MCN's history of Ducati spy shots

The first bike to be caught testing was an early and heavily disguised 999 superbike in July 2002. That bike was the machine tasked with replacing the iconic 916 design so catching the replacement testing on the road was a big deal.

This model had no side panels but was spotted entering the main gate at the Bologna factory.

• Read the Ducati 999 review
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The next Ducati to be caught by an MCN reader was the 1098. A scruffy test hack was caught outside the factory in 2006. This was spotted by an MCN reader who was at the factory for a museum tour and saw the bike just coming back into the factory grounds after carrying out road testing.

• Read the Ducati 1098 review
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• Get a Ducati 1098 insurance quote

This was an early shot of the Hypermotard that former Ducati boss Federico Minoli put up on the Desmoblog – his own online diary revealed the bike way before it was launched.

• Read the Ducati Hypermotard review
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After that MCN spent three days stalking the new Multistrada 1200 in 2009 after amateur shots snatched some blurry images of the bike testing on the road nearby.

MCN photographer Ian Jubb waited days to catch the bike testing early last year and was helped by the fact the bike appeared to stop running and he was able to catch it and shoot close up details.

• Read the Ducati Multistrada 1200 review
• Search for used Multistrada 1200 motorcycles
• Get a Multistrada 1200 insurance quote