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Variable Valve Timing Coming to the Ducati Multistrada

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For the 2015 model year, Ducati is bringing a brand new Multistrada, which will debut at the upcoming EICMA show in Milan, Italy. Not much has been said about the new Multistrada, aside from A&R breaking the news about the new model a few weeks ago, so we thought we would update you further on it.

Designed to look very similar to the current Multistrada 1200, the new Multistrada will keep the basic profile and design of its predecessor, despite being an all-new machine. Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the 2015 Ducati Multistrada though is the fact that Borgo Panigale has fitted variable valve timing (VVT) to the desmodromic valves of the Testastretta 11° engine.

Ducati certainly isn’t the first company to bring VVT to the motorcycle realm, with Honda best known for its VTEC technology on the VFR800, which saw modest power increases come at the expense of extremely time-consuming valve adjustments on the overly complex cylinder head.

How exactly Ducati will implement VVT on the Testastretta 11° engine, and thus affect duration and lift, remains to be seen though, as there are a multitude of ways that the Multistrada could be fitted with variable valve timing. Surprisingly, no patents have been uncovered (yet) from Bologna in this effort, though the Italian factory should spill the beans in a few weeks’ time.

Expect the all-new 2015 Ducati Multistrada to break cover ahead of the EICMA show on November 3rd, along with Ducati’s new 1299 superbike.

Source: Bothan Spies

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