V4 Granturismo engine: goodbye to the trademark

All the hallmarks that, over the decades, had made Ducati a unique brand of its kind , different from the others,fall one after the other. From the dry clutch to the traliccio frame, from the two-cylinder configuration to today, to the abandonment of the Desmo.

Some people will say that it is progress, that those who stop are lost, which is very true, but there are aspects that make it unique, just as it happens to a person, a brand.

Then there are evolutions and evolutions; for example, the transition from the twin-cylinder to the four-cylinder is not that it has scandalized much. Moreover, it had already been used for years by Ducati in competitions and then the technological evolution was such as to make non-existent the advantages that the twin-cylinder could boast in the eighties and nineties.

Finally, this step was carried out in a very intelligent way, maintaining the V-shaped setting of 90 ° and the order of the “Twin Pulse” bursts, so much so that it can be said that the Desmosedici Stradale retains initself a strong twin-cylinder soul !

But the step that is being taken today, with the V4 Granturismo engine equipping the
new Multistrada V4,
is truly remarkable, a strong break with the past: it is the first engine since the Seventies without the Desmo distribution,with the return of the valves managed by the springs.

Of course, here too the situation is not comparable to that faced by Taglioni, with the time springs that were not able to manage excessive workloads, causing problems at high rotational regimes.

From a logical point of view, therefore, no problem; on an engine that calls itself touristy (even if it has a good 170 Hp!) the Desmo is in fact an unnecessary complication. But this is a speech by engineers or those who know how to do the math well and understand the advantage that can be gained from such long maintenance intervals thanks to the renunciation of this type of distribution.

Topics that perhaps do not involve the most passionate bikers, whose choices are not rational, but often driven by emotion, by what represents the means they drive.

Otherwise, if you really want to be logical, instead of multistrada it is possible that you evaluate the purchase of a much cheaper model to save quite a bit of money!

But the passion-driven motorcyclist does not do so for a number of reasons that convince him to shell out the several thousand euros more that divide models between them which, by force of things, are still very different in terms of content.

These include: Ducati is an Italian brand produced in Italy,it represents a first-level racing history still carried out with excellent results, it has a series of technological advantages (from Abs Cornering to electronic suspension, to name two) that really make the difference in terms of performance and active safety.

Then, there is the main reason, that name on the tank: it is a Ducati and there isno need to explain anything else, a bit like what happens to Ferrari, Armani and very few other brands in the world.

An exclusive advantage, therefore, that we are willing to pay, because it materializes into something equally distinctive and unique.

Just to give an example, those with economic availability buy a Jaeger-LeCoultre as a watch rather than a Casio, although at the basic performance level the two watches offer exactly the same service with the same efficiency: they mark the time, just as two bikes serve to move on two wheels.

The watch enthusiast, however, is willing to pay a substantial amount to get hold of an object whose complex processing of the mechanism he appreciates, which is handmade by very good master watchmakers and also, let’s face it, for the vanity of being able to exhibit an object of personality, rich in history.

Then, of course, the tourbillon, from a practical point of view, serves no purpose, it is just a wonderful complication.

This is also the case for Desmo, ducati’s distinctive trait for fifty years now, today useless even on racing engines, perhaps even at the highest levels, but it is the soul of Borgo Panigale’sproposal, it represents its history and identity.

How many times, among enthusiasts, has a discussion been put to an end about the advantages offered by the various brands simply stating that our bike had the Desmo engine?

These, however, are passionate speeches, because it is very likely that the V4 Granturismo engine will have the opportunity, over time, to be appreciated by everyone thanks to its skills, but the fact remains that its different solution for distribution will undoubtedly have its effect on long-standing ducatists. It is not only a question of nostalgia, but also of how special is the thinking of us bikers, who like to submit more to the rules of personality and emotion than to those of reason.