The legendary car manufacturer Henry Ford would be happy with the direction of motorcycles right now and probably cast a smile over at Ducati's latest offering.

Ford's famous saying of, 'You can have any color as long as its black', would fit in nicely with the paint trends of modern motorcycles and the latest performance ride from Ducati is no exception.

The 2010 Ducati 848 Dark in a sleek matte black finish is riding onto North American showrooms bringing a dry weight of just 369lb with the agile motorcycle 44lb lighter and 30% more powerful than its predecessor. For 2010 the Ducati 848 benefits from aluminum cam belt tensioner pulleys, LED dash lighting, and 30mm mirror extension kit found on its larger displacement siblings all under $13,000.

The 848 produces 134hp @ 10,000rpm and a high accelerating 70.8lb-ft of torque @ 8,250rpm, powered by a liquid cooled, L-Twin, Desmodromic engine that produces 30% more power than the 749 it replaced.

Its legendary chassis combined with the torque L-Twin Desmo provide the ideal entry to the world of Ducati Superbikes. Framed by the trademark features like the high tail section and compact front end combine with twin under-seat silencers and single-sided swingarm to express the sheer engineering beauty of aerodynamics and agility. Add the Testastretta Evoluzione engines as the hearts of the machines and the result is all-out performance Ducati Superbikes that look fast even when parked. 

Carefully designed for aerodynamic efficiency and to hug the sleek lines of the chassis, the Superbike bodywork enables the rider to blend effortlessly into the correct riding position. Its race-developed fairing design ensures perfect integration with the cooling system by providing efficient flow through the advanced, large surface area coolant radiator, which is assisted by lightweight, high flow electric fan assemblies and oil coolers. Aerodynamically shaped air ducts positioned just below the headlamps are precisely calculated to provide ample air delivery to the pressurised airbox. 

The lightweight 848 features progressive and consistent race-bred braking performance as standard equipment with a tried and tested formula that includes twin radially mounted Brembo callipers each with four 32mm pistons gripping 320mm discs. On the rear is a Brembo two-piston calliper and 245mm disc.

And finally, the instrument display also doubles as a control panel for the activation of the Ducati Data Analyser (DDA) system, which is available as an accessory from Ducati Performance. The bike has been built ‘system-ready’ for the data acquisition kit, which consists of special DDA software and a memory key that slots into a plug under the seat. The same plug also doubles as the connection for a handy new battery charger available as an accessory from Ducati Performance.