#SocialMedia

We sometimes get asked how a motorcycle is developed from start to finish. Usually, we answer with a very generic answer: designers draw it up, engineers make it work, and test riders refine it into something you’d actually want to buy. But there’s more to it than that, of course. What exactly are the test riders looking for, and who are these test riders anyway? If you’re one of those who have wondered this very thing, Ducati is here to help.

Good news, Motorcycle.com fans – we are now on LinkedIn! Why LinkedIn? Well, like you, we’re already on all the other social media platforms that matter ( Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube – you know, the good ones), and, like you, we thought it was time to show the classier side of ourselves and open a LinkedIn account, too.

Yesterday, Suter Racing‘s crack team of professionals started their retired MMX1 MotoGP racebike at the Swiss-Moto show. Its BMW inline-four and Akrapovic exhaust sounded crisp and impressive, but the Suter crew’s promotional angle made them look foolish.

Lead Image by Alfonse Palaima MOTOINSIDER:

People occasionally drop me a note or friend me up on Facebook and say, “Hey! I used to love your ‘Bitter Little Man’ column when you were at Motorcyclist.” I always love fan mail, everybody loves a little pat on the back. But hey, that was a long time ago … and I’ve been cranking out new pearls of wisdom every three weeks here on MO for a year now. Hey, Lama, how about a little something, you know, for the effort?

There’s more to the world of motorcycle racing than what happens on the track. Behind the scenes, rumors are flying and motorcycles are ever-changing. But we sometimes forget that the riders, too, have lives just like the rest of us. Now, thanks to social media, and Twitter specifically, we have more access to the racing world, and the people in it, than ever before. We can get the latest news, gossip and rumors straight from the most knowledgeable sources in the sport. What’s more, many athletes are active on Twitter as well, allowing us the inside line into their everyday lives outside the racetrack.