We have been waiting for Ducati to make this motorcycle for literally years. Ever since the Ducati Streetfighter 1098 debuted, we have begged the Italian brand to follow-up this mean machine with models from its new superbike lines.
Now with the Desmosedici Stradale V4 engine, our prayers have been answered, and the 2020 Ducati Streetfighter V4 is ready for public consumption.
Based obviously on the Panigale V4 superbike, the DNA from the track is obvious in this street-focused machine.
In an unusual move, Ducati has confirmed in a press release that the Italian brand will be brining the much-rumored Multistrada V4 not for next year, but instead for the 2021 model year.
In its announcement, Ducati said that the V4 machine will be available alongside the 1260 and 950 v-twin models, which adds some more intrigue to what form-factor the Ducati Multistrada V4 could take, and where it could slot into Ducati’s lineup.
This tidbit comes on the news that Ducati has just built its 100,000th Multistrada, in preparation for the 2020 model year.
We know that Ducati plans on bringing its Desmosedici Stradale V4 engine to segments outside of the superbike realm, but only those segments where the high-power, high-revving engine makes sense in that application (and where the cost associated with the machine justifies the pricy engine’s use).
So, it doesn’t surprise us then that the first model to get the V4 treatment is a new Streetfighter from Ducati, the prototype of which was used for that fateful campaign up the Pikes Peak mountain.
Rumors have been rife though that Ducati would put its V4 engine into the Multistrada lineup as well, and today we get our first real proof of that notion, with the Ducati Multistrada V4 test mule caught on the road in Italy, both in photo and video.
We have heard rumors that Ducati would jam its new V4 engine into a Multistrada-type for quite some time now.
But, most of those rumors seemed to confuse the high-powered adventure-sport for the upcoming Ducati Streetfighter V4, so we dismissed them. And yet, talk of a Ducati Multistrada V4 continues.
Now, the rumors are getting more palatable, and even more credible. One reasons for this is a report from Germany’s Motorrad Magazine, which says that they even saw the Multistrada V4 out testing in Bologna.
All the rumors and speculation can now stop. Here it is. Here is the Ducati Streetfighter V4 prototype that will be racing at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.
Record-holder Carlin Dunne will pilot the Streetfighter V4 prototype for Ducati, in a bid to set a new outright motorcycle record on the Mountain.
In the announcement, Ducati acknowledges that we will see the Streetfighter V4 properly debut at the EICMA show later this November, and that the production model will be in dealerships by March 2020.
We have already told you as much as this headline conveys, so apologies to our more loyal readers if this story seems redundant, but we wanted to definitively tell you that the Ducati Streetfighter V4 will debut later this month, at Pikes Peak.
The news comes fresh after a teaser that Ducati posted, which says to us that “the gloves come off at Pikes Peak” and then gives the date June 13th, which is the day of the motorcycle tire test for the historic hill climb.
“The gloves” is surely a nod to the “Streetfighter” name, though we have seen more than a few hints from Ducati and its CEO that we should expect such a model before the year’s end.
We know that a Ducati Streetfighter V4 is coming as a 2020 model year machine. We have heard rumors of the Streetfighter V4 for quite some time now, and even Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali has given a wink or two that we should expect the model soon.
Now today, we get our first glimpse of the bike at work, as some of the worst “spy photos” ever show the model making laps at an undisclosed race course.
Imagine you have been given the opportunity to ride the iconic grand prix track at Mugello, and that you are going to do it on a superbike with well over 200hp at the crank. It has the latest technology, both in terms of electronic rider aids and physical aerodynamics. And oh, the Tuscan sun will be shining on you the whole day.
This is a sport rider’s dream. This is fat check mark on any two-wheeled enthusiast’s motorcycling bucket list. When the folks at Noale invited us to come ride the new Aprilia RSV4 1100 Factory at the famed Italian race track in the Tuscany region, our affirmative reply didn’t take long to send.
I won’t lie and and try and pretend that the prospect of riding at Mugello hasn’t been high on my list of things to do before I die, but bucket-lists aside, I wanted to see where Aprilia was standing, now 10 years after the original debut of its RSV4 superbike.
What was really “new” about the decade-old machine? How did it compare to the new offerings in the industry? And, is all the hype about winglets really grounded in reality?
Well..I came back from Mugello overwhelmed, impressed, and befuddled. Let me explain.
The big reveal at Ducati’s live stream event for EICMA 2018 is surely the Italian brand’s new homologation racing machine, the Ducati Panigale V4 R. A 998cc version of its potent street bike, the 2019 Ducati Panigale V4 R takes full advantage of the homologation rules for the WorldSBK Championship.
As such, the Ducati Panigale V4 R will surely hit the top limit of the World Superbike pricing cap, which is €40,000. For that price though, you get the pinnacle of Ducati’s superbike technology, including the company’s first use of winglets on a street-legal machine, which come straight from Ducati Corse’s MotoGP program.
Of course, the real show-stopper for the 2019 Ducati Panigale V4 R are the tech specs: 217hp (162 kW), with 83 lbs•ft (112 Nm) of peak torque, wrapped up in a 425 lbs (193kg) package, when fully fueled at the curb.
Ever since Jerez, when the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team debuted a new engine with a counter-rotating crankshaft, fans and journalists have been asking when factory riders Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith would be able to use the new engine on a race weekend.
KTM test rider Mika Kallio had been very positive about the engine during the Jerez weekend, and Smith and Espargaro had spoken in glowing terms about it after the Jerez test.
KTM’s response was always that it would not be ready until at least after the summer break. Reversing the direction of crankshaft rotation is not as simple as sticking an intermediate gear between the crank and the clutch, to allow the crank to spin in the opposite direction while maintaining forward thrust.
Reversing the crankshaft means that the stresses in the engine are very different, and require careful testing to ensure it will operate reliably.
At Brno, it was evident that Bradley Smith finally had the new engine at his disposal. The difference is visible, if you look very carefully, from the torque reaction and other clues.