Having owned an old Bevel drive cam Duck I have a soft spot in my heart for this marque, and I like the chutzpa Ducati has shown with the introduction with the oddly styled Multistrada. This is however the 21st century. Desmodromic valve actuation no longer represents the cutting edge of technology. The advance in metallurgy has made the desmo cam layout an obsolete, and ridiculously expensive vestige that should be put to rest. Hopfully Ducati will continue to sell enough motorcycles to stay in business. I for one feel that their task would be easier without the high mantainence cost of their products. VWW
Ducati Northwest Rally 2004
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Losing the Desmo valve actuation would be a big risk for Ducati.
I think they are afraid that if they loose the air-cooled pushrod 45 V-Twin, oops that's Harley. What I meant to say is: If Ducati tosses the Desmo valvetrain, they are at risk of being seen as a direct competitor to the Japanese. They'll loose a piece of thier "cool" and most likely be judged less as an icon and more on a KPaulKook price/performance basis.
I think they are afraid that if they loose the air-cooled pushrod 45 V-Twin, oops that's Harley. What I meant to say is: If Ducati tosses the Desmo valvetrain, they are at risk of being seen as a direct competitor to the Japanese. They'll loose a piece of thier "cool" and most likely be judged less as an icon and more on a KPaulKook price/performance basis.
This is a fairly long article but I found it informative in regards to the Ducati strategy for selling motorcycles. For those who wonder why Ducati makes the bikes they make and what their strategy is for selling bikes, present and future, this interview with Minoli explains it pretty well.
Minoli Interview
If you wonder if it's working (sorry, I've posted this link before- and I'll quit. I'm just about over my irk that an '03 Ducati loss got head billing in an MO forum but the profit in '04's Q1 went unmentioned)
Ducati Profits Q1 2004
Minoli Interview
If you wonder if it's working (sorry, I've posted this link before- and I'll quit. I'm just about over my irk that an '03 Ducati loss got head billing in an MO forum but the profit in '04's Q1 went unmentioned)
Ducati Profits Q1 2004
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3,415 Posts
Re: No Desmo
They'd take a hit from a few purists who'd accuse them of selling out, but overall I think they're market share would increase. Their percieved though perhaps not real maintainance costs keeps alot of people off them.
As long as they keep the L twin or bring out the Desmoseddici engine and keep their avante garde styling they'll keep their identity intact
I guess they'd have to call it a Quatroseddici but that still sounds cool
They'd take a hit from a few purists who'd accuse them of selling out, but overall I think they're market share would increase. Their percieved though perhaps not real maintainance costs keeps alot of people off them.
As long as they keep the L twin or bring out the Desmoseddici engine and keep their avante garde styling they'll keep their identity intact
I guess they'd have to call it a Quatroseddici but that still sounds cool
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21 Posts
I would suspect that BMW would be second only to Honda in the amount of money they could throw at the problem of building a MotoGP bike. And after Valentino Rossi wins the championship two or three times on the Yamaha, and his contract runs out, he'll be looking for a new challenge. I thought I heard a rumor around the time that BMW announced the K1200S that they were thinking of building a MotoGP entrant (I would think homologation rules would make it difficult for them to enter WSB unless they decided to build a shorter-wheelbase, smaller engined production variant of the K1200S). Pair up BMW's deep pockets, and Rossi's incredible abilities, and you could see BMW sitting on top of a premier class podium in a few years.
Speaking of Rossi and MotoGP, what were the odds that the two riders tied for first place in the points-running would both crash out in the same race? When Sete Gibernau crashed, I figured that the championship was basically over, and that Rossi was virtually untouchable as long as he finished on the podium in the rest of the races. Then Rossi crashed out, and the season looked wide-open again. My money's still on The Doctor, but I think this will make the rest of the season that much more exciting.
Speaking of Rossi and MotoGP, what were the odds that the two riders tied for first place in the points-running would both crash out in the same race? When Sete Gibernau crashed, I figured that the championship was basically over, and that Rossi was virtually untouchable as long as he finished on the podium in the rest of the races. Then Rossi crashed out, and the season looked wide-open again. My money's still on The Doctor, but I think this will make the rest of the season that much more exciting.
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