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Come Watch a Ducati Superleggera V4 Get Built

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Those two-wheeled smut peddlers in Bologna are at it again, bringing you more NSFW content that will have you diving for the power switch should anyone walk by your workstation.

Releasing a video today that shows extensively the build process that goes into making a Superleggera V4 superbike, Ducati is promoting the fact that the carbon-fiber-everything machine has started production.

We also get word that Asphalt & Rubber will be swinging a leg over this bike in about a month’s time, and putting the Ducati Superleggera V4 through its paces at the Laguna Seca circuit in California.

Until that time, we can enjoy this not-so-short video that Ducati has produced.

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Ducati Returns to Production in Borgo Panigale, With Changes

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Starting this week, the Ducati factory in Borgo Panigale will once again rev to life, as the Italian brand returns to production work in Bologna, Italy.

While the production lines will continue, Ducati will not be continuing with business as usual. This is because the Italian motorcycle maker will only be recalling the minimal number of employees to restart the production and research operations.

Working together with the union (RSU), Ducati has created a new safety protocol, which includes everyone wearing masks, regardless of distancing.

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More Leaked Photos of the 2018 Ducati Panigale V4

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Apparently today is Ducati Day, as news continues to come from Italy about the Ducati Panigale V4 and its Desmosedici Stradale engine.

Ducati has already spilled the beans on the new 210hp V4 engine it has been developing for its next superbike, but now we also get more spy photos of the Panigale V4 that will carry it.

These latest spy photos show quite clearly the 2018 Ducati Panigale V4 that will debut later this November, at the EICMA show in Milan.

Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali confirmed the Panigale V4 name today, and for our A&R Pro members, we have gone into a lengthy analysis as to why Ducati is choosing to keep the styling and name of this machine so similar to the previous model.

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Watch Ducati Assemble the New Multistrada 1200

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When you think about the assembly process involved in making a motorcycle, it is pretty staggering. Not only do Ducati engineers have the task of making the best motorcycle possible, but they also need to design the machine to be easily built by the factory workers at Borgo Panigale.

Which parts should go on before the next? where a cable should be routed through the frame and bodywork? The planning that must go into building out an assembly line is certainly an undertaking I would not want to have.

So while the latest video from Ducati is perhaps not the most ouvertly entertaining, it is certainly impressive nonetheless to watch Italy’s finest assemblying a 2015 Ducati Multistrada 1200.

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Ducati Produces Its One Millionth Motorcycle

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Ducati is celebrating a milestone this week, as the Italian company has produced its one millionth motorcycle — a Ducati Monster 1200 S. The number might be a far cry from Honda’s recent 300 millionth motorcycle milestone, though admittedly the Japanese has made the bulk of that volume in the small-displacement categories.

Nonetheless, the special Monster was handed over directly by Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali to it new owner, 47-year-old Ernesto Passoni — a Ducatista from the Milan area — at an event in the Audi City Lab in Milan (a temporary showroom setup for the Christmas period in the Milan city center).

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Ducati Reaches New Workforce Agreement with Factory Unions – Reduced Hours, Higher Wages

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Ducati Motor Holding has reached a new agreement with its workforce, particularly those workers who are responsible for building the Italian company’s iconic two-wheeled machines.

The agreement with the unions sees 13 new jobs created in the Italian factory, which will now stay open on seven days a week — a big move for a country that is usually resistant to working on Sunday.

The factory workers will also go from 15 to 21 shifts per week, with a format of three days on, and two days off. In exchange, factory employees will work fewer hours per week on average, though will make higher average wages for their time.

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Yet Another Ducati Scrambler Photo (Not Claymation)

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Photos of the upcoming Ducati Scrambler seem to be a dime a dozen these days, especially after the still unreleased model was snapped by an attendee at the World Ducati Week 2014 gathering.

We have also seen the Scrambler testing at Ducati’s Borgo Panigale factory, in various states of build. And now today we get perhaps our best glimpse yet…and no, we’re not talking about the claymation video from Ducati’s marketing, which has been making the rounds this week already (an eyeroll for even having to say that).

Caught again at Borgo Panigale, this picture seems to be a ready-for-production version of the Ducati Scrambler, which we can expect to officially debut in a few months’ time.

It’s perhaps not worth rehashing everything we’ve said and speculated about this new model from Ducati, so we’ll leave you with this simple question: do you like?

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Bologna Confirms 2015 Ducati Scrambler

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Ducati has officially acknowledged its well-known Scrambler model today, after giving its employees an sneak peak over the machine at Borgo Panigale. A 2015 model year machine, the Ducati Scrambler is being pitched as a fun motorcycle that hearkens back to the 1960’s and 1970’s.

Debuting in autumn of this year, the 2015 Ducati Scrambler is tipped to use one of the company’s smaller air-cooled v-twin motors. Said to have wide handlebars and off-road inklings, Ducati describes the machine as “simple” – perhaps signaling the company’s intention for an affordable two-wheeler that will appeal to both motorcycle enthusiasts, and those outside the industry, alike.

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Ducati 1199 Superleggera Enters Production

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Word from Italy is that Ducati has begun production on the Ducati 1199 Superleggera superbike, the Italian firm’s “Super Light” version of the Panigale. Crafted from copious amounts of magnesium, titanium, and carbon fiber, the Superleggera might be one of the few motorcycles that looks better naked without its fairings, rather than all buttoned up and ready for the race track.

Make no mistake, the Superleggera is an exercise of engineering prowess (it sports the highest power-to-weight ratio of any production motorcycle in history), so it makes sense then that the Superleggera is said to be the pet project of former Ducati engineer, and current Ducati CEO, Claudio Domenicali.

Creating a video to celebrate the commencement of Ducati’s production run on the Ducati 1199 Superleggera, it is no mistake then that Domenicali features heavily in it — this is one proud papa. Only 500 lucky Ducatisti will be able to share in that pride of ownership, as the Superleggera production will be extremely limited. What follows might be the closest you will ever get to one.

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Ducati Museum Goes Virtual with Google Maps

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For those Ducati owners who have been pining to visit the world famous Ducati museum in Bologna, but cannot cover the cost or justify the trip, you are in luck. The doors at Via Antonio Cavalieri Ducati have opened to Google Maps to allow you to take the tour without getting up from your computer.

The 9,150 sq ft museum in Borgo Panigale already hosts 40,000 visitors a year and with the virtual tour, Ducati hopes to attract hundreds of thousands more.

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Ducati Production Delayed Due to Earthquake Devastation

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With the Emilia region continuing to feel aftershocks from the earthquakes that devastated the region, Ducati Motor Holdings has published a letter from CEO Gabriele Del Torchio explaining that while Ducati’s facility was unaffected by the tremors, its suppliers have seen their factories shutdown or slowed because of the natural disasters.

As such, deliveries from the Borgo Panigale factory have been delayed, meaning if you put money down on a 2012 Ducati motorcycle, you might have to wait a bit longer than originally expected. Ducati has not at this point in time released details on how long that delay could be for Ducatisti purchasers. Full letter after the jump.

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