The Ducati "Cruiser"

Rumors abound regarding the forthcoming Ducati "Cruiser", aka the Ducati Vyper, aka The Ducati Mega Monster, aka Project 0803, aka the Ducati Diavel............  We have no idea at this point what it will really be called, or much at all about the bike, but it will be fun to see what shakes out at the EICMA show in Milan this November!  So what is Ducati thinking?  Why a "Power Cruiser" concept?  On the Ducati internet forums, there's lots of animosity toward this "mystery" bike already, without really knowing much about it.  When the rumors had just begun, I posted some thoughts about it on the Ducati.MS forum, and I think they still reflect my feelings toward the concept:

From Ducati.MS forum June 30, 2010:
"What if Ducati built a "cruiser" that redefined what a "cruiser" is? What if it was 50% lighter than a typical "cruiser" and had ferrocious testastretta evoluzione power, top-notch suspension, Brembo monoblocs, forged Marchesini wheels, etc. Something that no other "cruiser" or "muscle" bike has ever had, V-Max, B-King, V-Rod, etc. What if it handled like a Ducati? What if it looked like a Ducati? What if it ran a 9.5 sec 1/4 mile right off the showroom floor? What would that do for the brand image? Would faithful Ducatisti who love the Superbike think that Ducati has sold out and gone after Harley and abandoned their core values? Or would it bring a whole new class of motorcyclists over to at least recognize that Ducati exists and start appreciating what Ducati offers? Would it be on the cover of every single magazine other than American Muscle? Would those headlines read "Ducati takes sledge hammer to the traditional definition of a cruiser!" Would the cruiser crowd have animosity toward the bike? They couldn't call it "rice burner". If you pulled up at a bike night on one, would you be an outcast or would every single person be standing around looking at your bike instead of the sea of Harleys parked in a row? I think the answer is pretty clear, at least here in the Midwest, if Ducati makes a bike like that we'll have no problem selling it, and I'd love to be the first guy rolling up to Bike Night on one! That has nothing to do with my love for my 848, I can love a Superbike and a Ducati cruiser, as long as it's a "proper" Ducati cruiser that I can go out and smoke guys on sportbikes on in the twisties! If it was a dumbed-down, heavy, slow pig that just made a lot of noise and wallowed and dragged floorboards through the corners, then I'd be shaking my head and wondering who need to be fired at the Factory. If this bike is real, I'll be excited about it. If it's not real, I hope they're at least thinking along those lines for the future as there is a lot of natural overlap of motorcyling interest that can be played upon here to get more people to consider Ducati as an option. We all know that once you take a guy off a Harley Sporster, and send him on a test ride on a Monster, he never thinks about motorcycling the same way again. FWIW, this is from the Midwest region perspective, where cruisers are synonymous with "motorcycle" to most people. "