Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

of information about the road available, but without shock . The rising-ra te rear suspension also has it s d a m p i n g taken ca re o f b y a Showa co m p o ne n t, o ne b orrowed directlv from the 9 16 but reworked for its duties o n th e ST2. The rear-suspension system retains the same linkage ratio as the 916 in the in itial part of the travel. but th e rate wa s mad e much s tiffer in th e seco nd half, so th at with the addition of a passeng er and full bags the bike will remain stable. It does . One of the nice features of the 916 that has been retained on the ST2 wa s the rear ri d e-heigh t adjustment , s o m e t h i n g a ccomplis hed ind epend entl y of th e sp ring p reload adjustm ent. Th e risin g ra te did its job, for w he n we used the bike for two- up d uty wit hout cranking up th e rear sp ring p re loa d (we did n' t have a hammer and dr ift hand y - wi sh they'd mad e th at ad justm en t eas ier), th e bike d id n't bottom d espite riding just a bit cho pperesq ue. Stee ring pred ictably slowed a bit beca use of this, and the rear end beca me a little loose, dampingwise. Aft er cra nking up compression dam ping a bout a quar ter of a turn , a nd rebound a bit less, the bike regained its wonderful co m po su re, if not 'a ll o f its balan ce. Also carried ove r from the 916 were th e br akes . The se m i-floa ting 3 20m m stai n less-s tee l Beembo di scs a re t1ke those used o n th e compa ny's top mod el. but red esign ed cal ipers we re fitted. In ad di tio n to a lter ed in terna l p lumbing, the mounting points for the four-piston calipers arc now set farther a part as an aid to rigid ity, a nd th e pi st on s themselves have a slicker coating that is said to provid e better feel after repeated ha rd use. \Ve we re in itially greeted wi th a very spongy lever tha t trapped o ur fingers aga inst the g rip in even mod erately aggressive use . All th e ele me n ts were the re fo r good braking - s tro ng initial bite and decen t feel despite the sp onge fac to r - but this jus t was n' t w ha t we ex p e cted. Fortunately, a ft er a qu ick bleed job, we were rewarded with the brakes we thou ght we should have had in the first place, and th e big Brembos get a definite A+ for solo bombing runs. They di d n't handle the 320 pounds of ri der an d pa ssen ge r a s well a s w e . ho ped , thou g h - after so me very ha rd use (r.'ery hard ), w e experienced some mo d e rate fa de and the le v er we nt spongy agai n. Afte r a second bleed sessio n, normalcy re turned. Until we ge t some more two- up miles, the jury's still ou t on this count. O ne element that s hrugged off the addition of a passen ger was the powerplant. Provid in g m otivation for this wonderful. li ghtwe ight cha ss is (d ry weight without ba gs is only 15.4 po un ds heavier than th e 916 at 466 pounds) is a bored-out, retuned version of its venerable two-va lve desmo tw in, cla imed to prod uce 83 hp at the crankshaft. Bore an d stroke are 94 x 68mm for a d isplacemen t of 944cc. Camshaft profile is aimed at provid ing as broad a torque curve as possible to minimize the need for shifting . The com pression ratio is rather high nO .2:1) for an engine with such a big bo re , but detonation is con tro lled well enoug h wi th red esigned, "trispherical" co mbus tio n ch am be rs tha t the u se of _regular unl eaded pump gas is speci fied . To m ake the e ngi ne smoother at low s peed s, flyw heel inertia was increased 30 percent, with the ma ss moved further from th e center of rota tion by use of a larg er-d iam eter fly w heel . Du cat i' s trad emark d esmo a lso ha s the trademark valve-ad justment interva l of 6000 miles. For a touring bike, even a sport (Left and right) With and · without: The rear of the Duca ti cleans up nicely with the removal of the saddle bag s and it s mounting hardwa re. With the hardware gone , the exhausts can be raised to a higher mounti ng point, thus Increa s ing cornerin g clearance. to u r ing b i ke , o n w h ich one wo u ld e xpect to r ack up s o me m ileage, w e w is h it went a little longer between these . Ou t in th e real w o rld , the liquidcooled eng ine wo rks very we ll, provid ing th e u s u a l d esmo s ym p ho n y o f mechanical noise and exha us t note you just don' t get from a nyt hing else . Th e Weber-Marelli fu el- inject ion / e ngi ne management pa ckage provided mostly sea mless operation and a light throttle pull, th ough o u r tes t bik e s tu m b led occasio na lly a t jus t un der 4000 rp m . Ot herwise, it was flawless, and in Ca lifornia's ad mitted ly mild climate, usi ng the cho ke (really jus t a high -idl e lever) was ne ver neces sa ry. Just thumb the sta r te r a n d the ST 2 se t tl es i n to the thump-thump of its 100Q-rpm idle and is immediately read y for action. In aggress ive use, it is best to keep the mo tor revving a hove 6000 rpm, for this is where the desmo really begins to sing, a nd it keeps going up to a high note of just under 10,000 rp m, when the rev lim iter kicks in . 0 need fo r th is, reall y, because the gea ring in the sixspeed transm iss ion is jus t rig h t, a n d despite a too-sh ort shi ft lever (a longer one is available at no cost), gear changes were positive and smooth, though with a longish lever throw . Sixth gea r has the en gine turnin g o ver a t a rela xed 3800 rpm at 60 mph. The precise con trol provided by the co mpu te ri zed fue l-de livery s ys tem allowed Du cati to go for a very -lean setting at steady-state cruising in an effort to increas e fue l econo my and thus cru isin g ran ge . Du cati claimed a ra nge of nearly 250 miles, in fact. Despite this, our test bike consistently illuminated its fue l light with 150 mil es on th e clock, turning in an ave rage of just und er 40 mp g. With a claim ed fuel capacity of 5.5 gallons (includ ing a 1.5 gallo n reserve), the range to rese rve is theoretically 160 miles, but even ridi ng we ll into rese rve, we never felt com forta ble clocki ng more tha n 170 to tal miles without stopping for fuel. That's a s hame, because th is bike encourages long days. The riding position is ideal , with high, wide-set handl eba rs and a com fortab le sea t . The passenger's mount wa s lik ewise very co m fo rtable. Th e fairing, with its integrated turn si gnals, punches a clean hole in the air, and even our tall tes ters had no problem with turbulent a ir at hel met level. Th e mirrors are equip ped with a spherica l lenses (" ob jects that a ppear in m irro r are clos er than they appear") and provid e a true, if sma ller a n d s lig h tly s h aky , view o f wha t's beh ind yo u . But wi th a bike like thi s, wh o ca res w h at's b ehind yo u . Th e "9 16- in s p i re d" ga uge pa cka ge was ea sy to read, and the di gital LCD dis- (Left) The 916Ins p ired gauge pac kag e inc ludes an LCD readou1 with a digital temperature read ing, clock and bar-type fuel gauge. th e ele me nts of usability a nd co m for t that make long-distance touring a realitv. The ST2 d oes this . All the eleme n ts ;re there: comfort, powe r, hand ling , brakes, qu ality of fit - and, of course, th e one th in g Du catis are ra re ly sho rt of: fun . Th e Ita lian com pany has civi lize d its steed, leaving those elem en ts that make it a tru e Ducati, while taki ng away th ose th ings (mo st of th em, a nywa y) that yo u always had to jus tify to yo ur fri ends who rod e Japanese bikes with "Yeah, but it handlcs /turns g reat." Yo u ca n s till tell th em abou t th e bike's positively wonderful chassis and its willingness to turn, but it is no longer a ju stification fo r a ny kind of lack of refin ement or comfort. The ST2 is a com'" plete package. play , in addi tio n to p rovid ing fuel a nd temperature readi ng, also featu res a dock. Wha t di d n' t we like? The kickstand . It's one of those spring-loa ded jobs, and to put it down wit h co n fidence, you rea lly ha ve to ge t off the bike . And if you have to ge t off the bike, why not use the cen terstand ? Also, the placem en t of th e ig nition key in th e top of th e fueltank - it's fine as long as yo u don't use a tank bag, in which case it gets covered up. Sma ll things, yes, and a little bother some . The co nce p t beh ind the ST2 wa s to m ake a motorcycle that remained what a Du cati s h o u ld be - a -very capable sportb ike with unparalleled s ty le and flair - and success fu lly m eld th at with Ducati ST2 Specifications . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . •.. . .. . ...Uquid -cooled SO HC go-degree V -twi n with belt-driven cams and tw o valves per cylinder Bore x stroke . . . . ........ ...... ......... . .. .94 x 68 mm Displacement 944cc Output (cla imeell 83 bhp @ 8500 rpm En g i n e 6 • • • • • • • Compression ratio . . . . . . . . Fuel /ignition system . . . . . . . . . • •• • • • • •• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • .. .................... . . . . _.. 10.2:1 Weber/Marelli electronic fuel-injection and . GearboJl Clutch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Frame • engine -management system _ . '.. six-speed M ultiplat e dry wI hydraulic actuation . . .. _ _. . . .. . .Tubuter-steel space frame Suspension Inverted 43mm Showa w/ spring preload and compressionand rebound-damping adjustment. 5.1 inches travel . . . .A luminum swinqarm WIth nsmq -rate linkage and single Showa shock wi spring pre load and compressionand rebound-damping adjustments. adjustable ride height Front Rea r . . . . . .. Rake/trail _. _. Wheelbas e . _.. _ Dry weight Weight distribution. fir Fuel capacity _. _ , 24°/ 102mm __.. _ . _.. __ . _ _ _ _. _ __ _ 56 .3 inches 466 pou nds .49/5 1% 5.5 gal. Brakes Front Rear Wheefs/tires Front Rear D ual semi-floatinq 320mm stainless-steel Brembo diSCS with four-piston calipe rs , .Sinqle 245mm stainless-steel disc with two-piston caliper 120170ZR17 Metzeter MEZ4 on 3.50-inch·wide cast-aluminum three -spoke wheel 170/60ZR17 Metzeler MEZR on 5.50-inch·wide cast -aluminum three-spoke wheel Colors Retail p ric e . . , Silver; graphite ' .' ' _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$ 12.499 I'-. 0\ 0\ ,..... N N ..... IlJ .D o ..... u o 17

• Cover