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The Ducati Panigale V4 R It arrived at the last Milan Motor Show as Borgo Panigale's definitive weapon to storm the World Superbike Championship. Equipped with a 998 cubic centimeter V4 engine, it lowers its displacement from the 1,103 cc of the normal V4, but in return it offers a massive 221 hp (234 hp with the Ducati Performance exhaust from Akrapovič).
With first-rate technology, improved aerodynamics including side wings to generate up to 30 kg of load at 270 km / h on the front end and variations in the cycle part was still not enough, and Ducati decided a posteriori to equip the final version with the characteristic dry clutch Of the brand. But why?
We want the Panigale V4 R to be the most competitive bike
A few days ago, Ducati confirmed that the Ducati Panigale V4 R would be fitted as standard one of the most longed-for elements on Borgo Panigale street and circuit motorcycles. recovering the clutch dry and with it its particular clink and that sight of the clutches turning to one side of the engine.
Until now the units that we have seen in EICMA and in the promotional photographs of the Ducati Panigale V4 R, the right side of the engine showed a conventional clutch, in oil bath, but there have been changes that have generated doubts and curiosity in equal parts.
To shed some light we have contacted Pablo Silvan, Ducati department head in Spain, who has confirmed to us that the motivation is much more passionate than rational, as usual in the Italian firm, at the same time that they seek their greatest objective: to regain the WSBK title.
For Ducati, and more especially with the V4 R, "their motivation is offer customers the highest technology developed in competition. As an example, the V4 R is equipped with a counter-rotating crankshaft, twin pulse firing order with the same phase shift as in MotoGP, same valve sizes, same chassis suspension studies, derived suspensions, electronics with seven-axis IMU … ".
Of course the dry clutch is inherent in competition motorcycles not only from Ducati, but from all brands. In Borgo Panigale this element was one of the most outstanding characteristics of the firm's motorcycles, going back to the days of the single-cylinder and the first Ducati 750 F1, then passing through the 851, 888, 916/996/998, 999 and 1098 / 1198 but with the arrival of the first 1199 Panigale was no longer used.
Although they were homologated under the governing Euro3 regulation in 2012, less restrictive at the level of mechanical noise than the current Euro4, the Ducati 1199 Panigale gave up dry clutches for its loudness superior to an oil bath clutch. "The twins of the first Panigale were already very noisy engines by themselves, they went to the decibel limit. With the inclusion of the dry clutch this limit would be exceeded and they could not be homologated," says Silván.
The sound is the main limitation for the adoption of a dry clutch for a street motorcycle but it's not the only downside. Dry clutches operate more roughly, they have less durability and when using open covers it generates dirt from wear.
Against the great drawbacks of this type of system, Silván points out that " dry clutches also offer substantial benefits in racing As the operating temperature decreases, there are no losses of power when having to move the oil with the clutch, it lengthens the life of the engine because the abrasive particles that come off the clutch discs do not remain in the oil (although use filters) and allows mechanical adjustment of the slipper clutch setting ".
In short, "the clutch in oil is better for a user of a street motorcycle or who goes sporadically to do batches on the track, but the Ducati Panigale V4 R is a motorcycle expressly designed to be fast on the track", so in Borgo Panigale have been put to work to offer this element.
The adoption of the dry clutch has consisted mainly of a work to isolate it acoustically. "It has been difficult to comply with the Euro4. The acoustic emissions have been limited more than those of gases", underlines the person in charge of Ducati. Acoustic insulation is basically a closed cover with a special treatment to prevent noise from escaping, so the images that illustrate this article are of optional equipment with an open cover that exposes part of the clutch.
On why the decision was made to mount this type of clutch when the V4 Rs that we had seen were with an oil bath clutch, Silván tells us that two lines of work have been followed: "The EICMA motorcycles have been pre-series units, while the racing prototypes did use the dry clutch. They were working on making the series bike have it but development had not yet been completed."
We could not resist the temptation and ask Pablo Silván if there was not a certain marketing factor in this decision and his answer was blunt: " It is not marketing. The purpose was to make a racing bike as competitive as possible. What Ducati wants is to win the WSBK. "After all, to be able to use this element it has to be mounted on the street bike.
By the way, as we have confirmed from Ducati, there will be a specific kit for the Ducati Panigale V4 and V4 S to convert the clutch in oil into a dry clutch. Only for purebred ducatists.
