“Make the 1098 More Usable…”

I came across this Desmoblog entry about three weeks after the fact.

Dated November 30, its from the personal files of Ducati Corse CEO Claudio Domenicali. The entire article is relavent- revised philosophies on design and development and so forth- but I’m trying to keep the old copy and paste to a minimum.

 The part that matters to us is what reads as consumer concern about the 848, specifically why the engineers went with a wet clutch. I have only owned one Ducati- the wet clutched S2R. I’ve never ridden a dry clutch bike, so for now, I’ll remain ignorant. Wet clutch, dry clutch- Claudio didn’t write this entry to answer any of my questions.

 

Now let’s take a look at the 848. We all agree, and rightly so, that it’s a fantastic bike. 134hp and 168kg are figures that speak for themselves. Our goal was to make the 1098 more usable. Let’s say that the 848 is our ‘Boxter’. So let’s get straight to the point with regards to the clutch. I’ve read that ‘a Ducati is a motorcycle with a Trellis frame, a twin-cylinder Desmo engine and a dry clutch’. According to that definition, the GP7 isn’t a real Ducati so we didn’t win the MotoGP World Championship after all. And neither are the Monster 620 and 695 and the S2R… looks like we’re coming apart, doesn’t it?! Ok,ok I’

m playing around with you. The point is this: just how should a Ducati really be defined?

A Ducati is, according to me, a sports bike characterised by attention to detail, quality materials, on-road performance and purity. A motorcycle built better than any other, a bike for passionate connoisseurs that is as fast and enjoyable as can be.

The oil-bath (wet) clutch fitted on the 848 weighs 1.6kg less than the dry one and is much more durable. It is, therefore, the best clutch possible for this bike. Remember, my job is to come up with bikes with the best possible set-up so if, in time, technology evolves and provides us with solutions that were once deemed impractical, then these solutions should, I think, also be used on Ducati motorcycles. The dry clutch is still commonly used in the racing world as it allows – dimensions being equal – transmission of greater torque. So if size is the limiting factor then the dry clutch is the most practical solution.

As managers, our duty is to protect and defend both customers and the company’s staff and suppliers, and that is best done by making decisions that maximise the probability that a product is successful in the marketplace. One way of doing this is to offer, within the product range, differentiated characteristics so that each individual customer can, where possible, find a Ducati product that responds perfectly to his or her needs and wants. In my opinion, the 848 must allow Ducati to demonstrate its outstanding brand qualities to motorcyclists who, until now, have sought out other producers. With these customers, making sure that the products on offer are nothing less than excellent and eliminating certain causes for criticism ( for example: noise and high maintenance costs) is more important than ever. So cheer up…variety is the spice of life.

 

I encourage you to read the rest of the article. Check it out by clicking here.