V4SL vs V4R Motor. Any difference?

Been comparing part numbers and specs. Except for some Ti fasteners, I cant see any difference in spec between the two motors. Anyone have anything different? Some publication claimed that the SL motors are hand assembled by a guy in a wizard hat? Don't know. Same publication also said Titanium cam shafts. No. Valves, rods yes same as the 4R. Cams, no. Just looking for some additional (real) data. The wings on the 4R have grown on me over time, not to the point I see having then on a street bike but the wings on the SL? Im not really sure what to think there. Looks like Ducati pulled an aerodynamicist from Airbus cause those things look like they belong on a fuselage. Thoughts? Other than the wings (opinion) the bike looks great. Wheels are still the best carbon examples out there.

Cant add anything about the engine differences except that they probably dont need to boost power so much as rely on the 20 kg weight drop to improve performance. Still wont make an average rider into a Stoner but it will make them feel like it! What i can add is that I have enough experience with foils that the wings on this thing will have been 100% engineered but a lot of the performance is still a dark unknown art. Look at the variations in GP, look at the CB1000RRR, never mind what Ducati says they are definitely not the last word in aero. I find the end plates extremely interesting,
They increase the effective aspect ratio of the winglet and reduce the induced drag for a given amount of downforce (negative lift). Because there is a practical limit to width on a bike (probably GP rules and they most likely operate at higher Reynolds numbers, i.e in turbulent flow. End plates add a lot of area, (read drag) especially at high speed so the art is in the tradeoffs. I would not like to ride to close to this bike at high speed in any case and as for the the aesthetics, its personal and hey even the 999 has a fan club!

The only thing I kept reading different were Ti cams. I thought they would go with Ti exhaust valves or gear driven cams and perhaps reach for a 17k redline. I really didn't like the wings at first either but mine have grown on me but the SL wings

endodoc said:

Been comparing part numbers and specs. Except for some Ti fasteners, I cant see any difference in spec between the two motors. Anyone have anything different? Some publication claimed that the SL motors are hand assembled by a guy in a wizard hat? Don't know. Same publication also said Titanium cam shafts. No. Valves, rods yes same as the 4R. Cams, no. Just looking for some additional (real) data. The wings on the 4R have grown on me over time, not to the point I see having then on a street bike but the wings on the SL? Im not really sure what to think there. Looks like Ducati pulled an aerodynamicist from Airbus cause those things look like they belong on a fuselage. Thoughts? Other than the wings (opinion) the bike looks great. Wheels are still the best carbon examples out there.

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From what i was told its pretty much same engine as v4r except it has titanium camshafts, they are obviously coated but will be interesting to see how they wear. In race trim its still 7kg heavier than the bmw hp4race

Honestly IMO that’s the only thing i find disappointing about the SL, it’s not like they ported and polished the heads, or gave it us a preview of the next gen V4 engine. For 100k they could of definitely gone a little bit for special on the engine IMO

Keith197 said:

The only thing I kept reading different were Ti cams. I thought they would go with Ti exhaust valves or gear driven cams and perhaps reach for a 17k redline. I really didn't like the wings at first either but mine have grown on me but the SL wings

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I’d love to see the SL wings on a streetfighter

So at this point, I’m thinking the motor is a dead stock (plus some Ti bolts) R motor. Nothing wrong with that. It’s a beast of a power plant. Paul, great points on the aerodynamic aspects of design progression. As you said the overall size of a motorcycle and containment considerations are for sure something to consider. Personally I like the more blended integration as opposed to a stand alone airfoil. Also wondering why as on the 1299SL, no carbon fuel tank.

They might not have gone wild on motor development for the SL to keep costs down. It's already a 100k bike, imagine if they also had to tag on the bill for the R&D that would have netted maybe another 10-15hp.

The Ducati is claiming a 224 hp at 15,250 rpm and 83 lb-ft of torque at 11,750 RPM. Ducati Superleggera V4 features a carbon fiber front frame. The dry weight of only 335 lb which is 44 lb less than V4R.

A very interesting comparison is Scott Reddings racebike currently for sale, with a claimed 250hp- not a massive jump from 235. I think its probably a testament to how much they have moved the dial on the R engine that there isn't a lot more room for development using current tech for a streetbike unless you start spending and as mentioned upping the SL price even more.

If you ride them seriously at the track...it's a re-build at least every season...otherwise you'll pull a Zanetti and find oil all over the bike, blue smoke...and a black flag pointed at you-

They are getting the high numbers in the heads, electronics and the tune. The team manager from PATA Yamaha did a recent video on the M1 WSBK being mostly stock except for the head work, cams, intake, exhaust and electronics. He said that’s 40 hp I have a set of ex Motorapido 1199 heads. The ports and combustion chambers have extensive work RS cams, large DW valves etc. The bike ran with MM electronics, Corse FI setup and the Storm exhaust. The V4 R and SL make way more power than most could ever use so that’s not an issue. Not sure how most SLs spend their lives. I’m sure many end up on a stand and others are ridden to failure but I agree with MMC. They won’t last long heavily flogged.