Uncut: Cathcart
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DUCATI 1098R TECHNICAL:
Racer with Lights
In creating the new 1098R as its passport to regaining Superbike supremacy under the new 1200cc twin-cylinder rules, Ducati took the new 1098 launched a year ago, and completely revamped it. A key issue in development was the greater restriction on tuning imposed by the new regulations, which meant this literally had to be a racer with lights. The F08 factory Superbikes raced by Troy Bayliss and Michel Fabrizio in the coming season - not to mention satellite team riders like Max Biaggi and Ruben Xaus - will differ from the customer streetbike only in having two-ring pistons for reduced friction, a rebalanced crankshaft to reflect the lighter weight of these, a lighter flywheel, and a different set of gear ratios, plus slightly smaller 320mm front brakes compared to the streetbike’s 330mm stoppers. Otherwise, the two bikes are pretty much identical technically - oh, hang on, not quite. To make sure the 162 kg. 1000c SBK fours Ducati will be competing against this year don’t get left behind, the street 1098R weighing 165 kg. (with oil and water, but no fuel) actually scales 3 kg. less than the 168 kg. minimum weight for the F07, and breathes a bit better, too, through elliptical-choke throttle bodies measuring the equivalent of a 63.9mm circular choke, against the racer’s 50mm restrictors imposed on it by the rules. Otherwise, that’s it: never before was a Ducati factory Superbike so similar to the streetbike it was derived from - the F08 Superbike racer even still wears the starter motor, thanks to the 6 kg. weight penalty it’s obliged to carry!
In producing a claimed 180 bhp at 9750 rpm (186 bhp fitted with the Superstock/track day race kit supplied with every bike, likewise with a 10,500 rpm revlimiter), and a meaty 13.7 kgm/134 Nm/99.1 ft/lb of torque at 7750 rpm in street guise, the 1098R’s Testastretta Evoluzione 90-degree V-twin desmo engine incorporates heaps of no-compromise race technology, while still preserving the 12,000 km. service intervals of any other Ducati streetbike. Weighing 56 kg. without throttle bodies, it’s 2.2 kg. lighter than the diecast 1098/S motor (and a massive 5.6 kg. less than the old 999 engine), thanks to 5% lighter sandcast crankcases and cylinder heads, a process usually reserved for prototypes and racers which improves the molecular quality of the casting, increasing strength while ensuring that intricate shapes are achieved with complete accuracy. Measuring 106 x 67.9 mm for a capacity of 1198cc (compared to the baseline 1098 model’s smaller 104 x 64.7 mm/1099cc dimensions), the engine has a 22% lighter nitrided crankshaft carrying forged RR58 aluminium three-ring Asso pistons mounted to Pankl titanium conrods saving 130g/29% over the stock 1098 steel rods, while reducing their reciprocating forces and improving crankshaft acceleration. The pistons feature the same design developed for the Desmosedici MotoGP racers, with a distinctive double-ribbed undercrown to achieve greater strength, while reducing wall surface contact area, thus minimising friction via reduced cylinder bore contact.
The 1098R’s 63.9mm elliptical throttle bodies - a type first used on the Desmosedici V4 MotoGP engine - are 6.5% bigger compared to the 1098’s 60mm equivalents, while for the first time ever on a production Ducati, twin injectors are used on each cylinder, each however still the same top-mounted single shower-type design as on the 1098 and 999, mounted side by side. The main centrally mounted injector feeds through a 4-hole nozzle and works all the time, while its secondary offset slave counterpart employs a 12-hole nozzle, but only works when the Magneti Marelli ECU determines that required fuel supply is greater than 30 millilitres per cycle, thus ensuring progressive fuelling and a fluid power delivery throughout the rev range. With this configuration, which must be retained on the Superbike racer, the system also has the capacity to provide much heavier fuelling when used in competition.
The sandcast cylinder heads deliver a 12.8:1 compression (slightly higher than the 1098’s 12.5:1 ratio, but much less than the racebike’s considerably higher but very secret numbers, mainly obtained by skimming the heads), and incorporate a revised combustion chamber still with the same 24.3-degree included valve angle as the 1098. The four chrome nitride (CrN)-coated titanium valves per cylinder have been increased in diameter over the smaller engine by approximately 5%, to 44.3mm for the inlet and 36.2mm for the exhaust (against the 1098’s 42/34 mm). They are actuated by rocker arms that are so-called super-finished (ultra-polished) for reduced friction and fatigue, while employing very light titanium half-cone valve retainers allows the use of aggressive profiles for the belt-driven double overhead camshafts, which deliver approximately 16% more lift than on the 1098. Carbon fibre cambelt and magnesium cam covers help further reduce weight, while the bodywork’s belly-pan, tank lower side panels, seat assembly and front fender are all also in carbon fibre, contributing to a 1.4 kg. weight saving over the 1098S likewise fitted with Ohlins suspension.
The 1098R’s six-speed transmission shares the same 1st, 2nd and 5th gear ratios as the 1098 and 1098S, with the other three longer to exploit the motor’s extra performance, while the top four ratios’ gear pinions are shotpeened for extra strength and reduced fatigue. The dry, multiplate slipper clutch now fitted as standard that’s missing from the 1098S is Ducati’s usual ramp-type design, until now only available as an aftermarket part from the Ducati Performance catalogue. The 2-1-2 exhaust system fitted with dual lambda probes employs 52-57mm diameter stainless steel (not titanium) tubing with an 0.8mm wall thickness, and terminates in Ducati’s trademark twin titanium-wrap under-seat silencers. To make it Euro 3 legal, the street exhaust comes fitted with a catalyst which is naturally missing from the racekit system supplied with every bike. This consists of less restrictive 102dB Termignoni carbon-wrap slip-ons and a dedicated ECU chip with mapping reconfigured to suit, which also initiates the system dialogue that controls the DTC (Ducati Traction Control) system.
For the 1098R is the first-ever production bike to be fitted with a true competition-level traction control system, integrated into its Magneti Marelli electronics package as standard equipment - unlike the more basic anti-spin system on the Kawasaki ZX-10R, it’s fitted with both front and rear wheel speed sensors, and a software programme developed in-house at Ducati Corse that’s so sophisticated it’s allegedly not even disclosed to their electronics partner Marelli! Working on a need-to-know basis, supplies of the 1098R’s separate DTC ECU (located under the seat on the bike, and linked to the main engine ECU) are apparently delivered to Ducati’s Bologna factory in blank form, where the software is then downloaded on to them, and of course protected by encryption. The result is an eight-level intervention package developed on-track by Ducati’s MotoGP test rider, Vittoriano Guareschi, that’s essentially identical in terms of software logic to the one employed by Casey Stoner and Troy Bayliss on their factory racers. This reads the relative speeds of the two wheels, then matches them to engine rpm, throttle angle, gear selected and the engine map, to deliver instant electronic adjustment to the ignition advance, or when more extreme intervention is required, a pattern of spark cuts initiating immediate control over engine torque, calculating how much to remove so as to restore the targeted degree of traction at the rear wheel, before re-establishing normal delivery when this is attained. In this way, DTC provides a significant advantage during mid-corner acceleration - but the rider can choose from eight different degrees of intervention, varying from Level One (hardly any control) to Level Eight (lots of it). The system can only be used with the racekit exhaust, however, since otherwise the amount of unburnt fuel left behind when the electronics cut out the ignition spark, would destroy the catalyst in the street exhaust. With the introduction of this genuine race-quality traction control system, there’s no denying that Ducati has once again raised the technical bar for the sportbike category by transferring its World Superbike and MotoGP race technology to its production street range. Like I said - a racer with lights…..
This more powerful new motor is housed in the same traditional heavily triangulated Ducati tubular steel chassis as the 1098 (and 848), weighing 9 kg. and made from 34mm tubing, with a 1.5mm wall thickness to achieve a high stiffness-to-weight ratio. Again as on the other bikes, there’s a single-sided composite-section aluminium swingarm here painted black on the 1098R, which pivots in both frame and engine cases and employs castings for the pivot and axle hub, allied to fabricated sheet alloy parts in the centre. Underlining its racetrack focus, the 1098R only comes as a single-seater, allowing a 50% weight reduction in the rear aluminium subframe to 1.3kg, while up front there’s a cast magnesium subframe scaling 0.61 kg. which offers a similar saving while supporting the headlamp, instruments and fairing.
The ultimate in fully-adjustable Öhlins suspension is fitted at both ends on the 1098R, with the TiN-coated 43mm upside-down forks set at a fixed 24.5-degree head angle offering 97mm of trail, with a 1430mm wheelbase resulting in a more forward 51/49% weight distribution thanks to the 6mm higher stock rear ride height compared to the 1098 - though a key feature on both bikes is the ability to adjust rear ride height independent of spring preload and other suspension settings, a critical element in seeking the perfect set-up for your own personal riding style, or different tracks. Operated by the single-sided swingarm via a progressive-rate link is a fully-adjustable, light, and very compact Öhlins TTX36 monoshock developed in World Superbike and MotoGP competition over the past year, here used for the first time on a Ducati streetbike, which is aimed at delivering optimum compliance at a considerable weight-saving over similar components employing traditional technology. The ‘TT’ refers to the unit’s twin tube technology, which differs from a conventional shock in that the twin piggyback damper tubes offer totally separate damping adjustment in both compression and rebound, while minimising friction and reducing the risk of cavitation in extreme conditions, thanks to an internal pressure of only 6.0 bar, compared to 12.0 bar on a normal Öhlins. Unlike on a conventional shock, where altering compression damping also slightly affects the rebound, and vice versa, on the TTX these are fully separated, so can be controlled independently via 20-click adjusters on each damper tube. The shock can also be serviced more quickly, including changing damper shims, a crucial element in track use. The Öhlins package is completed with a fully-adjustable steering damper.
Forged aluminium Marchesini wheels, featuring the Brembo-owned Italian supplier’s distinctive construction with five bifurcated Y-spokes, are fitted on the 1098R, the front wheel 3.50 in. in width mounted with a 120/70-17 Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa Pro tyre that’s essentially race rubber for the street developed on an ongoing basis in the World Supersport series, with a 6.00 in. rear shod with a 190/55-17 cover. These tyres were especially developed for Ducati by their Italian compatriots, employing the competition tyres’ casing, profile and minimalist tread pattern (in spite of which they’re still highway-legal worldwide), but with a special SP street compound, compared to the four SC0-SC3 race compounds already available. This was developed for extended mileage in street use on a hyper-torquey twin like this one, without undue sacrifice in grip.
Like its 1098 sister, the 1098R is also equipped with Brembo’s 330mm soup-plate front discs, gripped by radially-mounted Brembo Monobloc four-piston calipers machined from a single aluminium billet. Unlike on current bolted-up four-pad calipers, the Monobloc version employs just two pads, since the structure is so stiff, you don’t need the extra grip offered by four pads, one for each piston, else you’d risk locking the front wheel. At the rear there’s a small 245mm disc with two-piston caliper.
The 1098R features the same advanced Digitek digital dash as the 800cc Desmosedici GP7 MotoGP racer, which contains no switches or press-buttons on the display itself, but instead is controlled via a switch on the left handlebar, offering a wide range of readout options. Some of these come in both bar graph and/or digital mode, and include engine rpm, speed, lap times, temperatures, etc., as well as the DDA/Ducati Data Analayser downloadable telemetry system. This memorises up to 2Mb or 3.5 hours of data, which you can download by detaching the memory stick located under the rear seat and plugging it into a laptop - it records lap times, water temp, road speed, rpm, gear selected, throttle opening and distance covered.
