Ducati has finally made their much awaited move – go against the BMW R1200GS – and they did it in their own characteristic style. Not only the new Multistrada 1200 looks one-of-a-kind, but it is also backed up by a 150hp Italian engine.
During no less than two years, we’ve seen the new Ducati Multistrada being developed, rendered and tested until finally finding out that two versions will be available – a standard version with optional ABS and a high-spec S version (how does an Ohlins electronically adjustable suspension system sound to you?). This last ramifies into two editions – Sport and Touring.
The Sport Edition can be distinguished by the presence of carbon fiber parts such as the engine covers, front air intakes, rear mudguard and spoilers.
The Touring Edition’s distinguishing features are the panniers, heated grips and a center stand. More information as we have it.
The first reaction that you tend to have when seeing this is best resumed by the title. What’s the point of riding a motorcycle if you have any sort of roof above your head? Apparently, the respective umbrella “doubles as a sunshade and a rotary type clothes line plus of course it’s handy to be able to use it when it’s raining!”
We’re all familiar with the KTM 990 Adventure motorcycle, but how about this custom model that our friend Mike Werner from Motorbiker.org captured at EICMA? While the standard bike is adequate both for street and off-road riding, this Ice Special that KTM came up with for the motorcycle show in Milan looks perfectly able to take its rider to and from the North Pole. That is because it features studded tires, a crash cage and even microlights in the front, but, as surprised as you may be, this isn’t what caught our attention in the first place. The right rider side of the fairing has a map painted on it, showing that paintjobs aren’t just about looks, but usefulness as well.
After finally unveiling the all-new Ducati Multistrada 1200 at this year’s EICMA show in Milan, we found that the 150bhp Italian enduro motorcycle is extremely versatile as a result of the four electronic riding modes: Sport, Touring, Urban and Enduro. So Ducati has released a video explaining the concept behind these modes, but because they wanted to keep it cheap, they use animated pencil sketches to illustrate how their systems works.
BMW plans on keeping their 2010 R 1200 GS and R 1200 GS Adventure on the class favorites position by bringing in a DOHC engine that is capable of 110hp and 88lb-ft of torque, just like on the R 1200 RT model. Now capable to rev 500rpm more than the previous generation power unit, the flat-twin is claimed to offer plenty more acceleration and pulling power in a refined manner. This should raise the stakes and have BMW say “mission accomplished,” but not before the new Ducati Multistrada 1200 and the future Yamaha Super Tenere make their moves.
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Impossible to miss in Yamaha’s 2010 dual-sport lineup is the TW200, an easy to spot and recognize motorcycle due to its beefy tires. This bike carries on without change, showing that Yamaha can be as constant as it is fun. Being around for decades, the Yamaha TW200 has surely got the recipe right from the very beginnings, and this is just a happy career that we’re looking at.
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A newly-launched Ducati website teases us with an official video of the Multistrada 1200 (initially thought to be "Strada Aperta" or "Stradaperta") which they will reveal on November 9th at EICMA. The Italian manufacturer finally decided that their new adventure touring motorcycle will benefit of the 1198.4cc twin from the Ducati 1198 instead of the Streetfighter’s less powerful 1099cc mill. This is great news, but we can’t understand why "Open Road" translated in Italian suddenly didn’t sounded good to Ducati any more. Watch the video after the jump.
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Yamaha keeps on writing history with the XT250 as the bike carries on to 2010 with no significant changes. Even tough situated in the dual sport arena, the XT250 stands as many people’s idea of a trail bike and that says much about its off-road capabilities. A headlight and the mirrors make it street legal. Let’s see what more.
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BMW has hooked up their professional stunt rider Chris Pfeiffer with a special pair of wheels for winter activities. Actually, improper said wheels as this BMW G 450 X was specially modified for winter riding and now features a front ski and a snowmobile-like track at the back for perfect grip. As you can see in the attached video, the "snowcat" is not so easy to ride and the three times stunt riding world champion even happens to meet the snow once, although we reckon he did that just for fun.
Yamaha has unveiled the Super Ténéré concept yesterday at the Tokyo Motor Show with the most diverse public reactions ever generated by the fact that the concept is nothing more than a mechanical skeletal wrapped up in cloth. It apparently recreates the look of Touareg desert nomads, but it also looks like a very detailed preview of what Yamaha plans on launching next year.
The Yamaha Super Ténéré 1200 production bike will be Japan’s first real opponent for the BMW R 1200 GS and it all comes down to the 1200cc parallel twin engine that will use a 270° crank in the attempt to replicate a V-twin’s firing order. Hmm, this is a lot of stuff indicated by a pair of wheels, some metal tubes and clothes.
