Ducati 899 Panigale at MugelloThe Perfect Valentine’s Day Gift: Strafe Italy’s Best Roads and Drag a Knee on Mugello’s MotoGP Course.Calling all sportbike addicts, track-day lovers and roadracers for a ride in Doctor Rossi’s neighborhood: now’s the time to request vacation in June for eight days and seven nights to explore everything from the Ducati Panigale’s factory birthplace to its ultimate testing grounds – the Mugello MotoGP circuit, home to nine of Valentino’s 108 Grand Prix victories.
Strafe apexes with Italian guides on hidden backroads and mountain passes throughout Central Italy. Experience the Tuscan countryside. Visit Rome, Siena and Bologna. Enjoy grand vistas, boutique hotels and amazing cuisine. No tourist traps. You’ll ride where the locals ride, eat where the local eat. See Ducati’s present and past, from today’s production line to its legendary museum.Then, to top it off, live the MotoGP dream of dragging knee at a track you’ve only seen on television. Spend a day in the saddle of a Panigale 899 at the Ducati Riding Experience, the manufacturer’s official high-performance riding program, as championship-winning racers and other special guests teach lines and techniques that will improve your skills.Tour Organizer Cat MacLeod says, “This tour has the authentic details we strive for and big experiences all motorcyclists dream about. We’ll rail 100s of curves while riding through the backdrop of a romance novel, so bring a date. For the riding couple, it’s the ultimate Valentine’s day gift.”Leod Escapes is a motorcycle-tour operator based in San Francisco that offers unique value delivered with passionate service. It was founded on the principles of epic, hidden roads, safe, fun track time on legendary circuits, great food and plush pillows. The company’s 2015 schedule includes street-based adventures around California and the western U.S., as well as street-and-track-experience vacations in Australia, Europe and Thailand.For more information, please visit LeodEscapes.com, call 866-562-6126 and keep up with them on Facebook.Leod Escapes Italian Backroads Motorcycle Track & Tour Vacation Defining Features
Dates: June 12 – 19, 2015
Arrival/Departure City: Rome
Duration: 8 days and 7 nights
Curves: 8,385
Miles: 100 – 250 per day
Special Feature: Ducati Riding Experience track day at Mugello
Special Feature: Ducati Riding Experience
Special Feature: Ducati Museum Visit
Cities and Regions: Rome, Tuscany, Bologna, Siena, Umbria, Emilia Romagna, Orvieto, Marche and Lazio
Accommodations: 3-star and 4-star hotels
Track-Day Weapon: Ducati Panigale 899
Standard Street Bike Rentals: BMW F800, Moto Guzzi V7 or similar
Optional Street Bike Rentals: Ducati Scrambler, Monster and Multistrada, wide range of BMWs and KTM 1190s
Hello everyone and welcome to Ultimate Motorcycling’s weekly Podcast—Motos and Friends. My name is Arthur Coldwells.
This week’s Podcast is brought to you by Yamaha motorcycles. Filling the gap between the entry-level R3, and the flagship superbike R1, Yamaha’s YZF-R7 is a brilliant supersport machine that provides real performance—perfectly balanced with rider comfort. Check it out at YamahaMotorsports.com, or of course you can see it for yourself at your local Yamaha dealer.
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This week, Senior Editor Nic de Sena gives us his impression of the outrageously cool-looking new Indian Scout Rogue. The Rogue features a larger front wheel among several other changes, and the bobbed-looks and excellent 100 horsepower motor make the Scout Rogue an interesting—and very real—competitor to the offerings from Milwaukee.
In the second segment Neale Bayly brings us the third and final segment from Brian Slark—the man who helped bring Norton motorcycles to America. Having spent 27 years and counting at the Barber Museum in Birmingham Alabama, Brian talks us through the final part of his career, that of course includes how the museum got started and where it’s going.
From all of us here at Ultimate Motorcycling, we hope you enjoy this episode!