Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Ducati Engineers Busy as Bees D umor has it that Ducati is already acting to forestall the f';mpact of Moto Morini's arrival in the marketplace with its 1200cc Corsaro V-twin "monster" by itself developing bigbore versions of both its existing 100x63.Smm Testastretta engine employed in the 999 and the older-generation 98x66mm desmoquanro motor powering the S4R Monster and ST4 sports touring models. As fmed to the current 999 sportbike, the Testastretta produces a claimed 140 bhp at 97S0 rpm - 16 bhp up on the previous model, with the S4R Monster motor currently churning out 113 bhp, way off the 140-bhp cubed-up Morini Corsaro's output. But the 999R, which provides the basis for james Toseland's current reign as World Superbike Champion, has even more over-square dimensions of l04x58.8mm, making the combination of the two motors producing a l04x63.Smm, 10000c jumbo-desmo a possible solution that Ducati is sure to have considered to permit it to keep up with the performance of the new-generation japanese fours, as well as to forestall the advent of the 1200cc sportbike that Moto Morini is known to have under development. Having renounced any interest in going Superbike racing, Morini sees no need to restrict itself to a 1000ce capaCity for its top-of-the-range model and is more concerned with deliv- ering a high-performance sportbike producing competitive horsepower and, especially, torque from the CorsaCorta (short-stroke) engine. Ducati is believed to be following a similar strategy perhaps even with the same 107x66mm/1187ce dimensions as the Morini for the big-bore desmoquanro set to power a 1200 Monster - although in the short term, at least, it will continue to produce the 999R in I04xS8.8mm/998cc guise in order to allow it to continue to compete in Superbike racing. But, with a diminishing number of V-twin Ducatis this season on the World Superbike grid, in the premier National series in the UK, and with the cost of running one competitively now sky-rocketing, it seems the days of the I-liter V-twin sportbike may be drawing to an end, making the rumored I04x66mm/ 1122ce version of the Testastretta-powered 999, which Ducati is believed to have under development, all the more likely to appear for street use only within the next two years. The man charged with deciding whether to move Ducat!'s V-twins up the capacity ladder is the company's new product director, Claudio Domenicali, who, in addition to retaining his current position as CEO of Ducati Corse, has since the end of january been charged with determining the overall strategy of Ducati's future model line. That's in addition to signing off each new model as ready for production and word is that Domenicali has told Ducat!'s R&D staff to take a fresh look at the V-four Desmosedici Strada that it currendy has under development as a spinoff from its MotoGP project, which is due to enter limited production as a highend race replica in spring 2006. Almost certainly as a response to the sudden dominance of the four-cylinder japanese bikes in the new Superbike season (and with Ducati struggling to stay on terms with the new GSX-R I000 Suzuki, which is still only at the very start of its development cycle), Domenicali is understood to have Insisted on delivering a sharper performance edge to the V-four desmo in customer form, rather than the overly detuned version compared to the MotoGP racer that Ducati development staff have so far produced. That's because, with typical foresight, Domenicali realizes that the days of Ducat!'s V-twin dominance of the Superbike class are almost certainly indeed already over, and while the 999 FOS may still be capable of competing for top honors for one more season, it can onty do so on the basis of an ever- increasing cost spiral, making the need for a V-four Ducati Superbike racer - especially one that retains the traditional Kitagawa won the opening round of the World Endurance Championship at Circuit van Drenthe in Assen, Holland, on March 28, the GSX-R IOOO-mounted pair leading from the opening lap of the SOO-kilometer (310.69-mile) race. Yamaha Phase One Endurance and Kawasaki Bolliger following. The pace cars were called out after an accident. bunching the field into two groups. The race was incident-packed from the start, with second-fastest qualifier Suzuki When the incident cleared, Suzuki Castrol was 40 seconds ahead, with a real battle going on for second place. Yamaha Austria No. 7 crashed while in second, but rider Gwen Giabbani was able to bring the bike Nederland one of the last teams to get off the back to the pits for repair. and the team line after the team's engine refused to start. rejoined the race. The Yamaha Austria No. 77 By lap 10, the team had tucked into third place, behind Suzuki Castrol and Yamaha Austria No.7, with Yamaha Austria No. 77, bike was less fonunate, also crashing out of second place but unable to continue. 10 APRIL 6, 2005 • CYCLE NEWS columns a month ago that Ducati is developing its own range of middleweight V-twin engines using a cylinder angle other than its hallowed 90 degrees, comes the sighting in Britain of a prototype 603ce four-speed desmodromic single-cylinder motor, evidently targeted at off-road and dual-purpose use. No Ducati badge was sponed on this prototype engine - but who else makes a desmo motor? Draw your own conclusions. Ducati 90-degree cylinder architecture and desmodromic Suzuki Castrol Wins Assen 500 Suzuki Castro!'s Vincent Philippe and Keiichi valvegear - ali the greater. Given that Ducati would only have to produce ISO examples of a Desmosedici superbike to homologate it for the 2007 World Superbike season, don't bet against that happening - especially with the move to a liter-plus engine format for Ducati's V-twin street bike range, which will remain the Bologna company's core product for the foreseeable future, even if no longer eligible for Superbike racing. And since the street Desmosedid's styling would inevitably be based on the Alan Phillips-designed MotoGP racer's svelte Cagiva-esque bodywork, it would also remove, in one fell swoop, Ducat!'s dependence on the controversial styling of the 999 to head its product lineup. And one more thing: Following on the revelation in these This allowed Kawasaki Bolliger to move up to second place, in front of its partner team Kawasaki Diablo, with Yamaha Phase One in fourth and Yamaha Shell Endurance Academy in fifth place. Suzuki Nederland moved up through the field before slipping back again because of poor pit stops. Yamaha Austria No. 7 was also on a charge, making up places as Ducati Spring Team crashed out of the top 10 and Shell Endurance Academy made an unnecessary stop. Suzuki Castrol made a "splash and dash" fuel stop with just two laps to go, but with its comfortable lead, it was a precaution worth taking. They finished the race two laps in front of Bolliger Kawasaki, with that team a lap ahead of Diablo Kawasaki. Yamaha Phase Alan Cathcart One was fourth, with Yamaha Austria No. 7 finishing fifth. "The race was very difficult," Suzuki Castrol's Philippe said. "The first session was too easy, but after that I had a hard rain tire, and it was very difficult to stay on the bike. I am happy to finish and to win." The Kawasaki Bolliger team was pleased to be on the podium. "It is a happy moment for all of us at Bolliger to be on the podium," Kawasaki Bolliger's Marcel Kellengberger said. "The second stage was a little dangerous for me. It was hard to stay on the bike in the rain on slick tires, but after that, it was okay. I don't think the rest of the season will be so easy."

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