According to reports online, BMW’s Motorrad division is looking to take on Ducati’s award winning power cruiser – the XDiavel.
There is no word on how it is going to look like or what is going to be powering it, but this is not the first time that BMW has ventured into the cruiser market – who can forget the BMW that James Bond rode in Tomorrow Never Dies – the R1200C.
Both Ducati and BMW have wanted to take on the power cruiser market for many years now, and have come away scarred and bruised. Ducati seems to have learned a lot judging from how beautiful the XDiavel is, and BMW seems to be magically balancing good looks and performance in it’s current line-up of motorcycles.
Lets also not forget that BMW recently teased us with its own take on a BMW bagger called the BMW Concept 101, which is based on the K1600.
So what will be powering the new bike? Only time will tell but BMW has a vast array of powerplants to choose from; an inline-four, inline-six and even the well proven boxer engine. It remains to be seen what BMW will ultimately go for though.
So when will we be seeing such a stunning machine from Munich? A concept debut at EICMA this year sounds fitting.
Source: Asphalt & Rubber
After weeks of speculation, it is officially official, reigning MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo will leave the Yamaha MotoGP team at the end of this season. The destination for Lorenzo is the Ducati factory team.
The following is an excerpt from Yamaha’s statement:
“Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. announces that its partnership with Jorge Lorenzo will be discontinued at the close of the 2016 MotoGP season, when Lorenzo will move on to new racing challenges,” read a Yamaha statement.
“Since Lorenzo joined the Yamaha Factory Racing Team in 2008, Lorenzo and Yamaha won three MotoGP World Championships (2010, 2012 and 2015), clinched 41 race wins and have been on the podium 99 times out of 141 races contested.
“Yamaha is extremely grateful for Jorge’s contributions to its racing successes and looks forward to sharing more memorable moments during the remaining 15 MotoGP rounds of 2016, their ninth season together.
“Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. wishes Lorenzo the very best in his future racing endeavours and reconfirms the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team’s full support on his campaign to achieve his fourth MotoGP title.
Ducati issued the following statement:
“Ducati announces that it has reached an agreement with Jorge Lorenzo thanks to which the Spanish rider will take part in the MotoGP World Championship in 2017 and 2018 aboard the Ducati Desmosedici GP of the Ducati Team.
“Lorenzo, born in Palma de Mallorca on 4 May 1987, has won five world championship titles throughout his racing career (250cc in 2006 and 2007 and MotoGP in 2010, 2012 and 2015).”
Ducati fishing for Lorenzo to don the colour red is nothing new, in fact the Italian team has been at it since 2009 but were turned down multiple times.
Now seems to be the right time for the greatest Spanish racer of all time to make his move.
Many feel that Lorenzo has achieved his best onboard the Yamaha M1, and that Lorenzo is not being perceived with the greatness he deserves.
The Ducati however seems to be primed to win, with both Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone having claimed podium finishes and pole positions, despite lacking the ‘racing sparkle’ that separates the Greats from the podium finishers.
Apparently Lorenzo also feels slighted that Rossi’s contract extension was announced first, instead of the reigning World Champion’s. This is being perceived as Yamaha placing more importance on The Doctor than on Lorenzo. The fact that Yamaha just announced a partnership with Rossi’s VR46 Riders Academy may also have a part to play in Lorenzo’s departure.
What that means is that someone will have to take over his seat at Yamaha, and one of the Andreas at Ducati will have to vacate their seat.
Andrea Iannone won no favours when he took out both himself and Dovizioso just metres away from a podium finish for both riders in Argentina. And Dovi is also being perceived as the more cool headed one among the two Italians, so it is Dovi that is tipped to stay at Ducati.
Yamaha on the other hand has made no announcement or hinted at the rider to take over from Lorenzo, but it is the upcoming star at Suzuki, Maverick Vinales that is being tipped as the favourite to ride for Yamaha.
There is no doubt that Lorenzo is one of the all-time greats, in his prime even Rossi was tested at almost every race. Lets not forget that this is the same guy who claimed a podium and second place finish on his debut race in 2008, and in 2010 won six races and never finished a race lower than second. He claimed the title with 383 points, a feat yet to be emulated.
Rossi on the other hand has a galaxy of achievements to his credit as well, but he couldn’t tame the Ducati before returning to Yamaha. If Lorenzo manages to win a race and more at Ducati, he could just clinch the coveted “Mr Popular” title that Rossi has had tor decades.
With the new Ducati Desmo race machine already showing signs of greatness, it seems likely that Lorenzo could just do what even the great Rossi couldn’t – tame a wild Ducati MotoGP race machine.
It is unlikely that Lorenzo will speak openly about Ducati until the end of the season, but if there is one thing for sure, the 2017 MotoGP season is going to be awesome!
Image Credits: MotoGP
About month and a half ago, frequent readers of Bikes Republic would have noticed an increase in news on the 2015 Ducati Multistrada. Not a new bike in the “just introduced globally” sense of things, but new to Malaysia after its initial introduction towards the end of 2014. Sad that it took that long for the bike to get here but we are glad that it eventually did.
The test ride was organised in two stages; first a local test ride of the Multistrada 1200 up the winding roads of Cameron Highlands organised by Ducati Malaysia. And the Multistrada 1200S in Chiang Mai organised by Ducati Thailand. I don’t know why it happened that way but both rides were great fun.
The Multistrada 1200 on a near 700 kilometre ride to Cameron Highlands was impressive, with ample time to get to know the 1200 better. I described it then as a bittersweet experience because it was a good package let down by shocks that were too limp for a Sports Adventure bike.
In the first review, which you can read here, I said, “The suspension up front and at the rear was set at soft and though it was nice and comfortable on straight roads, it felt nervous and twitchy in the corners. The front end seemed to pick up the slightest inundations and rarely settled down to grip into a corner. This made it tough to muscle the bike around corners.” — That’s how I described the suspension here.
But I should have adjusted the suspension accordingly before leaving. Both front and back shocks were set at the softest and so the bike behaved strangely. We will be running a retest of the bike with the suspension adjusted so watch this space for that.
The Multistrada 1200S though (yes the one with the S, pronounced as twelve hundred essss), is something else, but what’s different? I’ll break it down for you:
You can buy the Multistrada 1200 in Ducati Red with black wheels only.
But you can have the the 1200S in Ducati Red AND in Iceberg White with black wheels, which looks really good actually.
The 1200 gets the boring non-colour LCD screen (shown below) while the 1200S gets the superb 5-inch full colour TFT screen shown above. No prizes for guessing which is the better screen of the two.
This is an entirely new system that comes as standard on the 1200S. Utilising bluetooth technology, the system allows incoming phone calls, selecting your favourite songs and shows a new SMS whenever you get one.
The system connects to your phones and displays all the main multimedia functions like the song that is playing, a new SMS icon, or the name of the incoming caller. And just in case you are wondering, both rider and passenger are able to tune in to the music that is playing via earphones. The system also allows both rider and passenger to speak to one another. Watch the video below to see how it all connects together, making the 1200S Ducati’s first ever “connected” motorcycle.
Both the 1200 and 1200S share the same liquid-cooled engine; the 1198.4cc Ducati Testastretta DVT with Desmodromic Variable Timing, with L-Twin cylinders, 4-valves per cylinder with Dual Spark.
It outputs 160hp @ 9,500rpm and 136Nm of torque @ 7,500rpm. It is 10hp more powerful than the old Multistrada and yet is 8% more fuel efficient. How Ducati does it and how the DVT system works is a little sophisticated, so I suggest you watch the one minute video below.
Now this is what makes the 1200S so much better than the standard 1200. Officially the system is called the Ducati Skyhook Suspension EVO. It consists of a 48mm front fork and Sachs rear monoshock. Together, the system works as a semi-active suspension control that automatically and continually adjusts damping according to road conditions and the riding mode selected (Sport, Touring, Urban and Enduro).
It is the evolution of the earlier Skyhook system, hence why it is called Ducati Skyhook Suspension ‘EVO’. The EVO here basically means evolution, and there are three things that are new to the new EVO suspension system: new hardware with a new pressurised 48mm Sachs fork. New electronics with a new rear spring travel sensor, and lean and pitch angle data from the new Inertial Measurement Unit. There is also a new software strategy that works synonymously with the riding modes better enhance comfort, handling performance and better stability on trails.
With four different electronically adjustable riding modes, the new Ducati Multistrada 1200S has been described as a four bikes in one package. But it is not just the electronics that give it that four bikes in one feel, the bike has also been designed to balance the demands of sport riders, tour riders and those who do most of their riding in urban conditions.
The chart below perfectly dissects power delivery, and electronic interference like ABS, Ducati Traction Control and Ducati Wheelie Control. Click here if you don’t understand what I’m talking about.
Gives you maximum power with direct throttle response, meaning it reacts to every single input. Traction control is at mid-setting (4 out of 8), ABS is also at mid-setting (2 of 3) and Ducati Wheelie Control is almost not on (2 out of 8). Suspension is set to stiff, and the bikes picks up every bump and tortures your spine on highways.
Also gives you maximum power but with a more gentle throttle response. It is perfect for those long highway rides when you are tired of hooning and just want to cruise. Traction control is set higher than in Sport (5 out of 8), ABS is set at max, and wheelie control is set at 3 out of 8.
Limits power to just 100hp, also with a gentle response. All electronics are off or set at the lowest for those slippery, sandy moments.
Power is again limited to just 100hp with a gentle throttle response. Electronics are almost at their highest because the last thing you want to do is start sliding around on tarmac with cars following close behind. Traction is at 6 out of 8 (8 being the safest), ABS is fully on (3 of 3), and Ducati Wheelie Control (DWC) is at 5 out of 8.
Utilising the onboard Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), the LED lights on the 1200S light up bends and corners which otherwise would have been dark. When the sensors detect that the bike is leaning, the LED lights are turned on and illuminate the path ahead, revealing objects which otherwise would not have been visible.
It is a system developed by Bosch that uses complex algorithms derived from sensors located at strategic points around the bike to provide the information needed to create a greater level of safety and riding experience. It is basically small little sensors that that tell the bike when you are riding beyond your skill set, and to save your a** when grip, or luck, runs out.
To break it down further, the sensors measure five things, roll rate, yaw rate, longitudinal acceleration, transverse acceleration and vertical acceleration of the motorcycle. This information is then processed at light speed to determine the lean and pitch angles, which is then used by systems like the cornering ABS, Ducati Wheelie Control, Ducati Skyhook Suspension, and Ducati Cornering Lights. This information then decides how much slide you can have or how close the front wheel gets to meeting the sky.
Different from the 1200, the 1200S features a braking system Ducati describes as ‘superbike spec’. The system is sharper, reacts quicker and generally feels better than the standard system. It comprises a race oriented PR16 brake pump managing two 330mm front discs and is coupled with Superbike-spec Brembo Monobloc M50 callipers. The rear is kept in check by a huge single 265mm disc gripped by a single 2 x 28 floating Brembo caliber with sintered pads. The hardware is in turn kept in check with a dual channel Bosch 9ME multi-calibration ABS with cornering functionality that provides maximum braking performance in straight lines and in corners.
The first generation Pirelli Scorpion Trail was impressive with a good balance of grip, reliability and durability. The new Scorpion Trail II tyres picks up on this and offers better grip on the edge of the tyres with light and precise handling. Pirelli says that the new tyre is a whopping 60% more durable than the model it replaces, and with the new central tread pattern and compound, offers maximum mileage on the street.
The Ducati Multistrada 1200S still isn’t the ultimate Sports Adventure bike, but it is much closer to that title than ever before. The suspension system is pin point accurate, hops and skips in sports mode for maximum control and absorbs bumps and creases in all other modes for maximum comfort.
As for power delivery, it is absolutely savage in Sports mode. The other modes are great and balance power, comfort and efficiency beautifully. You don’t get that annoying sharp jerk from the electronic throttle; throttle responsiveness is smooth and predictable. Of course the suspension adjusts itself accordingly as well; comfortable in Touring, Urban and Enduro, and brutally stiff in Sport mode, a feature not available in the standard 1200, manual adjustment only.
Electronic interference also depends on which modes you are in, for example Ducati Wheelie Control is set at maximum in Sport mode for maximum performance, while Enduro mode gives you nearly no electronic aid at all, because you may want to slide around in the sand and may need wheel spin to get you out of a tough situation.
Is there anything we do not like? Not really, build quality is good and those big clear switches for the cruise control are great to to fiddle with even at 160km/h, and is one of my favourite updates to the new Multistrada.
But there is also the fact that the screen adjustment still needs to be done by hand, which is quite primitive for a bike that costs RM135,999. The seat is nice and it is worth pointing out that I chose to opt for the highest seat setting (yes the seat is adjustable), which made the bike a lot more comfortable than the standard seat on which I rode to Cameron Highlands with (I am 5’10” in case you are wondering).
Other than that, the Ducati Multistrada 1200S is still a damn good bike, and one that offers a lot of fun and has plenty of style. In fact in the design department, there is no other Sports Adventure bike that comes close, and for some, and a part of me, that is all that matters.
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