Sneak Peek! 2003 Ducati Multistrada
SNEAK PEEK! 2003 DUCATI MULTISTRADA
ROUNDUP
WHAT SPORTBIKE fanatic hasn’t at some point cursed his mount’s low-rise handlebars and rearset footpegs, its thinly padded saddle and firmly damped, short-travel suspension? Gads! Must comfort and performance forever remain mutually exclusive?
Ducati thinks not. And the boys from Bologna have done something about it, in the process creating what they believe is bikedom’s newest niche, the Moto Totale, or total motorcycle. Set to debut at the Milan Show in September, the “MultiStrada” will be “a mutant 996« not an enduro with some road bits added on,” claims stylist Pierre Terblanche, in a not-so-subtle reference to Cagiva’s Gran Canyon, which he also penned.
To that end, the chassis is based on Ducati’s title-winning racer, right down to its singlesided swingarm. The frame employs identical front trclliswork, but with a steel subframe welded on in place of the 996’s bolted-on aluminum subsection. The fully adjustable inverted fork and rear shock offer a tad more travel than their track-spec counterparts, and are accompanied by huge dual-disc front brakes and newly designed 17-inch wheels wearing fat low-profile radiais. “It will have a 56.3-inch wheelbase,” adds Terblanche, “and weigh 437 pounds.” The addition of a newly developed anti-lock braking system was also mentioned. If true, it would be a Ducati first.
Power source for this new breed of two-wheeler is an equally new air-cooled 992cc engine. Said to be more powerful and reliable, as well as less costly to produce and service than the current 904cc package, the dry-clutch, fucl-injcctcd 94.0 x 71.5mm VTwin uses four-valve heads with narrower (54 versus 60 degrees) included valve angles and one 996R-style plain-bearing camshaft per cylinder. Twin sparkplugs, a project prerequisite, promote improved combustion, plus better cooling and fuel efficiency. Claimed output is 90 horsepower, a 12-bhp boost over the Monster 900 and 7 bhp up on the liquid-cooled 944cc ST2.
All of this is mated to upright ergonomics virtually identical to those of the Gran Canyon. The tubular handlebar is wide, the two-piece seat is broad and flat, and the footpegs are lower and farther forward than on any other current Ducati, including those of the Monster.
Utility is another all-important aspect of this new machine. Not only will saddlebags and a top trunk be among the accessories, but various compartments incorporated into the half-fairing, gas tank and seat afford additional on-bike storage. The lower portions of the fairing, for example, contain trap doors that open out to allow access to the battery and fusebox on the right, and to maps, jacket liner, etc. on the left. Smaller toll-change and toolkit cubbies are located aft of the gas-tank cap and beneath the passenger pillion. Underseat mufflers allow easy fitment of the luggage and guarantee cornering clearance will not be a concern, though fitment of an emissions-reducing catalytic converter has so far precluded the mounting of a centerstand.
Borrowing from what it learned with the MH900e, Ducati developed and évalu-
As is becoming commonplace these days, much of the MultiStrada’s 5.5-gallon gas tank resides beneath its seat, so as to provide ample airbox capacity.
ated important elements of the MultiStrada on computer prior to building clay mockups. Turinbased Idea Institute has worked with many car-makers, including Fiat, BMW and Lamborghini, and counts Ducati as its biggest bike client. “We worked with Idea on and off for a year, full-time for the last two to three months,” says Terblanche. “We send engineers there to work with the designers to help speed things up.”
With the computer,
the goal is to speed up industrialization, not to mention exploring alternative ideas without the cost of pricey prototypes. “The 916 took V/2 years to develop,” explains Terblanche. “It’s what killed (former parent company) Cagiva.
Ducati cannot afford to do the same. In the future, we’ll spend no more than three years developing a new model.”
Not only is the MultiStrada a new model, it is the first in a new family of Ducatis, slotting nicely alongside the Superbike, Super Sport, Sport Touring and Monster series. There’s already talk of an S version, complete with a liquid-cooled 996 powerplant, Öhlins suspension and carbon-fiber body pieces. “This bike will have a big visual impact, as much as the MH900e,” Terblanche says with a broad smile. “It’s a franchise bike.”
Matthew Miles
