• last year
Visiting the Ducati factory and the grand prix of Mugello to understand Ducati’s innovation in the field of electronics.

Check out the full story here: https://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle-news/ducati-factory-visit-technology-overview/

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Sports
Transcript
00:00 This is the famous road between Bologna and Florence, where Ducati tests and develops its production motorcycles.
00:06 A modern Ducati is defined as much by its electronics as it is its V-twin and V-4 engines.
00:13 We spent the day in Borgo Panigale talking to engineers to find out more.
00:25 Andrea, so when we talk about electronics in motorcycles, what are we talking about?
00:30 Well, electronics is quite wide in motorcycles because electronics is something which helps you in many areas.
00:40 First of all, in terms of safety.
00:42 So, electronics is intended for safety, so to improve the safety of your ride.
00:47 Another area of improvement is for your pleasure, to improve your comfort.
00:54 So, we can think that electronics is a mix between safety and comfort, I think.
01:02 Okay, and what are those systems precisely?
01:05 We talk about rider aids, we talk about various things like that.
01:09 We have a lot of systems with the bike, talking about our flagship Multistrada V4, where we put our cutting-edge electronics.
01:17 We have a lot of electronic systems and functions, comfort-oriented and safety-oriented.
01:23 We range from ride-by-wire with power mode, traction control with multi-level, wheelie control.
01:32 We have semi-active suspension, front radar with adaptive cruise control, rear radar with blind spot detector.
01:42 Connected cluster with the possibility to mirror your smartphone, both Android and iOS system,
01:49 in order to mirror a navigation map, I mean a cartographic navigation map, so it's not a turn-by-turn basic system.
01:57 And then we have a full LED lighting.
02:00 We have functions like minimum preload, which means that the system, when you ask the function and you are approaching the traffic light,
02:09 so you have to stop the bike, the bike can lower and then you can reach the ground easily.
02:16 And when you start, the system moves up again the bike autonomously.
02:21 We have full LED cornering light, which improves your safety while riding during the night.
02:29 We have so many electronics, which follow a strict process of development in order to assure the quality of our customers.
02:39 And essentially what we're talking about is any area that the rider is interacting with the motorcycle.
02:44 At this point, a lot of those are covered by electronics, so ride by wire throttle, brakes, shifting, of course the way the engine is controlled.
02:55 All of that is really, electronics are in essence the brains behind the motor, the brakes, maybe the rider to some degree too, as they intervene.
03:06 Well, the rider is still the rider. The rider has the pleasure of riding in, let me say, in an environment or in a way to have, let me say, a more comfort experience.
03:23 A more protected experience, protected by electronic systems.
03:30 You are, let me say, in a public road. You are in a public road, you are not in a closed environment.
03:37 So, I think that electronics enhance this kind of, let me say, experience, because it leaves you the possibility to have this experience in a more comfort and safe way.
03:50 So, how has technology transferred from the racing world, MotoGP and World Superbike, to production motorcycles?
03:57 Thank you for the question. So, we have a strict relation between racing and production motorcycles.
04:05 Our journey regarding transformation in terms of electronics on production motorcycles started in 2008 with the 1090 AR.
04:17 That was the first motorcycle equipped with production motorcycles, equipped with traction control.
04:24 So, at that time, we understood in production the need of starting to develop our own software.
04:33 That software of this bike came exactly from racing. Obviously, adapted for a production motorcycle, because between racing and production there are some differences.
04:46 Firstly, you don't have a professional rider. Secondly, you are not in a closed environment, like in a circuit. You are in a public road.
04:57 And third, you need to have a bike homologated. So, there are some differences, but it's relevant to get the competencies and the experience from the racing
05:12 to get some hints and to get some, let's say, faster deploy on production motorcycles.
05:19 And this is what we do since 2008. Since 2008, we deployed software control strategy in our production motorcycle.
05:30 We developed our own software, both for what we call vertical dynamics, which is suspension, semi-active suspension.
05:37 The software is our own software. And even for what we call lateral dynamics, like traction control, wheel control, launch control and slide control.
05:51 So, the history and the story started in 2008.
05:56 Ok, and since then, how much more sophisticated have they become?
06:00 A lot, really a lot. You have a lot of freedom. And it's just the process of never giving up and finding really new improvements.
06:13 And this is like we do. Year by year, we release new improvements and we do, step by step, new additional functions.
06:23 Doing this and following this methodology, when you look behind, you say, "Oh, how far we were".
06:31 I think that technology and refinement on the software is like when you are looking for weight.
06:41 To make 1 kilo, you need 1000 grams. But the software is the same. Add step by step and insist on it.
06:51 In terms of sophistication, how does a production Panigale V4, how does its electronic system compare with the sophistication of a MotoGP bike?
07:02 Well, both are two sophisticated bikes. Each on their area of use, in each field, I think that they are at a very high level.
07:22 Since years, we are recognized as a kind of reference for production motorcycles in terms of vehicle dynamics, software controls.
07:32 So, this is due to the strict contact between racing and production motorcycles.
07:40 So, the deploy of this experience from racing to production showed that in both, let me say, areas of racing,
07:48 because we won the championship last year, and even in production, because we get the feedback from the press,
07:54 I guess that we are at the cutting-edge level.
07:59 Right. So, what is the relationship between Ducati Corsa and the production side? Is there a lot of transfer from Ducati Corsa?
08:07 We have a strict relation. In particular, our vehicle testing department, there is a group of people which are in charge of the performances of the bike.
08:21 So, in order to transfer the know-how from racing to production, so that people have a racing experience plus a production experience,
08:34 because in production, there are some constraints, as I've explained, which you don't have in racing.
08:42 So, having this knowledge allows you the possibility to understand what can be transferred from racing to production,
08:49 and if what you have in racing can be adapted to production. And this is what we do.
08:56 It's a continuous refinement, because I think that we are in a good level.
09:04 And when you are in a good level, to make a small step behind, there is a huge effort.
09:12 Some riders complain that motorcycles have gotten too complicated, there's too much technology,
09:18 and we've lost some of the purity of being out on a motorcycle. How do you respond to that?
09:24 Once you have improved your safety, which is the most important, think the advantage of cornering ABS in terms of safety.
09:31 Think the advantage of full LED lighting in terms of illumination. This is safety.
09:38 Safety, because an actual headlamp allows you the possibility to see where 20 years ago headlamps didn't allow.
09:49 Because the performances of the headlamp. And what about the comfort?
09:54 Riding extended activation, but having anyway a very powerful engine. It's comfort.
10:01 So, I think that the experience has changed, not the pleasure of riding.
10:10 I guess that the experience has improved. This is the main difference.
10:15 So, I do not agree regarding the... not because I am an electronics guy,
10:21 but because I can provide you many situations where electronics make your experience better.
10:29 This is the reason. This is the reality.
10:33 We've come a long way. What trends do you see in the future of electronics? Where do we go from here?
10:40 Looking about technology and electronics in the automotive area, as you can see,
10:46 the two-wheel for some topics is a kind of follower of the four-wheel of the automotive industry.
10:53 So, I think that as the automotive industry is doing since a few years,
11:00 probably one of the trends would be software development and connectivity for the future.
11:07 Regarding new systems, new technologies that we are developing now, I prefer not to reply.
11:17 We are doing a lot of stuff, but I prefer to keep it a secret. You will see the next year.
11:24 Considering the technology at that time, I started immediately in the racing department.
11:30 Considering the technology at that time and where we are today and what we've passed in terms of development, research,
11:41 it's amazing. It's really amazing.
11:44 It was what you were doing in 2002, right? And now we couldn't imagine.
11:50 It's really amazing. And behind there is a huge know-how, really huge.
11:59 Because I had the luck to see from the first fuel injection to the radar.
12:07 So, I really had the opportunity and the luck, because sometimes you must be lucky.
12:13 Like being in a racing department, it's the meaning of luck.
12:16 You must be obviously the right guys, but you must be the right guys at the right moment.
12:21 And being the right moment means being lucky.
12:24 Thank you.
12:25 You're welcome.
12:26 Cool. Well, this has been a great day. It's been fun to learn.
12:29 Really? I'm happy for that.
12:31 Yeah, really interesting.
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