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Ducati Multistrada 1200 S Dolomites Peak Edition

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Wrapping up the 2013 Wrooom launch event that Ducati Corse co-hosts with Scuderia Ferrari, the Bologna Brand debuted a new one-off bike: the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S Dolomites Peak Edition — a homage to the mountain range where Ducati Corse holds its MotoGP unveiling event each year.

Taking the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S Pikes Peak Edition that we loved so much last year, the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S Dolomites Peak Edition adds a silver mountain range graphic to the otherwise beautiful red, white, and black racing scheme. Just something special for the conclusion to the Wrooom media event, we are sort of glad that this Multistrada isn’t going to hit dealership floors, but still thought we would share. More photos after the jump.

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Bikes

Magpul Ronin 1125R – A Samurai Looking for a Master

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It has been some time since we saw the Magpul Ronin concept bike, a re-imagined Buell 1125R that was built by the folks at Magpul Industries — a company more well-known in the gun community than than in motorcycling. Making waves with the design though, Magpul setup a new company, Ronin Motorworks, to explore the idea further. Hiring a team of designers and engineers from the motorcycle industry, the result of this endeavor is the Magpul Ronin 1125R sport bike, of which 47 examples will be made, in honor of the 47 Ronin story from feudal Japan.

A fitting metaphor for the story behind the closure of Buell Motorcycles, the 47 Magpul Ronin 1125R bikes will be built from new Buell 1125 chassis that were stored from the original inventory. While a limited-production machine, one of the cooler details of the Magpul Ronin 1125R is that instead of a number plate scheme for the 47 motorcycles, Ronin Motorworks will name each bike after one of the samurais from the original story.

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Racing

Ben Spies and His Pramac Ducati Livery

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Along with the unveiling of the Ducati Corse factory team, Ben Spies, Andrea Iannone, and the rest of the Pramac Ducati team were on hand at the 2013 Wrooom event to unveil their factory-supported hardware. Continuing the close relationship between Ducati Corse and Pramac Team Principal Paolo Campinoti, the Pramac Ducati squad will help Ducati develop the Desmosidici race bike during the 2013 MotoGP season.

Though the logos may be sparse, Pramac Ducati sees the addition of Ignite Asset Management to the team’s livery, a New York-based asset management firm. Moving from the factory Yamaha team to the Ducati “junior” squad, Spies will be joined by Moto2 star Iannone, who captivated fans last year with his aggressive riding style and back-end cornering procedures.

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Racing

Photos: Rossi + Lorenzo + Yamaha = ???

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Valentino Rossi likes to refer to the Yamaha YZR-M1 race bike as “his” M1. Leaving Yamaha for Ducati, Rossi even wrote his M1 a “Dear John” goodbye letter, which many understood to be a message to former-teammate Jorge Lorenzo that the young Spaniard was riding on the coattails of the nine-time world champion. Burying the hatchet that once built a wall in the pit box, Rossi and Lorenzo are once again teammates, though the pecking order has changed to some degree within the factory Yamaha Racing team.

With Lorenzo the reigning World Champion, and Rossi coming off an abysmal two-year stint with Ducati Corse, for the first time in a long while, the Italian racer finds himself in the #2 seat. With some questioning whether the better days are behind him, there is even doubt coming from The Doctor’s own mouth about his ability. Sandbagging or true position, one can never be sure, but the issue is surely going to be one that is touched upon heavily in the beginning of the 2013 MotoGP World Championship.

With the winter ban nearly over, and riders returning to their racing duties, we won’t have long until we see bikes on the track testing. Until then, we have the marketing machines of the various factories for entertainment, and not to let Ducati steal the show with its 2013 Wrooom event, Yamaha has teased out some photos and a video of its 2013 team. Now, I am a huge fan of Gigi Soldano’s work, and I like to think I’m a pretty open-minded dude…but shit gets weird after the jump.

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This is Not Rossi’s New Yamaha MotoGP Livery

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The great winter depression is nearly over for MotoGP fans, as tomorrow Ducati Corse will debut its 2013 team(s) for the premier class, and soon enough we will see similar events from Honda and Yamaha as well. In February, the boys with their bikes will be back on the track, as the pre-season tests at Sepang again give us our first glimpse at the teams’ progress over the off-season.

Of course, the anticipation doesn’t stop some. Take graphic designer and DeviantArtist Samuel from Italy, he spent the long-winter months photoshopping together what many Rossi fans have been speculating about: the nine-time World Champion’s new livery now that Monster is sponsoring the Yamaha Racing MotoGP team.

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Racing

Dakar Rally – Stage 7: American Kurt Caselli Takes First Win

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A last-minute replacement to the injured Marc Coma in the 2013 Dakar Rally, the expectations around race-rookie Kurt Caselli were purposefully modest. Filling big shoes at KTM’s factory-backed Dakar team, the Austrian brand started the two-week long race with hopes for competitive finishes from the Ameircan hare-scrambler, but today they got much, much more: a stage win in the seventh day of racing.

The fastest man through Stage Seven, Caselli finished the timed special in 1’51.31 on his KTM 450 Rally race bike, which averaged 117 km/h over the course. The stage win result leaves Caselli in eighth place overall, with second through eighth dominated by KTM riders, save David Casteu who maintains 3rd place for Yamaha. Elsewhere in the KTM camp, race-favorite Cyril Despres suffered mechanical issues, and dropped to fifth overall after his 34th place finish in the stage. He is 14 minutes behind race-leader Olivier Pain.

“Everything for me was fine. I’m learning the navigation better and I can understand it,” said Caselli. “This is my first Dakar so I’m just learning a lot. I didn’t have any idea what to expect when I first came here. It’s fun and I’m enjoying it.” Enjoy it indeed, congrats Kurt! Photos of Caselli from Dakar are after the jump.

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Dakar Rally – Stage 6: Yamaha Leads KTM into Chile

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It has been four stages since we checked in with the 2013 Dakar Rally, and a bit has happened since Cyril Despres’s eight-minute gaffe in the rally race’s second stage. Reclaiming the lead the very next day, Despres seemed back on his form, and ready to blow away the competition — Stage Four would say otherwise however.

Shaking up the leader board, it was Yamaha’s Olivier Pain who finished the fourth day of racing roughly three minutes ahead of his teammate David Casteu and KTM’s Cyril Despres, respectively. The fifth and sixth stages had the competitors leave Peru, and make their first crossing into Chile (the 2013 Dakar will leave Chile for Argentina tomorrow during Stage Seven and then re-enter Chile at Stage Twelve through to the finish).

The change of locale proved advantageous for Despres, who gained timed on the Yamahas in front of him, and finally overtook Casteu on today’s Stage Six. Frenchman Olivier Pain remained in the lead through today though, with a 2:22 lead over Despres, and nearly five minutes over Casteu, who is running in danger of being caught by KTM’s Chaleco Lopez and Ruben Faria.

There are two more days of racing in Chile, before the riders will have their one and only rest day, which serves as the halfway mark for the Dakar Rally. Commence onward for full standings and some photos of the top competitors.

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Bikes

Triumph Tiger Sport – A 1050 with More…Sport

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Although the Triumph Tiger 800 and Triumph Tiger 1200 models are doing well in the market, the British brand from Hinckley doesn’t seem ready to kill the Triumph Tiger 1050, and has instead revised the model for the 2013 model year.

Adding 10hp to the three-cylinder motor (123 hp & 76.7 lbs•ft of torque at the crank now), the renamed Triumph Tiger Sport features a new single-sided swingarm, a slimmer subframe, a revised suspension and geometry, along with redesigned fairings and wheels.

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Honda MSX125 Will Make a Monkey Out of You

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If there ever was a motorcycle that earned the word “cute” is its best descriptor, the Honda Monkey might be it. A diminutive and fun motorcycle, it was hard to look good on Honda’s old Z-series bikes, though the machines themselves still carry their own unique flavor of cool to this day.

Fast-forward fifty-years later, and Honda is bringing the Monkey back, this time in the guise of the 2013 Honda MSX125. Manufactured in Thailand, the Honda MSX 125 (MSX = Mini Street X-treme 125), the 125cc, 9.7 hp, four-stroke, two-valve, single-cylinder, fuel-injected fun machine will be a Spring 2013 model in markets around the world (no word on North America though).

The ultimate pit bike for us Anglo-Saxons, the Honda MSX125 also serves as a practical and durable machine for markets where potholed asphalt is a luxury where roads rarely exist. With the seat just a touch above 30 inches off the ground (30.1″ to be exact), the new Honda Monkey is a friend to the short man (or woman) as well.

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Products

Rizoma 77|011 Metropolitan Bike

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It is the off-season here in the US, which means for those of you that don’t get to enjoy the perpetual sunshine of California, your bike is neatly packed away for the winter, and withdrawl from motorcycling is already starting to show its full force. Everyone deals with this process differently, and for the racers and track day enthusiasts amongst us, the off-season marks a chance for some much needed maintenance and modification.

We reckon that while a $3,000 full-titanium exhaust system might add a couple more horsepower to the top-end, it is usually the racer that could use the most improvement before next season. While the holidays have been conducive to some “mass centralization” on our bodies, it is never too early to start the physical prep for the riding season.

An obvious translation from our two-wheeled sport, we see many motorcycle racers taking in their fitness training on bicycles. In addition to having the correct number of turning bits, cycling improves cardiovascular fitness, it is low-impact, and it can still be performed with many of the injuries associated with motorcycle racing.

To that vein, motorcycle parts manufacturer Rizoma has released a swanky pushbike for the discerning motorcyclist. True to the brand’s chic, but understated, aesthetic, the Rizoma 77|011 Metropolitan Bike is a bicycle built to take on the city with some serious style. But with that serious style, comes a serious price tag: €3,700. Ouch.

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MotoGP: PBM’s New Aprilia Chassis by GPMS

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Using a sole Aprilia ART racing machine last season, Paul Bird Motorsports is looking to double-down with the Italian V4 power plant, though for 2013 the British team will split its time between continuing to develop the Aprilia ART with Yonny Hernandez on-board, as well as developing its own racing platform for Michael Laverty.

Building the PBM-o1 with the help of chassis-builder GPMS, PBM will have Laverty also ace with an Aprilia RSV4 engine between his legs, though the rest of the machine will differ from his teammate’s more “factory” machine. Teasing out the first pictures of the PBM-01 chassis by GPMS, Team Principal Paul Bird has teased out some pictures of the team’s new GP chassis with the V4 motor mounted.

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