Six New Ducatis Will Make Their American Debut at the Long Beach Motorcycle Show
This will be a fine display of how diverse the Ducati brand has become.
Ducati has shown off its exciting 2018 lineup at the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan, and now the new bikes are coming stateside. At the Progressive International Motorcycle Show in Long Beach, California, six new 2018 Ducati motorcycles will make their American debut. Just about every course in the Ducati buffet is represented in these six bikes.
The star of the show is the Ducati Panigale V4, available in February 2018. It was voted as EICMA's Most Beautiful Bike of the Show, and for good reasons. The long-rumored V-4 superbike is a new high point in performance and technology in sportbikes.
“The Panigale V4 replaces the iconic 1299 at the top of the Ducati supersport range, doing so by enhancing performance and rideability so that riders of all skill levels can enjoy boundless fun and excitement,” said Ducati in an email to The Drive.
An addition to the popular Scrambler family is coming in the form of the Ducati Scrambler 1100 Special, available April 2018. The papa bear of the three different engine sizes of Scramblers, the engine in the new 1100 derives from the Monster 1100 naked bike, promising to be punchy, smooth, and a little more highway-friendly.
The new Ducati Multistrada 1260 S, available January 2018, is bringing a new engine to Ducati’s line of adventure bikes. The torquey new 1262cc Ducati Testastretta DVT engine “offers 85 percent of its torque available under 3,500 rpm and delivery at 5,500 rpm is 18 percent higher compared to the predecessor model,” Ducati said in an email. Along with the new engine, we get a new chassis and upgraded tech like standard Bluetooth.
A sportbike that’s at risk of being eclipsed by the Panigale V4 in terms of attention, the Ducati 959 Panigale Corse, available March 2018, “achieves the perfect balance between power, lightness, performance, and control,” according to Ducati. Striving to be a well-balanced sportbike, the new 959 Panigale Corse will have a unique blend of sporty performance and approachable rideability courtesy of the 955cc two-cylinder Superquadro engine. Also, it will come in a really cool MotoGP-inspired livery.
The new Ducati Monster 821 (available January 2018) continues the bike that played a big part in kicking off the naked bike craze that started in the mid-1990s. This bike has a similar philosophy as the 959 Panigale Corse in the sense that it’s intended to be approachable to entry-level riders while delivering legitimately good performance appealing to a wide range of riders. Also, a TFT screen and quickshift are now standard.
Finally, there’s the Ducati XDiavel S in Iceberg White, available this month. This version of what Ducati calls a “techno-cruiser” is no different than the rest of the 2018 XDiavels except for the cool new color. The 2018 model comes with “improved ergonomics thanks to improved suspension and new handlebar,” according to Ducati.
Which new 2018 Ducati are you most excited about?