a futuristic take on this classic motorcycle name.

We especially like the front fairing design, which just blends right into the front wheel and is fitted with a set of perimeter discs.

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Bikes

Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP Priced at €27,000 in Europe

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We continue to wait to see what pricing will be on the 2021 Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP (whew! say that three times fast!), when it comes to the USA later this summer. 

Our Bothan spy tipsters have pointed to the new Fireblade as being a pricey superbike (we have been expecting a roughly $25,000 price tag), and American Honda’s decision to import only the up-spec SP model adds further fuel to the fire that some price-point trickery is afoot.

With pricing already shown for the UK market, and seemingly confirming out suspicion, now we have another data point, as pricing on mainland Europe is finally out, and it seems to confirm the trend.

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Products

Alpinestars Introduces Its Own Autonomous Airbag Vest

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Another debut seen at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the eagerly awaited Alpinestars Tech-Air 5 airbag vest offers a new name in autonomous airbag safety for motorcyclists.

Boasting the ability to put an airbag in almost any motorcycle jacket, the Alpinestars Tech-Air 5 is a direct competitor with the Dainese Smart Jacket – as the two Italian brands continue to one-up each other in this budding space in motorcycle safety.

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Bikes

Damon Motorcycles Hypersport HS Officially Debuts at CES

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The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) isn’t known for its motorcycle debuts, but that has slowly changed over the years, especially as the motorcycle industry adopts more innovative approaches.

One of the largest trade shows in the United States, it is easy to see why motorcycle brands would want to get in front of the nearly 200,000 attendees that come each – and it helps that mainstream journalists there are fairly naive to the intricacies of the motorcycles industry, and will hype anything with a glossy veneer.

Case in point, the launch of the Damon Motorcycles Hypersport HS electric motorcycle, which just dropped at this year’s CES after much teasing.

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News

BMW Patents Novel Way to Charge Electric Motorcycles

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The question around electric motorcycles does not seem to be “if” they will come but “when” they will come, and from that comes a slew of other questions on how we are going to handle mainstream adoption of this budding two-wheeled segment.

From this momentum comes ideas on how best to charge electric vehicles, and we already see the great debate about the various charging standards available to manufacturers. 

BMW Motorrad is tackling the issue was well, and patent applications show that the German brand has a very smart solution for how to charge motorcycles.

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News

US Motorcycle Sales Were Flat for 2019, And Other Bad News

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Official data on the US motorcycle industry for 2019 isn’t out yet, but Asphalt & Rubber has seen preliminary numbers, encompassing the first 11 months of the year on new motorcycle sales, and those numbers show that the USA continues to have essentially zero growth.

According to the documents supplied to us by our Bothan spies, from January to November of 2019, the US motorcycle industry grew a whooping 0.1%, with most of the major brands posting moderate single-digit losses for the year on new bike sales.

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