Jalopnik: Ducati

Toyota Brings A Ducati To SEMA Via Big Red Custom Tundra

Ben Wojdyla — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:00:00 EST

Toyota apparently wanted a little of that Italian passion mixed into its Toyota Tundra crew cab for SEMA. Engineers stretched the frame and dropped on an awesome 6.5-foot bed set-up with all kinds of storage for track day support, then slathered the whole thing in red paint. The truck actually looks pretty darn slick in Ducati livery matching the accompanying 2008 Ducati Desmosedici RR Motorcycle. Those dark, 22-inch Alcoa wheels do their part to set the paint off, but its the 500 HP supercharged V8 under hood that makes the 'go' match the 'show.' Full details on the truck and its modifications below.

TUNDRA/DUCATI TRANSPORTER

The Ducati Desmosedici RR is the only street legal MotoGP bike ever produced. The ultimate track day bike requires the ultimate transport; that’s where Toyota comes in with the 2009 Tundra Ducati Desmosedici transporter. The Tundra/Ducati Transporter is built on a Tundra CrewMax, which has been modified to accept a 6.5-inch bed. The transporter is tied thematically to the bike, incorporating Ducati Corse style along with high tech materials and execution to create synergies for two companies obsessed with quality and performance. Additional features include major bed innovations such as flip up bedsides, a motorized loading ramp by Rampage, integrated tool and spares storage, and popup solar panels for accessory power. Performance is enhanced through the full catalog of TRD Performance
parts such as supercharger, exhaust, intake, suspension and brakes. The interior treatment by Fast Ed’s Interiors combines high tech style with Italian flair.

TUNDRA/DUCATI TRANSPORTER FEATURES

• Ducati Corse Exterior by Focus On Cars
• Custom fabricated seats, sewn carpet, suede headliner by Fast Ed’s
Interiors
• Seat Massagers by In Seat Solutions-Relaxor Massage Products
• Rampage Powerlift Ramp
• Alcoa 22” custom forged aluminum wheels
• Pirelli Scorpion Zero Asimmetrico tires
• CarriageWorks Rear Roll Pan
• Toyota Racing Development Performance Parts
o TRD Boost Gauge and Pod
o Big Brake Kit
o 5.7L Supercharger (500HP/550TQ
o TRD Lowering Kit
o TRD Dual Exhaust
o TRD Sway Bar
• USAG 526V ToolBox (Official Tool Supplier to Ducati)
• RockBlocker protective light films
• VIS Racing Carbon Fiber hood

Ducati
• 2008 Ducati Desmosedici RR Motorcycle
• Ducati Corse Racing Suit by Dainese
• Ducati Corse Helmet by Arai
• Ducati Corse Boots
• Ducati Corse Gloves

[Source: Toyota]

Sony Ericsson Teams With Ducati For Cell Phone, Rich Dudes In Loveless Marriages Rejoice!

Travis Hudson — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 15:40:00 EDT

Since Motorola is the phone of Ferrari, Sony Ericsson has decided to jump on the rest of the dentist-anesthesiologist demo with a Ducati-branded Z770 cell phone. The big difference here is that Ducati bikes are appealing and svelte, while this mobile phone isn't. Like most auto-branded cell phones, the Z770 will include the usual array of screensavers, backgrounds, themes and more featuring the Ducati namesake. The Ducati Sony Ericsson Z770 should be hitting the Italian shelves soon and should make a great companion to the completely unecessary Ducati USB flash drive [TechDigest]

SanDisk Teams With Ducati For USB Flash Drive

Travis Hudson — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:45:00 EST

Sure, it may be our Auto Branding Adventures, but that doesn't mean we can't give a little love to Ducati, who has teamed up with SanDisk to slap its name on USB flash drives.

The Ducati Edition flash drives are available in up to 4GB capacities and includes a 20MB read/write speed which conveniently makes the Ducati drive the fastest consumer flash drive from SanDisk.

The cherry atop this flash-drive sundae has to be the "SanDisk Extreme Ducati Edition lanyard," which recognizes this flash drive as being officially licensed by Ducati. Hooray, a lanyard! Anyone else think this looks like a Dust Buster of years past? [Gadgettastic]

The Alfa Romeo 147 Ducati Corse Edition Live Shots

Matt Hardigree — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 14:15:00 EST

In between chatting up the bella donnas, our man Spinelli managed to snap some shots of the Alfa Romeo 147 Ducati Cosre Edition. Seen here in lovely Rosso Giulietta, the 147 gets Ducati-inspired decals/logos as well as some nice 18-inch alloys. On the inside, you get the bi-zone climate control (just like a real motorcycle!), upgraded seats and aluminum pedals. This is Europe-only, so most of you will just have to enjoy the gallery. We'll take one in nero, and throw in a couple of brunettes while you're at it.

Michael Schumacher Rides Ducati At Valencia, Throws Down Stellar Lap Time

Ray Wert — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 09:15:00 EST

Schumi's got to have one of the busiest retirements we've ever seen. When the seven-time Formula One winner's not testing the 599 GTB on the Nordschleife, or spending time as the consigliere to the Ferrari F1 team, he's apparently having a go at other forms of racing. Like this past weekend when the legend of the prancing stallion brand took off two of his wheels to take some laps during a special guest ride on Casey Stoner's world championship-winning Ducati in Valencia. Although Schumacher's no stranger to MotoGP, he rode a 990cc Desmosedici at the Mugello circuit in Italy back in 2005, one still wouldn't expect the German F1 star-of-stars to have times approaching that of a MotoGP winner. Wrong. Schumacher completed 58 laps, including a fastest lap time of one minute, 37.89 seconds. That's just over five seconds outside Dani Pedrosa's new lap record, which the Spaniard set in winning the Valencia MotoGP on Sunday. Want to know what made ~~Bo Jackson's~~ Schumi's time so amazing? Hit the jump to find out.

What makes his time all the more impressive was that Mikey wasn't even using super powerful carbon brakes. The F1 star instead decided to run steel brakes normally used in MotoGP in the rain because, you know, he enjoys the challenge. Schumacher insisted he had no desire to compete in a MotoGP race in the future — but we're thinking one should never say never! We're just waiting to see when he decides to jump into a Nastruck. (Hat tip to GT!) [news.com.au]

Photo Credit: Superbikeplanet

Fifth Gear Pits Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera Against A Ducati 1098

Ray Wert — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 12:15:00 EDT

The latest episode of the Beeb's other driving show saw Tiff race the new Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera head-to-head against Brit superbike racer Leon Haslam on a Ducati 1098. It's similar to an earlier match-up Final Gear ran between the standard Gallardo and a Ducati 999. That time the Ducati won by a hair. We won't spoil the ending for this particular run. [via Final Gear]

Speedymoto Midway

Mike Bumbeck — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 18:00:00 EDT

There are some pretty sweet cycles hanging out in the Moto GP midway. This particular model is a worked version of a Ducati Sport 1000 by Speedymoto. More examples of custom cyclery in their [Gallery]

Jalopnik Reviews: 2007 Ducati Superbike 1098

Mike Bumbeck — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 13:15:00 EDT

Riding the 1098 away from Southern California Ducati came with a warning. Three busted-up 1098's sat in the repair queue outside the shop. As the foreman explained, the monobloc brakes could very easily pitch you right over the grips or low-side you onto the tarmac. With those images fresh in mind I rode around the shop a few times, through a few intersections, and up onto the freeway. There I found riding the 1098 in a straight line is an exercise in torture. With each passing mile a thousand other Ducatis cried out in pain. Turn, they said.

The 1098 is the latest in superleggera motorcycles from Ducati. This one is a black S version - currently the most leggera (that means light) of Ducati superbikes. Following up on the controversial design of the 999 with a return to the visual references of the 998, the machine not only looks the part of a purpose-built racing motorcycle, but acts it too. So much so that riding it demands a vital measure of respect for the machine — a respect hovering above machine lust. Not the airbrushed phantasy robot girl or similar message board style machine lust, either. The 1098 is very real, and it will act upon your corpus in a very real way. Of course, the 1098 also delivers genuine entertainment.

Hit the starter button on the 1098 and the sound of a churning electric motor gives way to that of infernal combustion. At idle the Ducati sounds like a cement mixer full of volcanic rock and grade eight lag bolts. Blip the throttle and the tune instantly changes. The Testastretta Evoluzione L-twin is the culmination of the decades long Ducati exploration into desmodromic valvetrains. The Ducati twin contains no valve springs, instead employing positive valve control at all times. There is never an instant where any valve isn't held mechanically to its task by a set of camshaft lobes - from idle all the way to a near 11K redline.

The next few rides on the 1098 went up into the Angeles National Forest and came with the realization that the 1098 should come with a couple of free coupons to Freddie Spencer or Keith Code riding school. Positive valve control gave way to untold engine revolution. The torque of the 160 horsepower L-twin arrives early and stays around all the way to a peak at the 8000 rpm mark. Top horsepower hits soon after that at 9750 rpm. A planned couple of hours up through Big and Little Tujunga canyons turned into days of countless many more. Look. Lean. Roll on the throttle. Do it again. And again. Grin wide.

On a stopover at the well-known riders' haunt Newcomb's Ranch, the telltale wail of an inline four ripping up the hill silenced the hangers-out momentarily. A second or so later, some hotshot was dragging knee-puck through the corner out front at a mean clip — at least a century, if not more. When he pulled back around to the parking lot and shed his helmet, another rider offered a friendly jab that he take his skills out to Willow Springs. Riding at the limit of adhesion is where a motorcycle like the 1098 begs to be ridden, even if I didn't feel like exploring the boundaries of that limit atop sheer cliffs or in the company of asphalt trucks.

This is the 1098. A racing motorcycle with turn signals and vestigial rear-view mirrors making up its very thin street disguise. A two-wheeled suspension of disbelief. A set of brakes that with the slightest pull of two-fingers scrub velocity at a tremendous rate, while making the sound of a decelerating TIE fighter. Compromise is not part of the 1098 equation. The motorcycle is simply brutal in its finesse. One wrong move, one fleeting split-second of target fixation, one pull over the line on the brakes, and it's over. The 1098 can be ridden on the street, but calls out for the track with every revolution of its desmodromic core.

Ducati 1098 Specifications and Details [ducati.com]

Beverly Hills Ducati Hypermotard

Mike Bumbeck — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:00:00 EDT

Sunday night was the first time we had ever been to the Beverly Center, and the first time anybody stateside had officially seen the 2007 Ducati Hypermotard S. Oddly enough the Supermotard craze grew out of the Superbikers series on Wide World of Sports. Superbikers brought together road and off-road motorcycle racing, and a Supermotard melds elements of a dirt bike and a street bike. Ducati has taken the idea one step further and produced the Hypermotard, which melds elements Streetfighter and Supermotard motorcycles. An air-cooled 1100cc Desmodromic twin supplies the hyper in moto. McDreamy, Mini-Me, the Rampage and a Dane were also on deck to check out the motard action. – Mike Bumbeck

Related:
Patrick Dempsey to Drive Indy 500 Pace Car [Internal]

Jalopnik on Sirius: We Might Make You Delirious

Mike Spinelli — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 12:06:47 EST

Synchronize your Tamagotchi clocks, kids. Today's the first show in Spinelli's new Sirius satellite radio show, RPM, which he'll be hosting with Maxim's zany-brainy Jon Wilde. It'll be a ~~supercharged hour of extreme machines and the hottest hoo-ha! Yes! Grrrr!~~ show about cars and related conveyances. Today's guest will be Michael Locke, CEO of Ducati. Leave your questions in the comments.

That's ...
RPM: 2:00 pm on Maxim Radio Sirius satellite 108

Hunter S. Thompson on Ducatis and the Cult of Speed

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 15:30:00 EDT

We love motorcycles, but we admit that we will probably never own a Ducati. They, like their four-wheeled bretheren from Ferrari and Lamborghini, make an absolutely glorious noise. But after years of crashing BMX bikes and having managed to flip a quad, we will most likely buy a vintage Britbike to putter down to the beach on, rather than something that goes really freaking fast on two wheels. Harry Callahan's famous adage, "A man's got to know his limitations," rings true with us when it comes to sportbikes. However, the late Dr. H.S. Thompson suffered from less in the way of two-wheeled fear than we do, and as such, he hooned it up on a Ducati 900SS and scared himself pantsless. And then he went back for more. [Thanks to Cole for the tip.]

Song of the Sausage Creature [Proitalia]

Related:
Bullrun '06: Las Vegas to Lake Havasu [Internal]

The Littlest Monster: Fiat's Special-Edition Panda

Mike Spinelli — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 09:54:33 EDT

What's the difference between a Ducati Monster 695 motorcycle and a Fiat Panda? Let's see: they've both got around 70 hp and they're both Italian (Ducati's ownership being back in old-country hands). Other than that, not so much, especially since the Ducati measures its zero-to-60 times in single digits and the Panda in double. The connection is this: Fiat's ready to release a limited number of tricked-out four-wheeled Pandas that are an homage to the two-wheeled Monster. Shown as a concept at last year's Bologna motor show, the Panda Monster will get the same, 70 bhp 1.3 16v Multijet engine as its brethren, but will be tricked out with four-wheel-drive, a black-on-black paint scheme, tinted windows and gold brake calipers. Only 695 of the Pandas will be built, and they'll be sold via an undefined approval process that we hope has nothing to do with the Black Hand (or a sacrifice to the Chimaera).

More at Italiaspeed.