Media days at automotive events tend to run the gamut; some are great fun while others are absolute bores. You really never know what you’re going to get until you arrive. Yesterday however was a blast. I spent most of the morning hanging out in the Ducati Booth, checking out the new bikes, seeing the 1098 Tri-Colore unveiled on North American shores and shooting a lengthy interview with Ducati North America President Michael Lock. Few folks exude the kind of passion for motorcycles that Michael does and if not for his slammed schedule my sense is that he would have chatted with us all day long about the new bikes and the 1098 in particular.

Up until this point I’ve only dropped small hints about this particular project intermittently in the blog. I’ll hold off on saying too much about it for now, except to state that I’m really chomping at the bit to getting into post on this one and I think that fans of the brand will really enjoy it.

A couple of other quick observations from the show:

The 1098 is amazing. It’s quite a bike when you see it in person. Breathtaking. Stunning. Sexy. Downright beautiful in every way. And regardless of where you sit in the 998 vs. 999 debate, the 1098 is clearly the best-looking Ducati to drop in quite some time. I think we can all agree on that. Everything about it simply says ‘speed’. Before going to the show I was already lusting after the bike pretty badly, but now the lust meter is totally pegged. I can’t wait to take delivery of one. Especially when I factor in Michael’s additional insight into the production process and the philosophy behind the bikes creation.

The ST3s is clearly dead. Ducati has built a new enclosed booth for this seasons Cycle World Show circuit and their primer sport-tourer is nowhere to found. I suspect that speaks volumes about the models future in the line-up. Personally I think this is a shame since the ST3s is a fantastic motorcycle to ride, but I also fully understand that the brand is in the midst of a serious transition. It’s pretty clear that they are in the process of redefining their image, or perhaps to put it more clearly, going back to their roots. At their core, the brand is a sportbike manufacturer – not a mass-market motorcycle brand with models created to appeal to every single different market segment that exists. So while on one hand it’s a shame to see the ST3s fade away, I can’t blame Ducati for the refocusing.

The Sport S is a phenomenally sexy looking bike in person. Maybe it’s the red or maybe it’s the racing stripe, but the bike speaks to me personally far more than the previous Sport Classic models. The one they had on display at the front of the booth was stunning and if I wasn’t waiting in line for a 1098 S, it’d be sitting in my driveway.

Some more picts:

Michael Lock being interviewed by CW Lights, Camera, Action…