First and foremost, Ducati has renamed the new Ducati Multistrada V4 as the Granturismo V4 – what with the amount of new premium features including front and rear radars.
Okay, with that out of the way, there is now a startling news that the Granturismo V4’s engine will not utilise Ducati’s signature Desmo (short for desmodromic) valvetrain. Instead, it will use the conventional springed valves.
The V4 engine is adopted from the Streetfighter V4, rather than the Panigale V4. As such, it shares the same 2mm larger bore and 14:1 compression ratio. That higher compression ratio necessitates the use of high octane petrol. However, the Granturismo’s V4 will be tuned for more tractable torque compared to the outright horsepower of the Streetfighter.
What we know thus far is that the new 1200cc engine will deliver 168 hp and 125 Nm of torque. It does not look like a large increase over the existing V-Twin engine but be assured that Ducati was aiming for stronger and smoother torque throughout the RPM range, without resorting to an overly complex variable lift and timing setup. These considerations are the pre-requisites for the sport-tourer motorcycle as it needs to carry a passenger, luggage and other accessories.
Ducati also revealed that the new valvetrain produces long service intervals of 60,000km, compared to 40,000km for the Desmo.
