Ducati Vyper - Spy Photo

Another spy photo of Ducati's "Project 0803" aka Vyper, or muscle crusier a la Yamaha VMax.  The bike is said to have some modern technology such as a Testastretta 11 degree engine, traction control, ride-by-wire throttle and Brembo Monoblock calipers. Oh, and a 240 rear tire.

Purists will argue that it's a departure from the core beliefs of Ducati which is focused on building performance motorcycles.  Anything with a 240 profile rear tire isn't a performance bike - right. If you want to be successful and gain market share sometimes you need to give people what they want, not force what you think they want upon them. Drawing similarities in the automotive world, look at Porsche and their Cayenne SUV. People say it goes against everything "Porsche" stands for.  It's Porsche's biggest seller now and they make lots of money selling it. Money that can be put back into R&D and building faster and better cars. Something I'm sure Porsche sportscar fans do like.

I'm not necessarily going to buy a muscle bike from Ducati but if they build it, I hope they sell a ton of them and it helps finance bikes that I am interested in buying.  I don't see it as a negative.  I see it as a big positive!

I found what is reportedly a statement by Ducati which seems to suggest that something big is on the way from Ducati.

Ducati's statement reads:

As many you may have noticed, there has been quite a bit of activity in the past few weeks surrounding a supposed new Ducati model. I wanted to take this opportunity and send you a note saying indeed we do have a surprise in store for this year's EICMA show. Our R&D department is working around the clock to complete development of this radical new motorcycle, for which time to complete final design and engineering elements will surely come down to the wire.

I'm sending this letter today in order to inform you of our communication plan. Since many details of the bike (big and small)  are still being sorted out; I have elected not to forward information or photography until the rolling prototypes come close to resembling what the final product will look like.

Stay tuned for further information from the Ducati Press Department; and I can assure you the final bike will impress all with the design, performance and technology everyone has come to expect from Ducati.
 
Photo via MotoSprint.it