Quote:
Originally Posted by slob
If anyone has any questions about Ducati’s choice to pursue this technical direction let me know. i’ve been invited to an online meeting on the subject, so can forward on any questions you have.
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I logged on to the meeting yesterday, basically we got the information from the
link in the OP presented by Nicolo Antonelli (Marketing Dept, not #23) and Stefano Tarabusi (Product Manager) with the opportunity to ask questions.
They stressed that the design process was entirely engineering led, remember Domenicali is an engineer by trade.
The V4 was chosen for its adaptabilty. Note 'Multistrada' means Many roads. When riding off road at very low speeds you want a smooth motor at low revs, in a way that V twins aren't, The configuration of the V4 gives this, along with punchy V2 like mid-range and sportsbike type performance at higher revs.
The spring rather than Desmo choice was prompted by trying to extend service intervals, since this is what they think high mileage adventure riders want from the product. 60K Km is at least double what the competition offers at the moment, When challenged 'why not get a Aprilia then?' they pointed out that the service interval there is 20K Km. I've ridden a V4S Pani' on track and an Aprilia RSV4 Factory, as well as most of the Jap litre offerings, on the road, and frankly there's no comparison. Although The V4S is Desmo and revs to ~15K, the larger capacity Granturismo revs to 10.5K and makes about 40BHP less.
They will still be offering the V2 Multistrada, alongside the V4 if that's what you want.
They also stress that Desmo rather than springs will still be used in sports/race bikes going forward as it's still the right solution for ultimate performance.
They suggested, when asked, that there was no particular emissions advantage with traditional valve train per se. The rear cylinder ‘cut’ when stationary is purely to avoid cooking your backside, any reduced emissions are incidental.
They also talked about the sound of the bike. The offset crank gives it a twin-like rumble but they've made it quiet enough that you won't have a headaches all evening after repeated 800Km days.
Also they did static noise tests that come in at under 95dB, which is the strictest Italian limit (Sudtyrol region).
We talked a little about the Radar (the units themselves look the same as Audi's A3)
Which are forward facing: for adaptive cruise control, with software suitably modified to ensure the rider still gets full control and won't get tied in knots of someone swerves in front of you while the bike's leaned over. Rear facing: which will light a warning in your mirrors if someone gets in your blind spot.
Whether the Granturismo motor would find its way into other models and the trellis frame question were beyond the scope of the talk, although clearly the possibility of using the motor elsewhere is there, after all they've invested around 3 years in developing it.
The official bike launch for the V4 Multistrada will be on 4th November.