Ducati was one of the last premium motorcycle manufacturers who persisted with the L-twin cylinder engines for its sport bikes for the longest time. All of its sport bikes till dates have had various engines in the L-Twin format, while the competition moved to multi-cylinder engine layouts a long time ago. The L-twin engines had this likeable gruff character, loud brashness that beautifully complemented the overall chic styling of Ducati motorcycles. Ducati engines have always been aural delights. But all of that is now going to change as Ducati recently took the wraps off its brand-new Desmosedici Stradale V4 (four cylinders in V-twin configuration) engine. This particular engine has been directly derived from the Desmosedici engines that Ducati uses in the MotoGP. The new 90 degree V4 engine will make its way to future Ducati Supersport models.
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"It's with undiluted pride that we unveil this technological gem. It represents the start of a new chapter for our company, underlining our vitality and an unshakeable commitment to investment in new products", stated Claudio Domenicali, Ducati's CEO, during the presentation of the Desmosedici Stradale. "This engine also highlights the close collaboration between Ducati Corse and the factory bike development team, proving just how instrumental racing can be in developing the technology that is later applied on production bikes. In November, at EICMA, we'll be showcasing the new Panigale V4, an all-new motorcycle powered by this extraordinary engine".
(Claudio Domenicali, CEO, Ducati, with the new V4 engine)The new V4 engine though has its origins in Ducati's MotoGP engines, but has been designed and engineered to be mainly used in regular production models as well. It will have a displacement of 1,103 cc and while the exact power output hasn't been revealed, Ducati says that it will exceed 210 bhp at 13,000 rpm and the peak torque output will be over 120 Nm from 8,750 rpm to 12,250 rpm. The engine has been designed to offer maximum torque in the mid-range.
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The engine gets a counter-rotating crank, which reduces the overall gyroscopic effect and makes the bike more agile and better handling. As on the Ducati bikes used in MotoGP, the crankshaft is of the counter-rotating type. This reduces the overall gyroscopic effect and makes the bike faster and more agile when changing direction.
(New Ducati V4 Engine)Ducati says that it is already developing an R version of the engine which will displace less than 1,000 cc, which will rev higher and be meant only for the track. This engine will also be used in the World Superbike Championship from the 2019 season. And lastly, the company has said that it will be launching the new Panigale with the V4 Desmosedici Stradale engine on 5 November, 2017.
