Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

2 0 0 1 Ducati ST4 s 20m m available in total) v ia the a dj u st able rod en d s on t h e sho c k linkage, translating to 10 m m at the wheel axl e. Sp end the 10 m in u t es needed to do that , and y ou'll al so sharp en up the steeri ng qu ite notice ab ly , without sacr ifi c ing th e ST chas sis 's r o c k- so l i d st a b ili t y i n f a st , fourth -gear sweepers . or fla t ou t in a straight lin e in what might be termed free way mode. Yet while gaining v ital extra grou nd clea rance, so that you' ll now need to us e the st ickier Mi chelin Pilot Sp o rt t i res fi tted as st and ard very h a rd t o tou ch do wn a g ain in level t urns , th e stiffer setup st i ll allows you t o relish the indefinable feel of ride quality and com p li anc e that a top-level suspension package gives when it' s set up properly - even over a smooth surface like Vairano's. The jury 's still out about how it copes with rough surfaces, though there weren't any on th is car-focused te st track , and Ducati wouldn 't let us take it out into the real world, on the street. So no telling either i f the desmo V -twin 's trad itional telltale traffic torture of a stiff, graunchy 42 MAV 16,2001 · cu e ' EO clutch has indeed been fix ed on the ST4s, as it has on other Du catis I' ve ri dden of late. One bl ack m ar k , however, goes to the non -adjustabili t y of the brake and clutch le vers , owing to in suf f i ci en t cl earance at fu ll lock w ith Gall uzzi's fairing de sign derived from th e bud get- priced ST 2 (which d oesn't have th is fo r cost reasons) . Concocting a multi-ad justable handlebar setup that wou ld gi ve th e necessary clearance, wh ile also delivering a bespo k e rid!ng positi on , would be a goo d solution to t h is must -fix p robl em on a b ik e of such otherwise h igh -quali ty spec . That would also allow th e st o ck ST4s riding stance , whi ch thanks to th e separate handlebars bolted to th e top of each fork leg , is a little too upright for a cross -dressing Sup er bike, to be made a bit m ore sporty if the rider wishes - a degree of choice that would accord well with the multi adjustability of the rac etrack-derived suspension and chass is package . And fitting adjustab le levers als o allows those with sma ller hands to use th e excellent 320mm front Brem - n e ...... bo b rakes wi th more precision - th e st o c k sp read is a bit wide , though th ere 's good response from the fourpo t cali pe rs. These have th e ol de rtype layout with a single pad on each side, rather than the fo ur ind ivi dual ones on the latest rad ia l -mou n te d des ign on the 99 6R , bu t they w o rk well on the 1m m thicker steel brake discs fitted to th e new bi ke , compared to those on the ST4 , to . combat the inc reased he at bu il dup ex pected from harder use on the faster s-bike. These are , how ever, now mounted on alloy ra t he r tha n st eel carr iers , and tog ether with the fiv e-spok e fro nt Ma rches ini wheel now fitt ed - which saves a remarkable 2 .6 pounds alone in unsprung and gyroscopic weight over the ST4 's three -spoke design this helps produce the enhanced ride qua lity as well as lighter steering that the new bike definitely feels to ha ve o ve r the old . The 2.8 -pound li ght er alloy swi n g arm repl acing the ST4 's stee l un it has th e same effect, even if the new five -spoke rear wheel weighs the same as the previous three-spok er. Than ks also to the braided steel brake lines now fitted , the ST4s has lots of feel in stopp ing rea ll y we ll fr om high sp eed , especia ll y in conj uncti on wi t h the 245mm rea r disc and a bit of desmo engi ne bra k ing th ough in the absen ce o f a slipper cl utch, you' ll need to beware gettin g too eager with the revs .on th e overrun , wh ich isn' t usually a problem on a sport tourer like th is , however. The ST4s did sit up and understeer ver y noticeably at first on standard set ti n g s un der hard braking int o a turn , but th is wa s surely a function of th~ stock chas sis geometry 's lower rear ride height, because lifting it and stiffening everything up made a big im p ro vem ent. Raisin g the t ire pres sures 0 .4 bar ab o ve stock at each end to 2.4/2.6 bar, even riding solo, also noticeably enhanced the han dling, making the ST4s eas ier to lift from side to side in a chicane or Sbend , without requir ing such a tug on the ' b a r s as b e fo r e , as well as i m p r o v i n g grip even more , while making t h e Ducati run still freer at ton-up speeds . Ther e' s reasonably good protec tion at 120 mph or more for a six -foot ri d er from the we ll -design ed fairing and its rev erse-curve screen , though w ith som e helmet noise but good wi n d d e fl ection for your shou ld er s and le gs, and pretty effectiv e m irr ors tha t d o n 't v ibrate and g i ve a g oo d rearward view - thi s is an excellent hi gh -speed mileater, almost ce rtainly the fastest and most acce lerative bik e in th e spo rt -t ourer mark etplace. The re a so n for this is the m ai n ingredient in th e ST4s package, th at magnificent 9 0 -degree V-t wi n DO HC desm oqu attro eng in e, he re cubed up in cap acit y fro m th e ST4 's 91 6cc , to the same 98 x 66 mm 996 cc dim en - sions as the factor y racers wh ich, with the help of the squadron of customer rep licas whic h b u lk o ut the Wo rld Superbike grid , re ta in ed the 2000 Wo rld Sup erb ik e C h amp ionsh ip 's Man ufac turer's crown . But th e difference in p er f o rma n c e b etw een the ST 4 s moto r, delivering 1 17 hp at th e crank at 8750 rp m and 10.0 k gm of torq u e a t 7000 r pm , and t h e 10 5 hp /9 .0 kgm ST4 with it s 4mm sma ller bore, isn 't just accounted for by th at 80 cc of eng ine capacity - for Ducati's R&D tea m led by Andrea Forn i has rev amped th e engi ne inte rnal s and remapped th e Marelli EFl to deliver a heady combin ati on of tr actable lowsp e ed road m ann ers , coupled w ith blindingly fast perform ance at higher revs - yet all presented in that real world ST wrapping, wh ich makes for an add ictive yet pra ctical solution to everyday sportbiking with a passen ger and luggage. Thus while r et ai ni n g the sam e four-valve desmo cylinder heads as the ST4 , complete with the lowered exhaust camshafts wh ich perm it the L-twin eng ine to be placed further forward in the frame , so as to load up the front wheel w ith out fo uling the fro nt cylinder under hea v y braking (weight distribution with a full tan k is 50 /50 ) , Forn i 's en gi nee rs h av e revamped the spe ci fi ca tion compared to the ST4 , by low ering the co mpression to 1 1.2: 1 ( fr om 11. 5: 1) but fitt ing larger 36mm inl et and ;30 m m exhaust v a l v e s ( u p from 33m m / 29mm on the ST4 ), wh ile sti ll retaining the same 50mm throttle bodies. Matched to higher-lift cam shaft s .. the inlet with an altered profile ai med at enhancing midrange and top -end performance - and revised ignition/ fuel mapping on the tie« , ultra -com pact Marelli 5.9M ECU (same as fitted to the new limited -ed ition 996R, and here incorporating as standard a sophi stic ate d im m o bi lizer system, with eight billion constantly changing ignition k ey access codes preventing the likelihood of anyone being able to scan the signal sent by a chip in the key to the ECU , v ia the aerial surrounding the ignit ion lock), the resu lt has been to soften the 996cc eng ine 's power characteristics , wh il e improv ing the desmoquattro's low-down and m idrange torque compa red to t he sma ller-engined ST4 , de l i v er ing a breadth of performance th at is sure ly unequalled in th e sport -touring cl ass. So , wh ile l o afin g aroun d in top gea r at 40 mph at Vai ran o in a sort-of sim ul ation of run n in g in a line of tra ffi c, the ST4 s is ex tre mely docile an d t own -fr iend l y , p i c k i ng u p cle anl y from a s low a s 1500 rpm on part throttl e , or 30 00 r e v s wi d e o pen, without any transmission snatch such as th at wh i ch affl i c t s th e ST 4 . Yo u . can real -world road-ride it in relaxed m ode , short-shifting at around 6000 rpm to go with the flow and enjoy th e

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