Given that the race bikes keep it, I 'regret' to say it's not a big image problem. The image of Ducatis as sporty bikes is based on (mostly) quite old victories, supported by sound and design. The factory and we, the Ducatisti, are brilliant at keeping the 'Ferrari of motorcycles' idea alive - for a loooong time after it was deserved (if it ever was).
So, our image will survive the last few years of combustion engines.
In the electric future, Ducati can re-launch a Desmodromic "inverter" on their e-bikes - thus starting the story all over again. First mentioned by flounder Stu at
http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/in...?topic=78464.0