Super Fast, Super Strong Cool Bikes

The noteworthy addition to this platform is a bespoke powerplant that uses a new vacuum die-casting method called Vacural which results in an engine that weighs about 7 lbs less than the old 749. The “Testastretta Evoluzione” motor uses a 94.0 x 61.2mm bore and stroke to yield 849cc. No, that’s not a typo – this continues Ducati’s disregard for its nomenclature matching the engine’s displacement: the old 749 displaced 748cc; the standard 999 was 998cc; and the 1098 has a 1099cc engine.

In conjunction with the V-Twin’s increased bore and stroke, everything else in the engine is correspondingly larger. Intake valves are up 2.5mm (39.5mm) and the exhaust’s are enlarged 1.5mm (32mm). Feeding those valves is a pair of 56mm throttle bodies that are fashioned in the contemporary F1-style elliptical shape, up from the round-port 54mm injectors from the 749. (more…)