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Spy Shots: BMW NineT Spotted in the Wild

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At the EICMA show last year, BMW Motorrad announced that it would make another air-cooled model, in order to commemorate the 90 years that the German OEM has been producing two-wheelers.

Expected to be the production version of the company’s LoRider concept, we got our first taste of what BMW had in store for us with the BMW Concept Ninety — which had its retro goodness co-developed with America’s own Roland Sands.

Now seemingly ready for a true production model, BMW Motorrad has been caught testing the BMW NineT street bike inside the Lake Garda region in Italy.

Obviously fitted with the venerable 1,200cc air-cooled boxer twin that has made the GS and RT such steady steeds, the NineT uses classic motorcycle aesthetics, mated to classic BMW design pieces.

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Rumors

Rumor: Ducati Scrambler Cometh

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While I was lounging at the pool this holiday weekend, getting my bronze on, the A&R Bothan Spy network was hard at work dumpster diving, hacking emails, and subscribing to the NSA’s live PRISM feed.

The fruits of that labor was the alarming realization of how many kitten videos the motorcycle industry collectively watches in a single day, and the fact that Ducati is working on scrambler-style motorcycle.

The project itself dates way back when Pierre Terblanche was still toiling away in Bologna, dodging equal portions of labor strikes and carbonara, and at the time was based around the now defunct Ducati Sport Classic.

Shelved, and thought never to see the light of day, we can only imagine this whole Hipstacyclist™ movement has helped Ducati rethink its position regarding a scrambler.

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Bikes

BMW Concept Ninety – Retro Meets Modern

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Late last year, we said that BMW Motorrad was working on a special air-cooled motorcycle to help commemorate the German company’s 90th anniversary of making motorbikes. Well, today we get to see what zie Germans have been up to, and it is called the BMW Concept Ninety.

Taking its cues from the BMW R90S, which itself turns 40-years-old today, the BMW Concept Ninety is debuting at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este and was designed by America’s own Roland Sands Design and the BMW Motorrad design team.

“The BMW R 90 S hails from an era in which bikers were regarded as outlaws,” said Edgar Heinrich, Head of BMW Motorrad Design, in the company’s press release. “There was something rebellious about it – it was fast, loud and wild. Pure emotion. And it has retained its fascination to this day.”

With that in mind, we turn our attention to the BMW Concept Ninety. Photos and video are after the jump of course, and leave your thoughts about the machine in the comments.

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Bikes

Vyrus 984 Ultimate Edition

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Technically very similar to the Bimota Tesi 3D (there’s a reason for that), the Vyrus 984 C3 2V is that other hub-center steering motorcycle from Italy. Featuring a 992cc Ducati DesmoDue motor at its core, the Vyrus 984 is about as radical as it gets when it comes to modern motorcycles. Upping the ante another notch though is the Vyrus 984 Ultimate Edition, which takes the already light 984 machine, and drops its weight to 144kg (317 lbs) dry.

Helping Vyrus achieve that ludicrous figure is the company’s copious usage of carbon fiber on the Vyrus 984 Ultimate Edition, which drops over 10 lbs from the original design. A large part of this weight savings is the front portion of the machine, which like the Ducati 1199 Panigale, builds directly off the engine cylinder heads, and serves double-duty as the motorcycle’s airbox.

Other goodies include carbon disc brakes, Öhlins TTX shocks for suspension, magnesium case covers, and an upside down aluminum box frame swingarm. Designed with the track in mind, the Vyrus 984 Ultimate Edition also comes with traction control and a full data-logging system. Price? Let’s just say it’s six figures. Expect a water-cooled Vyrus 985 Ultimate Edition to follow shortly.

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Bikes

Bimota DB10R – The Last Air-Cooled Hypermotard Standing

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The big news from Ducati at EICMA has to be the debut of the 2013 Ducati Hypermotard and its more touring focus sibling the 2013 Ducati Hyperstrada. Trading in their two-valve air-cooled lumps for a 110hp 821cc liquid-cooled v-twin engine, we are sure there are some Ducatisti who had there cooling fins ruffled by that move. Never fear, Bimota is here.

Using Ducati 95hp 1,078cc air-cooled engine that was in the original Ducati Hypermotard 1100, the Bimota DB10 debuted last year as a tasteful alternative to the maxi-motard from Bologna. Back again this year, Bimota has up-spec’d the DB10, with the 2013 Bimota DB10R coming with a bevy of more carbon fiber goodness.

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Rumors

Ducati Considering SuperSport Model

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One of the cooler parts that comes from running Asphalt & Rubber is the feedback we get from our Bothan spy network that read the site. No sooner did we publish Luca Bar’s renders of his Ducati SuperSport concept, did we get tips that Ducati was actually currently considering such a model for its future model road map. There’s no doubt that the SS line had a cult following in its day, and the fact still remains that Ducati does not have a “tamer sport bike” in its line that would appeal to the veteran Ducatisti.

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Bikes

More Rumors: Ducati Stradaperta 1200

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stradaperta

More rumors abound about Ducati’s replacement bike for the Multistrada. We can stop calling is the”R1200GS killer”, as it seems the first iteration will not include a 19″ front wheel. That’s not to say higher-ups in the Ducati management aren’t considering the possibility of a line extension or optional dirt-ready package.

Additionally, the Stradaperta 1200 (no definite news if that is to be the production name) will showcase a 1200cc air-cooled motor that is the latest revision on Ducati’s air-cooled and currently Monster based power plant. Output is said to exceed the 100HP mark, while maintaining strong low and midrange torque.

We’re still sometime away from any sort of official launch or reliable leaked specs and pictures, so take what is here as perhaps “educated” day dreaming.

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Rumors

Ducati’s BMW R1200GS Killer?

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Editor’s note: To dispel any confusion, the above photo is a photoshoped “Hyperstrada” designed to be the embodiment of Ducati’s new bike.

Rumors are about that Ducati is already showing to a select number of dealers, what can only be described as a BMW R1200GS killer. Based on their 1100cc air-cooled motor that powers the Monster, Multistrada, and Hypermotard, the new bike aims to be a more trail oriented dual-sport than the other road-tied bikes it shares its power plant with. The new bike is supposedly going to replace that Multistrada in Ducati’s positioning, with a greater focus on having off-road capability.

Source: MotoXMoto

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