Shows & Events

Held every two years since 1998, the World Ducati Week sees thousands of Ducatisti coming together and sharing their passion for the legendary Italian bikes.

This year’s packed program at the spectacular Misano circuit from the 21st till the 24th of June will include an all-star Drag Race shootout between Rossi, Hayden, Checa, Bayliss, Smrz, Guintoli and more. Scheduled to start at 18.15 on Saturday evening, 23 June, the spectacular quarter mile Drag Race will challenge the razor-sharp reflexes of both MotoGP and World Superbike riders along the Misano World Circuit. This year’s elimination races will be run on specially prepared Ducati Diavel Carbons.

Tudor, the Swiss watchmakers, are the main sponsors of the seventh edition of the World Ducati Week. The riders are then destined to meet the public at a giant WDW2012 party at the Piazzale Roma in Riccione later in the evening where a spectacular night of music, entertainment and pure Ducati passion will be at full swing. Thousands of Ducatisti from all over the world have already booked their WDW2012 tickets online and advanced bookings will remain operative until 13 June on the dedicated event website wdw.ducati.com. from 18 June.

In other news, Ducati also celebrating one million “Likes” on the company’s official Facebook page, recently. Managed by the official website, www.ducati.com, the company has used Facebook to reach out not only to its long-established European and American markets, but also to an emerging Asian markets, full of fans who desire the premium brand’s high performance motorcycles. A new video has been created to thank passionate “virtual” fans of the iconic Italian motorcycle manufacturer. With the company preparing to cover its massive World Ducati Week event live on Facebook from 21-24 June, and its one million “Likers” boasting a combined Facebook friendship of over 180 million, Ducati’s incredible following looks set to sky-rocket even further.

You can see the Ducati ‘One Million Likes’ video here.

1928 Windhoff up for auction at Bonhams

In the rarefied world of vintage motorcycle collectors, most vintage motorcycles worth more than $100,000 are pretty well known. Windhoff, however, is a notable exception. Nevertheless, Windhoff produced some of the most stunning machines of their time during the pre-war days. This particular 1928 Windhoff 746cc Four motorcycle is up for auction again on 29 Apr 2012 at Stafford Bonhams. The estimated price for the current sale is around the $160,000 to $210,000USD mark, but chances of finding another one like finding a needle in a hay sack.

Windhoff was a German company based in Berlin, founded in 1880 by the Windhoff brothers who initially were radiator manufacturers. Windhoff produced motorcycles that were not just an average design or engineering. These motorcycles were original, well balanced and mechanically as beautiful as some of the best motorcycles of their time. The Windhoff Four was loaded with innovation – it had no frame, the huge engine was the frame in which was attached the front-wheel fork. The rear wheel was also attached to four fully chromed shafts emanating from the engine, which ran horizontally to the drive shaft, giving the entire unit a great architectural balance.

The unit was renowned for it’s smoothness and flexibility, enabling the Windhoff to be ridden at the speeds as low as 10kmph without snatching. In 1928, a Windhoff machine set the world speed and endurance record on the Opel Race track during the annual Opel 24 hour race.

Cyclists pedaled 2300 km to spread the message of ‘Save the girl Child’ with the support of Firefox Bikes

After pedaling 2300 km International Cyclist Shri Datta Patil and Sudhir Patil from the International Cycle Academy who embarked on a cycle rally from Sangli to Panipat from 22nd April2012, reached New Delhi on their way campaigning against Female Foeticide.

As a part of this noble cause, 15 boys and 15 girls had pedaled a distance of 2500 km. covering a total of 18 cities. The aim of the rally was to spread the message against female foeticide. The children covered various cities like Pune, Gwalior and Agra before reaching the Capital city from there they started their culmination journey to Panipat as an endeavor to spread this strong message to the remotest of corner of India.

Touching Delhi these children were welcomed by Mr. Shiv Inder Singh, MD, Firefox Bikes Pvt. Ltd, stating that Firefox was honored to be associated with the noble cause. Firefox encouraged the children and cyclists by providing them with monetary support as well as technical support at all Firefox bike stations across the country.

Yamaha organizes Kids Safe Riding lessons

Yamaha Motors is back with its ‘First Kids Yamaha Safe Riding Science’ of the year. The initiative focuses on inculcating safe riding habits that would contribute to traffic safety awareness among local communities. This is not just for Yamaha customers. The program was attended by 100 students between the ages of eight to thirteen, for a day long program divided into 2 sessions – first a classroom or theoretical session and the 2nd a practical session where the kids were taught the basics of road safety, importance of riding gear and also how to ride a bike. Yamaha brings along their TTR 50 and PW 50 bikes which are specifically made for these safety programs. Yamaha launched the Yamaha Safe Riding Science (YSRS) initiative in India in 2008, and has successfully introduced it to the youth of Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Nagpur, Dehradoon, Guwahati, Vizag, Jammu, Ahmedabad, Jamshedpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Udaipur, Varanasi and Goa. Hopefully with all this training at a young age, in  a few years we all will be able to ride on the road without fear of a rogue biker threatening not only his but others lives as well, all because no one taught him about safety and the consequences of riding rashly.

 

 

 

 

The only Ferrari motorcycle ever built goes under the hammer at Bonham’s on 29^th April.

Purely intended as a one-off motorcycle, this scarlet red masterpiece was hand-built by David Kay Engineering in Florida, USA, under the tutelage of Piero Ferrari, son of Enzo Ferrari. Acclaimed custom builder, Dave Kay, came up with the idea for this machine in 1990, as a tribute to Enzo who had passed away just two years earlier.

The Ferrari 900 is powered by a 900cc four-cylinder engine that is good enough for 107 PS and capable of hitting 100kmph in under three seconds. Top speed is a respectable 265 kmph. When it was finished in 1995, a British collector promptly scooped it up and then, predictably, elected to keep it in his living room as an objet d’art. Now, after 17 years, the 900 is going on auction courtesy the good guys at Bonhams. Somewhere in the world, eccentric billionaires must be busy calculating figures that rival the GDPs of some African and Asian countries.

Image Courtesy: Bonhams