BDLJ
4653
Well said, MW.
Ducati has either been owned by the government or various 'investment' houses. Not even the Castiglionis could hold it for very long.
Not that anything from Ducati inspires me any more (what the hell is the Diavel supposed to be? Not racing the ugly Panigale? what? 
but I see this kind of purchase as a vanity project for some execs at Audi.
I've never seen a good mix of bike guys and car guys....Ducati 860 GTS, anyone? Ducati TL banana bike? Lamborghini 'bike'? Ilmor's joke of a MotoGP effort? Lotus guys stuffing up the KR triple engine?
As for the teams not getting parts...do you mean the MotoGP teams? If Rossi decided to actually ride the bike hard instead of changing it every 2 minutes, they probably wouldn't have that problem 
To all Ducati lovers, some potential bad news.
From Fourtitude: Out of nowhere CAR Magazine today has broken a story this morning that Audi entered an exclusive deal to buy motorcycle manufacturer Ducati. After re-checking our calendar to make sure it wasn't April 1, we took a closer look at the story...
I'm trying to think on the other side. May not be a bad thing.
Ducati is cash strap and if the new owner allows it to do what it wants without much interference, it could work. cheers PAt
They've gone through this a few times in the past...
Thanks for the new update but not surprising if you look at Ducati's past ownership history. The bigger issue is the teams are not getting parts in time for the races. Looks like another tough year for them in racing. -MW
A few times indeed .. BUT ...
... this time they will most probably be taken over by a car manufacturer which isn't a bad thing i guess ... ... i do think they should leave the current Ducati engineers a lot of freedom, because when you see the technological advantages they have to ot...
Not Ming !! Me !!!
Hey Thomas, don't get me mad !!! Ducatis do need more maintenance and care-taking of .... though my Ducati-dealing friend will tell you they don't .. I remember us setting the desmo-system on Ducatis the correct way (had been done the wrong way by other d...
Why would you get mad, my friend?
Hey, Bim, I was addressing Ming because he has some personal Ducati stories to share... right, Doc? ;-)
That bad !!???
Did the bike let you down that much ? Electrical problems or mechanical? I know there have been issues electrically ... :-(
He has ....
First time was in 1993 ... .. this was 2007 ... .. last year i only tried one bike , a Monster 620 ... quite underpowered for a bike ... Last week i tried a friend's Monster 800 and it was a smooth ride ... I really would like to try one of the latest Duc...
Are you sure...
...that 750 hasn't shrunk in the rain? No wonder you want a Hypermotard! I don't think you've missed much in the 999 nor 1098 range...The 888 and 916 (or even a 748...as long as the rockers hold up ;-)) are still *the* modern Ducatis...Though I've never r...
I once ...
... worked on an 888, tried to ride it but it wasn't obvious ... But IMHO the MOST stunningly beautifully bike in the whole wide world and the universe is the Ducati 888 SP5 ... pic from ze web: Now i want one :-( .. sooo bad .... Bim...
The Hypermotard is one of my fav bikes.
Would love to buy it. Maybe some day. Cheers. Vte
Well said, MW.
Ducati has either been owned by the government or various 'investment' houses. Not even the Castiglionis could hold it for very long. Not that anything from Ducati inspires me any more (what the hell is the Diavel supposed to be? Not racing the ugly Panig...
"I've never seen a good mix of bike guys and car guys"...
So you don't rate the BMW bikes? ...(or the BMW cars)? Cheers, pplater.
I knew that example...
..would come up. While BMW was winning IoM bike TTs, they were making Austin 7s under licence....
re: well said
Been reading about how parts for the GP12 will not be ready until May. It was always every Rossi fan's dram that he would ride an Italian bike, now it finally happens but their prospects don't look good. Hopefully we get some exciting races this year. -MW
They seem lost...
..in the development of the MotoGP bike. That bike that definitely had it's problems, but was easily a podium contender up till 2011. The current version has been through so many revisions that I'm no longer sure they know where they are or which directio...
That may not be so bad...Some would argue Lamborghini has flourished under Audi.
The cars actually work now, start and keep running, more reliably than they have ever in the history of Lamborghini. And if the Aventador is any indication (as well as the Murci SV) the performance is still a top priority. Some naysayers might try to argu...
Thomas, your thoughts are quite similar to mine.
as long as VW or whoever do not interfere agreat deal into the development or DNa of the company, I think it could work. If they did try what Ford tried to do to Ferrari, then I think it would be a disaster. VW are indeed trying to reach their long arms i...
whatever they do, they better dun come up with a Luxury SUV concept for bikes.
that's a scary thought. LOL! cheers PAt
The Bim...
...on a Diavel? Nooo. At least when you're sitting on it, you don't see as much of those stupid plastic side pods, the ugly swingarm with the BMW style mudguard or the exhaust system that's trying to imitate a Harley... Can you tell I'm not much of a fan?
Don't worry ..
i don't like it's looks either and i'd never buy one either ... aahh, if i only had some extra money to buy a Multistrada ... I could get up at 6 in the morning, leave at 6,30 and arrive at 8 in the Black Forrest in Germany to attack the fine roads over t...
I have some.............
..............pics of the Multistrada Pikes Peal limited edition. What a beautiful machine! Took them at Zurich airport on the way back from Basel. I'll post them soon. Best. Vte