When Valentino Rossi made sweet eyes towards Ducati and announced “I have to decide about my future with motorcycles at the begining of June next year - whether I will continue, whether it will be with Yamaha or if I change … the idea of Rossi switching to a Rossa (red) motorcycle has inflamed and divided loyal Italian Ducati fans.

Some are all for it, hoping that Rossi and legendary crewchief Jeremy Burgess can make the Ducati more rider friendly, while others totally hate and refuse even to think of someone like Rossi on ‘their’ bike.

Arguments include that Rossi’s superstar status and esuberant personality would cloud the iconic image of the bike or that he would place his ‘ridiculous’ stickers all over it or that Valentino is such an overated rider and could never tame the D16 like Casey Stoner does.

Here are some ideas of how the Desmosedici could look like after getting the Rossi treatment, and if you guys have any other ideas, why not send them to us and we’ll publish them. Send to: pics@twowheelsblog.com

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It looks like that Mattia Pasini is trying out for a Ducati GP ride next year. The Italian will again be testing the Desmosedici GP9, during a three day test that was already organized at the Mugello race track this week.

He will be riding alongside Ducati’s official test rider Vittoriano Guareschi, under the watchful eyes of Filippo Preziosi.

Pasini debuted on the Ducati after the Brno GP, accepting a long standing offer from Livio Suppo to try out their bike. The test was cut short by rain, but apparently Pasini impressed Ducati enough with his riding and work method, that they decided to give the rider another chance.

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The Ducati Desmosedici is a dream bike and it’s great to see it actually being used and not closed up in some sort of garage-museum for bike collectors only, but the guy riding it must be out of his mind or simply doesn’t give a damn about his own safety or has never seen anyone with road burns.

A super expensive GP replica motorcycle, a great lid rounded out by a pair of flip flops, just doesn’t work in my mind.

Send your funny, bizarre or surprising pics to us and we’ll post them, with your name. We’d love to share what you guys find in the world of motorcycling! Send to: pics@twowheelsblog.com

Source: superbike

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Prince Harry showed up at Donington to take in the British Gran Prix races. Usually royalty likes to lay low and avoid the paps like the plague, but in this case young Harry got photographed while riding pillion behind Randy Mamola on Ducati’s MotoX2.

The Prince got treated to a Mamola style wheelie and on the damp track almost got highsided during one of the high speed laps around the English track.

Both Princes are avid bike fans and just a couple of weeks ago the paparazzi caught Prince William riding a Ducati 1198S.

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Ducati has prepared this one-off special edition Desmosedici RR for the G8 summit in the earthquake stricken town of Aquila, in Italy’s Abruzzo region. The Desmosedici RR special livery has been created by Ducati and Fiera Milano, on suggestion from Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

The Ducati Desmosedici RR was itself a limited production run of just 1,500 models, making it one of the most prestigious bikes Ducati has ever built. If you’re desperate to get your hands on it, the bike will be auctioned at the next EICMA show in Milan. Have a look at this small gallery of the special edition Desmosedici RR and the details from Ducati after the jump.

Continue reading: Special edition Ducati Desmosedici RR at G8 summit in Italy

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Donington Park woke up yesterday to the roaring sound of 60 privately owned Ducati Desmosedici RR’s.

Organized by Ducati UK, it was the first ever Desmosedici track day and these owners got to ride the full MotoGP circuit.

As well as riding the MotoGP circuit, guests got the chance to see Ducati test rider Vittoriano Guareschi in action, meet designer Alan Jenkins, and members of the Ducati Corse team, including SBK Technical Director Ernesto Marinelli and got guidance from DRE (Ducati Riding Experience) instructors .

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Direct from Madonna di Campiglio in Italy, here are the first shots of the new Ducati Desmosedici GP9. The bike has been much awaited, and will be the 2009 machine with which Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden will challenge Valentino Rossi’s title.

The carbon fibre chassis is on full display, having already been successfully used by Stoner in 2008. Check out the Desmosedici GP9 gallery below. Thanks to max the best for the tip.

Continue reading: Ducati Desmosedici GP9: first pics

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Sete Gibernau returns to MotoGP next year and has admitted to not being in good shape. He will start an intensive training programme to build the fitness level needed to ride the Ducati Desmosedici in the new Onde 2000 team.

Sete said:“In Valencia I was sore all over. I am still in good shape but you can do whatever you want at home, but being bike fit is completely different. You use muscles you haven’t used for two years. I got tired quite tired but mentally I think I’m good. It is a huge challenge for me to come back, but I want to prove to myself and maybe to other guys around my age that we can still do it at this level.”

For Ducati, Sete Gibernau could prove to be very important for Ducati next year, giving feedback to other Ducati riders from his experience.

Source | mcn

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The MotoGP 2009 looks like it could be an exciting season, with plenty of expectations about riders, a new world champion and some new challengers looking for their moment of glory, too. Former World Championship rider Randy Mamola has discussed his point of view regarding Nicky Hayden, Sete Gibernau and Ducati.

Randy is sure that Nicky has still got a long way to go in making a smooth transition to the Ducati Desmosedici 09. He said: “Basically the Desmosedici works by getting it to full throttle as soon as possible and letting the electronics do the rest. [Everybody has] enjoyed seeing Nicky light the Honda up around that long left-hander but you only had to see him through there on the Monday to see that the Ducati doesn’t allow him to do it, because it has a much more narrow power band.”

Mamola also believes that Ducati needs to make their bikes easier to ride otherwise they will have all four riders struggling. The position from Sete Gibernau in giving feedback could be crucial in getting the bike to fit the different rider styles. It will be interesting to see how Ducati’s fortunes develop next year.

Source | motogp

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It’s just great to see Nicky Hayden in this video stepping out of the Ducati box and riding the Ducati Desmosedici for the first time, only one day after the race day in Valencia. If I can give you some advice: turn up your speakers and listen to to the bike’s sound!

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Are you looking for an exclusive bike and you want to get it today? Twowheelsblog found this Ducati Desmosedici in the showroom of the Ducati Store Antwerpen in Belgium. I thought the bike was sold out, but…!

1500 pieces were built of this fine MotoGP replica at the Borgo Panigale factory in Bologna. Reservations for the Desmosedici started on June 2nd 2006. The power output from the Desmosedici is 200HP at 13,800 rpm with a torque of 11,8 kgm.

For this exclusive Ducati, a dedicated service plan is included and each owner can benefit from a three-year warranty and three years of scheduled maintenance, free of charge.

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Casey Stoner might be operated on almost immediately after the final round of the season is the latest news about the 23 year-old 2007 MotoGP Championship winner.

Casey had already announced his intention to finish the two last races of the year with his strong motivation to test the new Ducati Desmosedici 2009 prototype in Valencia. After the surgery on his left scaphoid he faces a long road back to competition.

Casey Stoner said: “It’s going to take us time to come back, but I think that by the time the racing starts next year we should be ready. We believe that we will be quite strong again next year, and at least able to try and fight for the championship. I think that we are quite lucky to have found it now; this season hasn’t gone the way we had planned –I’ve made a few mistakes- so it’s better that we find it now and then get ready for a better attack next year.´

Source | motogp

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