A closer look at Ducati's Granturismo V4 engine

A significant new motorcycle from Ducati is not a rare occurrence. However, the introduction of a brand new engine certainly is, and a unit designed specifically to shatter pre-conceived notions about the cost of Ducati ownership and frequency of service intervals is rarer still. The V4 Granturismo, which will power the new Ducati Multistrada V4, is just such a thing.

Designed primarily to replace the existing 1260 Testastretta DVT twin that powers the current Multistrada, the new motor could hardly be more different. To begin with it now has four cylinders rather than two, and the difference in physical size is considerable (see the attached image for a comparison).

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Seeing it on the stand for the first time, it's striking how dinky the whole thing is and, at less than 67kg, looks ain't deceiving. It's 85mm less front-to-back, 95mm shorter top-to-bottom (due in part to a completely revised sump design which has the oil pump pick-up laying horizontally rather than vertically), and is only 20mm wider than the engine it replaces.

All of which means there are many more options available regarding its position in the frame and will no doubt help in terms of mass centralisation as well as contributing to a lower centre of gravity when mounted to the finished bike, without compromising ground clearance. This will likely have a favourable knock-on effect on seat height too.

But this is far from just being a re-worked version of the astounding V4 1100 that powers the Panigale range. For a start it makes way less power at around 170hp (because who needs 215hp on the dirt) but five Nm more at 125Nm; not something the Panigale was ever lacking in the first place. Both of these figures are achieved at much lower rpm more suited to a touring application, consequently putting less stress and wear on the internals.

More significant, and representing a massive break from tradition, the Granturismo is the only motorcycle engine produced by Ducati in the modern era that has conventional valve return springs rather than its tried and tested desmodromic solution.

Ducati first pursued the desmo set-up back in the day (1950s) as a way of negating the need for often unreliably manufactured valve springs which could either break at high revs or fail to return the valves quickly enough: either outcome resulting in unwanted valve-to-piston carnage.

Mechanically closed valves have been a hallmark and USP for the brand ever since and to go in another direction is a big step indeed. However, there are very good reasons for doing so on a bike aimed at the established front-runners in the expanding and highly competitive Adventure Touring market.

It would probably be fair to suggest that the general perception of Ducati engines is that they cost a lot to look after and need frequent servicing. This may be somewhat true of the top of the range superbikes but it's obviously not a desirable characteristic for a long distance Adventure bike: this motor addresses that in some style.
Desmodromically controlled valve-trains are notoriously hard on materials, particularly around the valve seats, but over its long experience with the system Ducati has honed (excuse the pun) and perfected its metallurgy to ensure longevity in this area. With this knowledge in hand, replacing the desmo system with much more mechanically sympathetic springs has vastly extended major service intervals.

We're talking 15,000km between oil changes and 60,000km for a major service (or as Ducati likes to say one-and-a-half-times round the equator). This is way beyond anything else in the category, or any other category for that matter. You could easily be the third owner before having to check valve clearances on this.

What's more the motor has been designed to be all things to all people. It has been specifically developed to offer a smooth response at really low off-road speeds (another reason to use valve springs), huge grunt in the midrange and sportsbike performance up top, with carefully chosen gear ratios to suit these three areas of operation.

The 1158cc V4 retains the counter-rotating crankshaft from the Desmosedici Stradale giving improved handling by negating some of the gyroscopic effects of the wheels as well as offering some anti-wheelie and rear-wheel-lift properties. Also, like the Stradale, the twin-pulse firing order is retained, where the two left cylinders fire before the two right cylinders, helping give it a more V-twin feel and sound. And to prevent your thighs getting cooked the rear bank of cylinders cuts out at a standstill to help manage heat transfer to the rider.

Make no mistake the Granturismo is a very big deal for Ducati and fires a shot across the bows of everything in the Adventure Touring market-place. It may be an unexpected break from tradition for the Bologna crew, but the service intervals alone will most certainly put the wind up the competition.

The 2021 Ducati Multistrada V4 is expected to arrive in the first quarter of 2021 with pricing starting at $28,990 ride away.