VOLUME 59 ISSUE 5 FEBRUARY 1, 2022 P69
The final bit of reprogramming is
quickshifter tuning to provide faster,
cleaner gear changes, even when
used in an "extremely aggressive"
manner.
The dirty little secret about this
race-derived technology is that
most of them work well at high rpm,
but produce rough, awkward shift-
ing in everyday street riding at sane
engine speeds. I'd a prefer a trans-
mission that offers smooth-as-butter
clutchless upshifts over a balky
quickshifter. Maybe next year's Multi
will get the latest Panigale's EVO 2
quickshift software that is said to
smooth things out.
While the electronics package
is sophisticated, easy to adjust
and otherwise works seamlessly,
the V4 Panigale and Streetfighters
have programmable Engine Braking
Control that was sorely missed on
this ultimate Multi. If three modes
for engine braking were baked in,
the Granturismo feels as though it's
stuck in the most intrusive setting.
FROM STRADALE
TO GRANTURISMO
Ducati introduced the Multistrada's
1158cc Granturismo motor with
great fanfare last year and for good
reason. Based on the Panigale's
1103cc Stradale engine, it's clearly
the best street use so far of the V4
platform. Kawasaki's supercharged
H2 motor responded similarly when
reconfigured for sport-touring use.
That said, the new motor was
civilized for all-around duty with
smaller throttle bodies, lower red-
line and other detuning tricks. The
Granturismo's superpower is mak-
