by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com
Come November 4, a new Ducati bike will be revealed. Called Multistrada V4, the two-wheeler is supposed to be the world’s first production motorcycle to be fitted with front and rear radars. But perhaps of more importance to us is the fact that it will use a brand new V4 engine, one the bike maker revealed on Thursday (October 15).
Because the powerplant is meant to animate the fourth and most advanced generation of the Multistrada V4, nothing was left to chance and, starting from the existing tech and taking inspiration from MotoGP, a beautiful piece of hardware was created.
Somewhat smaller that the version it replaces (85 mm shorter, 95 mm lower, but 20 mm wider), the engine is also light. It weighs 66.7 kg (147 pounds), 1.2 kg (2.6 pounds) less than the current record holder, the Testastretta twin-cylinder used on the previous Multistrada 1260.
1,158cc in displacement, the engine makes use of a new distribution with a spring valve return system, part chain/part gear – timing distribution, and a counter-rotating crankshaft. All this and a host of other engineering tricks allow the V4 Granturismo to spit out a massive amount of power: 170 hp at 10,500 rpm, and a maximum torque of 125 Nm at 8,750 rpm.
As said, apart from the engine the new Multistrada bike will bring to the table rider-assistance technologies that are not to be found anywhere else in the motorcycle industry.
More precisely, the bike comes with a front radar that governs the Adaptive Cruise Control (AAC) technology. It calculates and adjusts the distance from other vehicles, when the bike’s speed is between 30 and 160 km/h (18 to 99 mph).
At the rear a similar system will act as a type of early warning system and blind spot detector, alerting the rider when a vehicle approaches from behind at high speed.
So, we know most of the things we needed to know about the new Multistrada V4. All we have to do now is sit tight for a couple more weeks and wait for to Ducati to actually show it in the metal.
