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Changes in Ducati North America Management

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More management changes at Ducati North America, as Dominique Cheraki has taken on the newly created position of General Manager, to help CEO Cristiano Silei in the day-to-day duties of running Ducati’s US, Canada, and Mexico operations.

It’s been our understanding that Silei has been filling-in with his interim-CEO duties from Italy, so Cheraki’s appointment should put some direct leadership on US soil, and help fill the day-to-day operations at Ducati North America. This announcement also means that Cristiano Silei will be DNA’s full-time CEO, and no longer an interim role for the Italian.

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Recall

Recall: Ducati Multistrada 1200 & Ducati Diavel

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Here’s a type of recall that we’ll begin to see more of in the coming years, Ducati North America is recalling 1,051 Diavel and Multistrada 1200 motorcycles because of a faulty software issue. A certain version of the hands free software package may cause the electronic steering lock to fail to disable during the “key on” process.

The result is that a rider would be unable to move their motorcycle, at least not beyond a small radial path. In the eyes of the NHTSA though, this could mean that a rider could start the motorcycle and attempt to ride off, and then realize they lack the ability to steer (read: not good). While the safety issue here seems fairly benign, the idea that one couldn’t get their bike moving because a 0 should be a 1 would be fairly frustrating to us if we were owners of either machine, hence the recall.

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Bikes

Ducati Monster 659 – Australia’s New LAMS Learner

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According to our friends at Ducati News Today, Ducati Australia has announced that it will begin offering a Ducati Monster 659, a Learner Approved Motorcycle Scheme (LAMS) compliant motorcycle for learning motorcyclists. Something we reported on back in March, the Monster 659 is a repurposed Monster 696 that complies with Australia’s laws and restrictions regarding motorcycle purchases by new riders.

Though with this news the Monster 659 has been official announced, it still is not clear how Ducati arrived to its 659cc displacement for the Ducati Monster 659. Logic would dictate either a reduced bore size, or a shortened stroke, with the latter being our best guess, but Ducati Australia so far has been mums the word about it.

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News

How to Steal a Ducati Diavel in 60 Seconds?

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Ducati News Today must have gotten the same news tip as us, as a IT security blog is purporting to have information on how one can steal a Ducati Diavel (and presumably a Ducati Multistrada 1200) via the bike’s keyless ignition system.

It should be stated up-front that the pos referenced is dated April 5th, with the writer of the blog supposedly discovering this information on April 1st…and well all know what sort of Tomfoolery goes on during that time of the year.

According to the post’s author, the Ducati Diavel can be started not only without having the key in the ignition, but without the key at all.

While anyone who has ridden the Diavel knows that you only have to have the key in the proximity of the Diavel while you’re riding, the idea that one can start the bike without the key comes from a default code that comes up when such an act is attempted.

Where things get sticky though is that the author claims that this four-digit PIN is set from the factory to be the last four digits of the Diavel’s VIN, and that few owners know of security feature.

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Products

Radical Ducati Il Mostro Kit

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It should be apparent by now that we loves us some Radical Ducati here at Asphalt & Rubber. And why shouldn’t we be? Those Spanish desmoholics have put out some really impressive motorcycles the past few years, not only putting their small shop on the map, but Spain as a whole as a budding venue of custom motorcycles (check out the work fro Sbay for more Spanish goodness for instance). The process at Radical Ducati is pretty simple, take parts collected from various Bologna motorcycles, mash them up with some creative flare, add-in some custom fabrication, and presto: you have some unique motorcycles that embody the best of Ducati’s designs.

Now typically if you wanted your own Radical Ducati you’d have to fork over a hefty amount of money, and the figure out how to get your masterpiece back to respective your country of origin. While this technically remains true, you can now at least give your Ducati Monster the Radical treatment, as those crazy Spaniards have come out with the Il Mostro customization kit for the Ducati Monster 696, 796, & 1100.

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Bikes

Ducati Desmodoctor by Oberdan Bezzi

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We haven’t had a sketch by Oberdan Bezzi on the site in a while, but the Italian designer has inked this Ducati concept that we thought would help everyone get through the work week. Coining the name “Desmodoctor” it should be clear to whom Obiboi is paying homage to with this design, as Bezzi imagines what sort of “gift” the Bologna company would give Rossi to play around with when he’s not racing the Ducati Desmosedici GP11 or GP12.

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News

Ducati Monster 1100 EVO Photos and Video

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Launched at the 2010 EICMA show, Ducati has updated its top-of-the-line Monster for 2011, creating the Ducati Monster 1100 EVO. Distinguishing itself with the return of the shotgun style exhaust, the 2011 Ducati Monster 1100 EVO takes an aesthetic revision to the iconic two-valve v-twin motorcycle. With an even 100hp on tap, the 373 lbs machine should be a fun city romper, and comes packed with features like Ducati’s ABS, traction control, and data acquisition system.

We’ll have to wait until the Monster 1100 EVO makes it stateside to get our first glimpses of the street naked, and see how it compares to its predecessors. Until then though, feast your eyes on 15 images of the new Monster, along with a promotional video.

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Racing

First Shots: Nicky Hayden on the Ducati Desmosedici GP12

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To considerably less fanfare, Nicky Hayden took the Ducati Desmosedici GP12 today at Jerez, which for MotoGP fans means more photos of Ducati’s 1,000cc class prototype motorcycle. Ducati didn’t make a video of Nicky’s adventures on the GP12, but the race team got some valuable input from the American racer, who put in 61 laps for Ducati Corse once the circuit dried from high humidity. “When I woke up this morning, the sky was really gray and the track was completely wet,” said Nicky Hayden. “I was pretty disappointed. I didn’t think we’d be able to do anything because it wouldn’t have made sense to waste a day testing in those conditions.”

“The situation got better and better though, and after lunch, I was able to put on my leathers. I couldn’t wait to ride, and it was worth the wait. It’s an honor to be able to participate in the first track test of the GP12 because it doesn’t happen very often that you get to ride a bike on the track for the first time: it’s a special feeling. Everything went well, and we didn’t have a single problem: the motor is really nice to use, and I had a lot of fun riding the bike. I hope I gave some useful feedback to Filippo and the boys. I know they’ll be working on this bike while we go back to focusing on the next race, because this season just started.”

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Racing

First Shots: Rossi Rides the Ducati Desmosedici GP12

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Under some sunny and warm skies at Jerez, Valentino Rossi got to meet the Desmosedici GP12 for the first time today. In total Rossi slagged the GP12 across the Andalusian circuit for a total of 50 laps saying, and was seemingly pleased the the new machine.

“I’m happy,” said Valentino Rossi after the test. “I like the GP12. In my opinion, it’s more enjoyable, more fun to ride. It was the first time we had it on the track, so we had some work to do, but the engine is nicer. It’s a lot of fun, and you can do some nice slides. It’s the bike we’ll ride next year, so it was very important—and also very nice—to be among the first to take it on the track.” Photos, video, and more are awaiting you after the jump.

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Racing

Valentino Rossi Will Test the Ducati Desmosedici GP12 Tomorrow – Nicky Hayden Will Test on Saturday

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After a day of successful testing at Jerez with Franco Battaini and Vittoriano Guareschi on the GP12, official word has come down from Ducati Corse high command that Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden will swing a leg over the new 1,000cc machine tomorrow and Saturday, respectively. Valentino Rossi has presumably already made the trek back to Spain this evening, and will test the Ducati Desmosedici GP12 tomorrow, while Nicky Hayden will return his press junkets from Germany, and have his turn on the GP12 this Saturday.

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Bikes

Radical Ducati Raceric

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As we look at the latest creation from Radical Ducati, a Spanish custom shop whose name you should know by now if you’re a regular A&R reader, there’s always something about their design that just grabs you and sucks you us into the motorcycle (check the RAD02 Imola Café Racer, 9½, Café Veloce, and Mikaracer). We don’t agree with all the choices they make (of course that might be why we’re blogging, and they’re building), but Radical has certainly created a distinct look that you can spot a mile away. Combine that with some superb photography (they always throw in a couple artsy shots for us it seems), and it shouldn’t be a big surprise as to why their work makes it onto our pages so regularly.

The Radical Ducati Raceric was built way back in 2010 (check out this Facebook album with older photos), which technically doesn’t make it a new creation from the Spaniards, but the folks at Radical Ducati did enlist Paolo Grana to take some more shots of the bike, and that’s good enough for us. Radical did-up both monoposto and biposto seat for the Raceric, and in these news shots we see only the biposto version. Half the fun with the bikes from Radical Ducati is spotting which parts came from which Ducati models. The photos are after the jump, shout out what you see in the comments.

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