Desmosedici

It's getting a little late for a last minute Christmas shopping list, but not to worry, most of us outside the Forbes Top 100 couldn't afford any of these anyway! Still, it's fascinating to look at what's possible if the word "budget" isn't in your vocabulary, so here's our annual look at what you won't be getting for Christmas this year – the most outrageous examples of high-end overkill that have graced Gizmag's pages throughout 2010. Read More

Overkill. The word's origins are military in nature, describing a situation where one country has enough nuclear weapons to destroy significantly more of another nation that it would ever need to in order to win a war. But the term applies perfectly to today's sportsbike market, where any numpty with a license and a check book can waltz into a dealership and wobble out on a thoroughbred race machine that can break the speed limit at mid-revs in first gear and accelerate faster than any car on the road. Of course, for some people that's just not enough, bless their souls – but to create a vehicle that stands out from the pack in such a time of plenty, you have to take things to the absolute extreme. And it's a long time since we saw anything quite as extreme as the NCR M16, a bike that takes one of the most expensive roadbikes ever built, throws almost all of it in the bin and replaces it with the most exotic materials on the planet. Gentlemen, start your drooling. Read More

Last year when we did an extensive feature on Ducati’s motogp carbon fibre semi-monocoque frame, we lauded its groundbreaking technology. Now it seems the Italian powerhouse is so pleased with its handiwork that the semi-monocoque design looks set to replace Ducati’s trademark trellis frame on its road bikes in the future too. Read More

The name Vyrus may not be familiar to motorcycle enthusiasts when they begin reading this article, but by the end of it, there’s every chance it will be at the top of their list of “dream bikes.” The small Rimini-based Italian company is currently best known for producing the Bimota Tesi 2D, but the company's new, top-of-the-range, Vyrus 987 C3 4VV naked superbike is just about to propel it to even greater world renown, leapfrogging past a gaggle of superbikes to become the most powerful production motorcycle in the world. It's more powerful than Ducati’s Desmosedici RR, MV Agusta’s F4 312RR, Suzuki’s Hayabusa or Kawasaki’s ZZR1400. The hub-centre-steered Vyrus runs a 211 bhp supercharged 1198cc 1098R Ducati engine, weighs just 158 kg and costs EUR 65,000 (US$91,700). Read More

Ever since designer John Barnard built the 1981 F1 McLaren MP4-1 chassis from carbon fibre, the world has become increasingly aware of this novel composite material that is very stiff, three times stronger and more than four times lighter than steel! Within a year or two, carbon fibre became the construction material of choice for F1 designers. Strangely, it has taken nearly three decades for a carbon fibre-framed motorcycle to take a race win at the highest level. The World MotoGP Championship kicked off this evening in Qatar, with Casey Stoner taking the first win on the carbon fibre-framed Ducati Desmosedici GP9. His emphatic win indicates yet another competitive-edge Ducati technology to back up its landmark desmodromic valve-train and traction control technologies. Read More

Ducati this week unveiled its 2008 MotoGP machine at its annual Wrooom - MotoGP Press Ski Meeting at Madonna di Campiglio. The new GP8 Desmosedici is understandably based on the GP7 which won the 2007 MotoGP title, with small but important changes in the area of the frame, rear suspension geometry, motor and electronic system. The Desmosedici is equipped with exactly the same traction control system used on the new 1098 R road bike which swept all before it in motorcycle magazine awards around the world. No doubt Ducati’s test rider Vittoriano Guareschi was thankful for the traction control as he rode the new machine before the press for the first time – the ice floor he had to contend with could easily have caught out any rider. Read More

October 12, 2007 Ducati didn’t believe punters would jump at their US$70,000 MotoGP replica motorcycle – how wrong they were. With production still yet to begin, less than 250 units remain to be pre-ordered of what is surely the most extreme production motorcycle on the planet, the Desmosedici RR. If you want one, you’d better move fast. Read More

July 11, 2007 World Ducati Week is a strange phenomena – thousands of Ducatisti, members of the Ducati tribe, travel from all over the world for a week of entertainment and experiences based around Ducati’s values, lifestyle and products. Ducati rewards its most faithful regularly at these events, with unique experiences and first-to-see opportunities that are generally reserved for ballrooms and press only occasions by its competitors. This week the 200 bhp Ducati Desmosedici RR, the world’s first MotoGP replica roadster made its first ever public appearance in action at the event held at Misano racetrack in Italy. Over 170 people from 19 countries who have already placed orders for the Desmosedici RR travelled to WDW2007 to witness the public track debut of the bike that was first announced at the same event back in 2004. Back then it was a promising machine struggling to assert itself against the far larger and established MotoGP teams of Honda and Yamaha. This time the bike it emulates is leading the world title – the company even went as far as showing the prototype 1200 superbike it will run next season - amazing scenes at WDW2007. Read More

January 18, 2007 The Dolomite mountain scenery of Madonna di Campiglio formed the spectacular backdrop for the official launch of the new Ducati Desmosedici GP7 yesterday. The wraps were pulled off the all-new Italian bike by Loris Capirossi and Casey Stoner, the two Ducati Marlboro Team factory riders who will spearhead the Italian manufacturer's attack in the first year of the new 800cc category. The Desmosedici GP7 is characterized by having a new and exclusive colour scheme called "Red Racing Chrome", produced with a special paint that, like McLaren’s similar technology in Formula One, offers the bikes an innovative and technological chrome effect. The new 800cc engine is smaller and narrower than the 990 unit and acts as a load-bearing structure within the shorter chassis and the sub-frame is mounted directly on the engine. Read More