Ducati’s two-valve “Desmodue” may not be the most powerful engine, or the lowest-maintenance, but there’s a reason it’s stuck around from the 1980 Pantah all the way through to today. Besides the obvious budgetary reasons: some of that tooling is probably long paid off… Joking aside, today’s Desmodue is heavily evolved, compared to the original…
If there is a bike that needs no introduction, it must certainly be the Ducati 916. Raising the performance game to a level not seen by manufacturers before, Ducati created a powerhouse that punched like Mike Tyson, had the speed of Usain Bolt, and the looks of Kate Moss. As gorgeous as it was functional,…
With the general level of competence from modern sportbikes, along with rules that don’t seem to favor limited-production homologation bikes, it’s easy to forget just how special some of them are. Bikes like the Yamaha OW01 might have looked nearly identical to the regular production machines from ten feet, but were often hand-built to a…
Update 4.27.2019: Sold in just two days to an RSBFS reader. Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc The Ducati 851 is the father of modern Ducatis, from the world-changing 916 to the astonishing Panigale V4R. Without this boxy, lithe very red machine, those bikes would not be. The 851 arrived in 1987, with a very…
Update 4.27.2019: This bike has SOLD! Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc Some of the most collectible bikes at the moment have only recently come into their own. You see there is a direct link to a bike’s age and how hot it might be for collectors. Only the rarest of the rare bikes appreciate…
Spring is in the air, and new life is emerging from once-frozen ground. Bikes which spent the winter indoors hibernating are emerging from their dens (or living rooms, garages or storage units) hungry for miles. Of all the mileage-hungry bikes we have seen thus far this year, I propose this 2007 Ducati 1098 S example…
The 2018 Ducati Panigale 1299R Final Edition is the Italian way of quitting while you’re ahead. Have you developed the most-powerful twin-cylinder engine ever to be authorized for street use? Great! Number the top triple clamp, ’cause we’re only putting it in bikes for a year. But what a run of machines. The 1299R Final…
The 2008 Ducati Monster S4RS was Bologna’s first in earnest attempt at a truly ludicrous hooligan machine, and an early salvo in what is now a full-blown war to build the scariest supernaked. These days, it’s not rare to see 150-odd horsepower stuffed into a trellis frame with upright bars, but back in ’08, the…