It is hard to believe that someone can take the Ducati Desmosedici RR and make it better, but it happened. This is the NCR Milona 16, a lightened, upgraded and implicit faster Ducati Desmosedici RR. We wouldn’t have believed it if the thing wouldn’t have recently been unveiled at the World Ducati Week at Misano.
The Italian tuning specialist has fitted the 200bhp MotoGP replica with a multitude of carbon fiber main parts such as the all-new frame and swingarm, rims, fuel tank, half-fairing, rear subframe, tail unit and front mudguard. All these, together with the titanium and aircraft-grade aluminum, reduce the bike’s dry weight to 319lbs (an impressive 71lbs less than what Ducati achieved).
Using performance Ohlins suspension and Brembo brakes, NCR’s M16 turns into a much sweeter ride. Although it doesn’t go significantly over 200bhp, which is the standard bike’s horsepower figure, the retuned engine is aimed at delivering a whole different rush across the powerband.
Claimed to be ‘world’s most exclusive motorcycle’, the NCR M16 will be built to order only and we don’t dare to think about the six-figure price.
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The Ducati Desmosedici Trike is one of those concepts that you know won’t ever make it to the streets – at least not in production form – but it can make a rider beg Ducati to consider this as an alternative to enlarge their lineup. The concept belongs to Nicolas Petit from Creil, France, a 25-year-old professional motorcycle mechanic with a soft spot for Ducatis. In his creation, he retains the rear end of the Ducati Desmosedici, but brings in a two-wheel front from whatever reason you can find in his project description:
"This project is a mix between a motorcycle and a street quad. The base is without its Desmosedici fork, the rear is slightly restyled. The ATV-type front is grafted directly on to the engine chassis – simple and effective, Spartan and light,”
To us, only the idea of a 200bhp trike makes our minds go in places they normally shouldn’t, but who cares…just take a look at this.
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Since MotoGP returns to 1000cc starting 2012, Ducati is thinking about creating a new Desmosedici RR, which will have to be sold in a limited run. This will supposedly be a carbon-framed model and also considering the significantly larger displacement engine, we can’t even dare thinking about the price of the new Desmo following the 2008 original one, which remains in history as one of the greatest race replicas to come out of the factory gates in Bologna. Remember: 197bhp/171kg!
There’s a reason why manufacturers usually ban all cellphones from their R&D facilities and Ducati may have just learned their lesson after Marlboro Ducati rider Nicky Hayden took an iPhone shot of the 2010 Desmosedici GP10 MotoGP bike when recently visiting the Ducati factory.
Ouch, that surely ruined someone’s day, but not entirely as the photo only reveals larger vents in the side fairing. The change enhances engine cooling and helps Ducati meet MotoGP regulations, which for 2010 say that no more than 6 engines must last all 18 races. That apart, the bike doesn’t look much different from its predecessor, but we still have to wait long for the official unveiling and thank Nicky Hayden for this unexpected preamble.
When he’s not filming for the movie Knight and Day or flirting with Cameron Diaz on a Ducati Hypermotard during breaks on the set, Tom Cruise seems to enjoy riding his very own Ducati Desmosedici and make the front page of both tabloids and motorcycle magazines.
Being only 5’ 7” inch tall, the actor and first US owner of a Ducati Desmosedici seems to manage with the big Italian supersport motorcycle very well and still look cool along the way.
Looking at these pictures, we just have to ask: does Tom Cruise make the Ducati Desmosedici look better or is it the other way around?
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