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Quote Alan Cathcart:
Ducati is fighting back. Faced with the performance gulf thats opened
this season between its 1200cc V-twins and the 1000cc four cylinder
opposition in World Superbike competition, the Italian company is now
at work on a radically redesigned engine intended to return the brand
to the top of the timing charts. Code named Superquadrata (meaning
"oversquare"). this super-short-stroke motor will be all-new and
completely different from the current Testastretta Evoluzione that
traces its roots to the 1970s. In addition to the new engine, this
next-generation superbike will also feature the same "frameless"
chassis design as the current Desrnosedici GP10 MotoGP racer.
The new engine will still be a V-twin, with its cylinders oriented at
90 degrees to avoid the need for a power-sapping balance shaft. But
instead of the traditional "L-twin" layout with the front cylinder set
almost horizontally like all Ducati V-twins since '72, the new engine
will be rotated rearward. This change will permit it to be placed
further forward for improved front-end grip, without the front wheel
contacting the cylinder under heavy braking a perennial problem with
the current design. Relocating the engine will also allow a longer
swingarm, to improve rear grip. The new crankcases will split
horizontally, making possible the use of a cassette-type gearbox for
quicker, simpler gear changes the lack of which is a major handicap
with the present engine.
The new engine will retain dual overhead cams, four valves per
cylinder and Ducati's hallowed desmodromic valve actuation with
F1-style finger followers. Further boosting power is the 1194cc mill's
super-oversquare cylinder dimensions of 112.0 x 60.6mm-a significant
advance from the 106.0 x 67.9mm 1198R. A forged one-piece crankshaft
will increase stiffness, while the cam belts will be replaced with a
modular gear-drive system terminating in two small chains that operate
the rocker arms for more accurate valve timing and improved high-rpm
reliability. As a result of these changes, revs could climb as high as
14,000 rpm-stratospheric by twin cylinder standards.
Those massive bores will allow the use of bigger valves, but it"s not
clear how much Ducati's engineers will increase those beyond the
present 43.5mm intakes/35.5mm exhausts, given the 50mm restrictor rule
that remains in effect in SBK racing. The wide bore will facilitate
use of a dual-plug ignition, likely operated sequentially with one
spark plug firing an instant after the other to enhance both racetrack
performance and emissions control on the street.
Significantly, this revised engine architecture will allow Ducati to
adopt the same "frameless" chassis design as on the current MotoGP
racer, with the engine serving as a stressed member. Just like the
racer, the new superbike's front suspension will bolt directly to a
structural airbox attached to the top of the motor (likely
carbon-fiber on the R-model and metal on the lower-priced production
models). while the swingarm and subframe . will attach directly to the
crankcases and rear cylinder. The main benefits of this layout are
lower weight (saving more than 10 Ibs. over the current steel
trellis), improved rigidity and greater spatial design freedom. Ducati
filed another patent application in February (see Drawing the Line,
Me, May 2010) that describes a V-twin version of this design in
detail, and makes several references to "volume production."
Many of the features on this new superbike are rooted in a design
study made by Ducati Corse in 2001 for a twin-cylinder, 990cc MotoGP
racer, before the decision was made to develop the current V4. By
dusting off that abortive study and transferring the relevant
technology to a 1200cc twin, Ducati has made sure to incorporate the
benefits of racing the Desmosedici so successfully against the
Japanese factories while remaining true to its heritage-a vital
ingredient in its ongoing commercial success. This will be a major
turning point for the Italian company, and it's going to happen sooner
rather than later, because more than any other manufacturer, Ducati
relies on racetrack success to sell its motorcycles. Spokesmen
naturally decline to confirm the existence of any such project, but
these rumors have been substantiated by none other than Motosprint's
Massimo Clarke Italy's most respected and well-connected technical
journalist. No release date for the Superquadrata has yet been
announced.
Ducati is fighting back. Faced with the performance gulf thats opened
this season between its 1200cc V-twins and the 1000cc four cylinder
opposition in World Superbike competition, the Italian company is now
at work on a radically redesigned engine intended to return the brand
to the top of the timing charts. Code named Superquadrata (meaning
"oversquare"). this super-short-stroke motor will be all-new and
completely different from the current Testastretta Evoluzione that
traces its roots to the 1970s. In addition to the new engine, this
next-generation superbike will also feature the same "frameless"
chassis design as the current Desrnosedici GP10 MotoGP racer.
The new engine will still be a V-twin, with its cylinders oriented at
90 degrees to avoid the need for a power-sapping balance shaft. But
instead of the traditional "L-twin" layout with the front cylinder set
almost horizontally like all Ducati V-twins since '72, the new engine
will be rotated rearward. This change will permit it to be placed
further forward for improved front-end grip, without the front wheel
contacting the cylinder under heavy braking a perennial problem with
the current design. Relocating the engine will also allow a longer
swingarm, to improve rear grip. The new crankcases will split
horizontally, making possible the use of a cassette-type gearbox for
quicker, simpler gear changes the lack of which is a major handicap
with the present engine.
The new engine will retain dual overhead cams, four valves per
cylinder and Ducati's hallowed desmodromic valve actuation with
F1-style finger followers. Further boosting power is the 1194cc mill's
super-oversquare cylinder dimensions of 112.0 x 60.6mm-a significant
advance from the 106.0 x 67.9mm 1198R. A forged one-piece crankshaft
will increase stiffness, while the cam belts will be replaced with a
modular gear-drive system terminating in two small chains that operate
the rocker arms for more accurate valve timing and improved high-rpm
reliability. As a result of these changes, revs could climb as high as
14,000 rpm-stratospheric by twin cylinder standards.
Those massive bores will allow the use of bigger valves, but it"s not
clear how much Ducati's engineers will increase those beyond the
present 43.5mm intakes/35.5mm exhausts, given the 50mm restrictor rule
that remains in effect in SBK racing. The wide bore will facilitate
use of a dual-plug ignition, likely operated sequentially with one
spark plug firing an instant after the other to enhance both racetrack
performance and emissions control on the street.
Significantly, this revised engine architecture will allow Ducati to
adopt the same "frameless" chassis design as on the current MotoGP
racer, with the engine serving as a stressed member. Just like the
racer, the new superbike's front suspension will bolt directly to a
structural airbox attached to the top of the motor (likely
carbon-fiber on the R-model and metal on the lower-priced production
models). while the swingarm and subframe . will attach directly to the
crankcases and rear cylinder. The main benefits of this layout are
lower weight (saving more than 10 Ibs. over the current steel
trellis), improved rigidity and greater spatial design freedom. Ducati
filed another patent application in February (see Drawing the Line,
Me, May 2010) that describes a V-twin version of this design in
detail, and makes several references to "volume production."
Many of the features on this new superbike are rooted in a design
study made by Ducati Corse in 2001 for a twin-cylinder, 990cc MotoGP
racer, before the decision was made to develop the current V4. By
dusting off that abortive study and transferring the relevant
technology to a 1200cc twin, Ducati has made sure to incorporate the
benefits of racing the Desmosedici so successfully against the
Japanese factories while remaining true to its heritage-a vital
ingredient in its ongoing commercial success. This will be a major
turning point for the Italian company, and it's going to happen sooner
rather than later, because more than any other manufacturer, Ducati
relies on racetrack success to sell its motorcycles. Spokesmen
naturally decline to confirm the existence of any such project, but
these rumors have been substantiated by none other than Motosprint's
Massimo Clarke Italy's most respected and well-connected technical
journalist. No release date for the Superquadrata has yet been
announced.
