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April Fools: Ducati V4 Superbike Spied in Trademark Docs

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The worst-kept secret in Bologna right now is the fact that Ducati will be switching to a V4 format with its 2018 model year superbike – this being the last year (at least at the top of the model lineup) that Ducati will use a v-twin engine design for its race-focused motorcycles.

We expect the Panigale-killer to be a horsepower beast (220+ hp), and the production motorcycle might even sport some of the aerodynamic enhancements that we have seen Ducati use on the race track in the MotoGP Championship (hopefully just not the company’s “hammerhead” fairing design).

Now, we have name for this next-generation superbike machine, as Ducati has filed trademarks with the United States, European, and Japanese trademark offices (click here for the US filing).

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MotoGP

What We Learned from the Ducati MotoGP Launch

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From one presentation to another. Having the Movistar Yamaha and Ducati Factory team launches on consecutive days made it a little too easy to make comparisons between the two.

There was much complaining on social media about the fact that large parts of the Yamaha presentation were in Spanish only, causing the international audience watching the live streaming to lose interest.

Ducati’s approach was better: while everything in the presentation was in Italian, there was simultaneous translation available on the live stream, so those following could hear it in English.

That was no good to us in the hall, of course, though we would find out later that there had been headsets available with the live translation available. But nobody had thought to tell us about that, of course.

Still, we got to practice our racing Italian, a necessity (along with racing Spanish) for those who work in MotoGP.

There was not much to complain about the location. Just as last year, the launch took place at the Ducati factory in Borgo Panigale, just west of Bologna.

The auditorium is not much to write home about – a dark room with a stage – but journalists and guests were welcomed in the Ducati museum, a glorious place filled with Ducati history and a lot of racing past. If you are heading to Mugello or Misano, a visit to the museum is highly recommended.

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MotoGP

Here’s a Sneak Peek of the KTM RC16’s V4 Engine

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With the KTM RC16 MotoGP bike nearing its very first race, as a wildcard at Valencia, the Austrian motorcycle manufacturer is starting to preview that first appearance.

They are doing so through a series of videos, which they are sharing on their YouTube channel and via their Social Media channels. The videos include interview fragments with the team behind the bike, as well as footage of the machine.

The video is remarkably revealing. The engine layout is clearly shown, as is the 90° V4 engine, though this was no secret. The video also shows the engine performing a simulation of Mugello, which gives a good idea of what the bike sounds like.

The engine being tested on the dyno sounds remarkably similar to Honda’s V4 RC213V engine, which uses a “screamer” firing interval, each cylinder firing separately.

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Bikes

The New Harley-Davidson Milwaukee-Eight Engine Debuts

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What you are looking at above is Harley-Davidson’s ninth iteration of its “Big Twin” engines. It’s called the Milwaukee-Eight, named after Harley-Davidson’s home town and the fact that the engine head design employs a very modern eight valves in total (four per cylinder head).

Time will tell if the Milwaukee-Eight becomes as iconic as Harley-Davidson’s other designs, like the Flathead, Knucklehead, Panhead, etc. But, we do know that the Milwaukee-Eight marks a more modern approach to engine design from the Bar & Shield brand.

To this end, Harley-Davidson says that the new power plant offers a quicker throttle response, more passing power, purer sound (whatever that means), and a smoother ride (read: less vibrations).

The Milwaukee-Eight will first be used on Harley-Davidson’s touring and trike lines, though we can expect the engine design to permeate through Harley-Davidson’s lineup.

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Bikes

Two Enthusiasts Podcast #28 – Getting Cranky

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Episode 28 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast starts with some recent news: the closure of Skully and the near-passage of California’s lane-splitting law.

The conversation about Skully quickly moves from the failed startup, to a broader conversation about helmet design and the progress of technology in this space. The show then turns to California’s lane-splitting law, and what it could mean for motorcyclists in states other than California.

Once the news items are out of the way, the show spends a bit of time talking about crankshaft design, namely what it means to have a “crossplane” crankshaft.

Further down the rabbit hole, this turns into a larger conversation about how engines make their power, and how that power is tuned for specific tasks. It’s a tough subject to do only via voice, but we think you’ll enjoy it.

As always, you can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!

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Racing

Indian Motorcycle Returns to Flat Track Racing

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AMA Pro Flat Track is heating up. First, it was Harley-Davidson announcing its first flat track race bike in 44 years, the Harley-Davidson XG750R. And now, we get word that Indian Motorcycle is set to compete as well, debuting today a purpose-built v-twin engine for the job.

The Indian Scout FTR v-twin engine is a 750cc liquid-cooled four-valve lump that is specifically designed for flat track racing. Using a specially built chassis, Indian aims to compete in AMA Pro Flat Track, with Jared Mees serving for now as the company’s test rider.

Indian says it will compete at a single 2016 event, which is still to be announced, before going after the 2017 AMA Pro Flat Track title in full. Presumably Mees will headline that effort as well, which if the case, should make Indian’s entry a very potent one.

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MotoGP

Over-Revving Caused Yamaha’s Mugello Engine Woes

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Yamaha have issued an official explanation for the problem they suffered at Mugello, which saw Valentino Rossi’s engine blow up during the race, and Jorge Lorenzo’s engine blow up during warm-up on Sunday morning.

The cause given is exactly in line with the reasoning in our Mugello Sunday post-race round up: the engine overrevving as the rear wheel lifted at the end of the Mugello straight.

At that point in the track, with the bike hitting 350 km/h and nearing peak speed at top gear and at full throttle, when the rear wheel lifts over the crest at the end of the straight, the engine spins up too quickly for the rev limiter to catch.

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News

April Fools: Honda Patents Three-Stroke Engine Design

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Fresh from the office of the USPTO, we have confirmation that Honda has just received the patent for the first ever three-stroke motorcycle engine.

As you would expect, the unconventional engine design incorporates the power-to-displacement efficiencies of a two-stroke smoker, with fuel-to-power efficiencies of a four-stroke motor.

For many in the space, the three-stroke engine has been the Holy Grail of engine designs, with many OEMs rumored to have been working on a three-stroke engine.

Still, it is surprising to see the engineers at Honda claim the prize, as the Japanese brand up until recently has been heavily committed to its four-stroke technology.

Obviously, the engine technology can obviously be applied to any internal combustion application, however what makes this news especially A&R worthy is that Honda’s patent specifically states the engine’s purpose in two-wheeled vehicles, watercraft, lawnmowers, and generators.

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Bikes

KTM Drops Hint of “Revolutionary” New Engine Platform

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Aside from Husqvarna bringing the Vitpilen & Svartpilen concepts into production, another gem to come from KTM’s investor report for 2015 is that the Austrian company is working on what it calls a revolutionary two-cylinder engine design.

KTM is surely referencing the parallel-twin project that has been spotted a few times by spy photographers (shown above, and featured after the jump), which is rumored to feature an 800cc lump.

We are not too sure what is so revolutionary about a parallel-twin power plant – my Two Enthusiasts Podcast co-host Quentin loves to go on rants about how much he hates the engine design – but what is interesting is to hear that KTM plans on using the engine as a platform for multiple models.

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Bikes

New MV Agusta Brutale 675 Coming in Q2 2016

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Confirmed at the launch of the 2016 MV Agusta Brutale 800 in Spain, MV Agusta will bring the smaller sibling to its three-cylinder Brutale line in the second quarter of 2016.

Like the new Brutale 800, we can expect the updated Brutale 675 to be fully Euro4 compliant. We would also expect the 675cc to have the same mechanical and styling changes that are found on its 800cc sibling, namely a revised chassis geometry, updated MVICS 2.0 electronics (traction control, ABS, & quickshifter), and visual changes to the headlight, exhaust, and body.

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MotoGP

Is Honda Preparing a Major Engine Upgrade for 2016?

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It is no secret that Honda are struggling with the engine for the RC213V MotoGP. HRC have been making the engine ever more aggressive for the past three years, but in 2015, they finally went too far.

The power delivery of the RC213V was too difficult to contain, even with Honda’s electronics, and HRC suffered their worst season in MotoGP since 2010.

Things had not been looking much better for 2016 either. The engine Dani Pedrosa and Marc Márquez tested at Valencia and Jerez last November was at best a marginal improvement, with a bit more power at the bottom end, but still delivered in a very aggressive manner.

Added to this, HRC have had problems with the new unified software which is compulsory for 2016. Where Ducati, and to a lesser extent Yamaha have managed to integrate the less complex spec software into their engines, Honda have yet to get a handle on it.

That has made assessing the engine character even more difficult for Pedrosa and Márquez, the Repsol Honda riders finding it hard to pinpoint aggressive and abrupt throttle response on the engine character, the cruder software, or the interaction between the two.

It is a problem that Honda is now acknowledging publicly. HRC boss Shuhei Nakamoto admitted to the Spanish sports daily Marca that they were having trouble making their engine less aggressive.

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