After much waiting, Motus Motorcycles finally launched its MST sport-tourer to the public today. Unveiled at the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Motus’s hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, the American motorcycle manufacturer will head to Florida for the Progressive International Motorcycle Show on Thursday, March 10th for a more public showing.

Developed in conjunction with Pratt & Miller Engineering, the Motus MST features the KMV4 motor, a 1,645cc V4 push-rod style engine that include gasoline direct-injection technology (GDI). Power for the Motus MST prototype is said to be 161hp @ 7,800 rpm; 122 lbs•ft of torque @ 4,500 rpm, while the bike tips the scales around around 500 lbs dry. Motus will be riding the MST around the United States to show off their work, meet with supporters, and look for dealers interested in carrying the line.

Bikes

Helping celebrate Ducati’s heavyweight class win (and 2nd place overall) at Pikes Peak last year, the Italian company has released the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S Pikes Peak Special Edition today. We’ve been saying that Ducati needs to build a Pikes Peak Special Edition of the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S since…well, since we first laid eyes on the beautiful machine a year ago. Launching the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S Pikes Peak today though, we’ll have to find something else to pester the Italian company about, but that’s fine by us.

Opinion/Editorial
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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. 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.

Racing

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. 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.

Bikes

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.