2016 DUCATI XDIAVEL
FIRST RIDE
P80
I'LL HAVE ONE WITH MORE ANGRY, THANKS.
T
he undoubted star of the XDiavel
show is not the low chassis, or
the massive rear tire or even the fact
it's got cruise control—it's the angry
maniac engine on full display between
the frame rails.
This is a totally new engine from
Ducati, designed to get through the
strangling Euro4 emissions limits now
in force. The Ducati Testastretta jumps
up to 1262cc via a 3.6mm longer
stroke than the 1198cc motor that sits
in the Multistrada and compression
bumped up to 13:1 from 12.5:1, and it
also uses the (Desmodromic Variable
Timing, or DVT) system that debuted
last year.
The DVT system independently
varies the timing of both the intake
and exhaust valve camshafts via a
valve timing adjuster applied on the
ends of each of the two overhead
camshafts. The system has two parts:
an external part rigidly connected to
the pulley driven by the timing belt
and an internal one connected to the
camshaft, which can rotate earlier or
later depending on oil pressure in the
chambers. The oil pressure itself is
adjusted by dedicated valves and the
timing of each camshaft is controlled
dynamically by sensors in the cam cov-
ers. The idea is instead of having one
specific valve overlap, like 11° as was
on the original Diavel, the DVT system
allows for a constantly varying overlap
