Which Way is Ducati Headed?

While surfing the web this morning I stumbled on an interesting thread that’s going on over at the Ducati.MS forum. One of the posters on the board is putting forth some interesting arguments why the next Ducati Replica bike ought to be based on former moto-journalist Cook Neilson’s winning Daytona Ducati 750 SS ride. The 30th anniversary of the win is a little more than a year away and it is one of the more pivital moments in Ducati’s racing history. Ducati.com even spends an entire page hyping up the win, so why not? Stands to reason that if Mike Hailwood & Paul Smart can get replica bikes, why not Cook?

Of course this begs a much larger question, which way is Ducati heading? Are they trying to become the next Honda or the next Harley Davidson? On one hand they clearly seem very caught up in to the retro automotive craze, yet they’re only making relatively small batches of these new retro styled bikes. One could call this a prudent way to gauge the market’s interest in retro motorcycles – yet you could also make the argument that they’re not that serious about flushing out a full retro line.

On the other hand Ducati is pushing the edge on the MotoGP front with the introduction and evolution of the GP6 Desmosedici. After a few years of tinkering they seem to finally have found a formula for speed at the highest levels of motorcycle racing. Additionally after the Milan Motorcycle Show they seem set to enter flourishing Motard motorcycle segment with the possible introduction of the Hypermotard show bike.

Obviously they’re pushing both fronts with a serious amout of passion, but one has to wonder if a relatively small motorcycle company can equally attack both ends of the motorcycle spectrum at the same time. How much R&D can they afford? How much attention can they spare? Year in and year out they’er competing with some of Japan’s finest to win the hearts and minds of the motorcycle buying public – yet Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki and Yamaha have loads of cash to burn on a project by project basis and all four companies seem hell bent on winning any motorcycle war regardless of which segment or platform.

If you ask me it’s a fascinating thought and I’ve got to say, I’m curious how it will all pan out…