Would an L4 still use the 270 degree firing pattern?
If so how would they do that? I can only think of two ways. Either two cylinders are firing at once, then the others 270 degrees later. If that's true, I don't see how a 1000 cc L4 would make more power? The other option is 2 fire, wait 270, one other fires, wait 270, last one fires repeat. This might make more power, but torque would suffer.
Of course they could abandon the 270 firing pattern, but that means the non-firing pistons would not be travelling at max speed @ ignition, which is the beauty of the 270 twin design.
Anyway, if they are limited to 1000 cc's (per 4 cyl rules) it would seem that torque is going to suffer at the expense of top end HP. That would suck b/c torque is why most buy these things. I'd like to see a 3 cyl desmo 270 degree motor.
confused
I also don't see how a V-4 behaves differently than an inline-4 in terms of the torque vs top-end power tradeoff. Looking at the torque figure for a Desmosedici RR - it's no different than any current inline-4 1000cc superbike, which are all significantly less than the torque laid down by the 1299.
I like how twins deliver power. That top-end surge on a traditional superbike is mind-warping - fun in the right circumstances but also intimidating. My 1299 is leaps and bounds faster than the S1000RR it replaced, but it doesn't feel as manic; if anything, it feels slower. In other words, I think I feel less acceleration Gs at any given moment, but my overall acceleration rate is faster.
While the idea of owning a street-legal V-4 Ducati, with 230-250hp and a warranty, *sounds* cool (and will undoubtedly literally sound amazing), the experience will unquestionably be different and be more in line with everything else out there. Then the choice ends up being if one prefers an even-firing screamer or an uneven big-bang firing motor. And huge torque numbers will be off the table period.
oh, and HUGE dealbreaker - if Ducati uses a perimeter frame, I won't buy it. I don't care if it's the best handling bike ever made. If I want a perimeter framed bike, I'll go back to BMW.
although...what if Ducati went halfway, using something similar to the BMW F800S frame. Single sided swingarm bolted directly to the crankcase, making the engine a stressed frame member...but then a half-perimeter frame around the motor? There's being faithful to tradition, sacrilege....but what do you call something that's in between? lol
(note: the Panigale breaks one key Ducati tradition - the frame. But it gets a huge pass on this in my book, because Preziosi/MotoGP. It didn't work, but it was one incredibly clever design that makes it a terrible shame that it wasn't successful, and part of my 1299 ownership experience is in homage to Preziosi's out-of-the-box thinking and elegant solutions, doing more with less. It's damned nearly on par with the Britten 1000. Perhaps not coincidentally, both secure the headstock to the frame with minimalist frames and use the motor as a stressed member holding the entire bike together.)
