As I sit and write this, I am in Bologna Italy just down the road from the Ducati factory. It is one of those pinch yourself moments in life. You see, we have just signed a contract with Ducati to assist in the development and introduction of adventure bikes to the market.
With the ink barely dry, I was on a plane bound for Italy. Over the past week I’ve had a tour of the Ducati factory, had a sneak peek of pre-production models, met with the development team and had lunch Italian style. I even went e-mountain bike riding with the CEO Claudio Domenicali!
As if that wasn’t enough, I’ve just completed a day of testing on pre-production bikes to provide feedback. This really is the stuff of childhood dreams for me and one of those life experiences I won’t quickly forget.
How did I get here?
Well, for 10 years Maschine have run motorcycle adventure tours and we’ve also worked with manufacturers on their own branded events. One of those brands is Ducati. We ran a tour with them in 2019 and earlier this year we launched the Multistrada V4 to Australian dealers.
I guess they liked what we did because they offered me a contract to become a “product genius”. Cool title huh?
My role will be to help the factory with product development, train dealers and help riders experience Ducati’s adventure range.
The new DesertX, which will be officially unveiled later today, is part of the reason why I’m here in Italy now. To test ride the new DesertX before production begins and provide feedback on features the Australian market are looking for.
I am immensely proud of being given this opportunity and I feel compelled to say that I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the incredible people we’ve had the pleasure of hosting at Maschine events. People that put their trust in us to spend some of their hard-earned and precious holiday time exploring the world with Maschine.
In reality, nothing much will change as far as Maschine goes except that I’ll be riding a gorgeous Ducati next time you see me.
Anyway, must go now. I’m about to go and drink some wine and smash an authentic Bolognese style pizza with some new friends from Ducati. Ciao amici! #ducatiausnz #Ducati2022