Variable valve timing for new Ducati Multistrada

The email from Ducati Australia was straight to the point, announcing that “DVT is coming on October 15”.  It initially had us scratching our heads – Deep Vein Thrombosis is already in the public domain – until we realised it’s the Italian company’s more personal term –

Ducati Valve Timing – for the variable valve timing that has been engineered into the desmodromic valves of the Ducati Multistrada, set for release in Milan on November 3 alongside the new 1299 ‘stop-gap’ superbike, designed by Ducati not to get left behind when the new Evo world superbike rules are introduced for 2015. But more on that later.

But first, ‘Ducati Valve Timing’ will be launched on October 15 at the American Motorcycle Expo in Orlando, Florida.  The Multistrada will use the Testastretta 11°, and we expect to find out a lot more about in Orlando about how the DVT system will actually work insofar as altering the duration and lift of the valves.

Variable valve timing certainly isn’t a new frontier, as Honda’s has used its VTEC technology for over a decade, which many opined was technology for technology’s sake. Will Ducati get it right? Based on how the company has taken technology all before it over the last few years – the Panigale Superquadro engine is a case in point – DVT could be a winner, as well as being suited to an adventure bike like the Multistrada.

DVT aside, the new Multistrada is expected to look much the same as the predecessor, with subtle styling changes rather than being hit with a hatchet.