We gained’t declare to be completely ignorant to the Ducati model, so the arrival of the Italian marque into the motocross world comes with a floor degree of familiarity. However should you’re something like us, your head is thus far within the dust that phrases like Panigale, Superleggera, and Desmosedici aren’t in your speedy vocabulary. In an effort to higher perceive the all-new Desmo450, and the signature desmodromic valve system that’s on the coronary heart of each Ducati, we sat down with Davide Perni, Technical Director Off-Highway at Ducati. Davide is charged with bringing the MotoGP-dominating model off the tarmac and into the dust, a job that introduces new know-how to the motocross world, and brings an entire new problem to a model well-known for top revs, and breakneck horsepower.
Breaking It Down
“Sadly for us, we don’t usually clarify how the desmo system works, as a result of it’s fairly apparent for us,” admitted Perni. The desmodromic valve system has been elemental to Ducati for near 75 years now, and is a properly understood idea within the street racing world. Ducati engineers actually can’t recall the final time they had been requested to elucidate it to anybody. Fortuitously, Perni was affected person sufficient to interrupt it down in easy phrases for the noobs within the knobby world.
“In a traditional valve engine, the cam works straight with the valve to open it, and to shut the valve, usually we’ve got a spring,” stated Davide. “With the desmo system, you see that we’ve got two profiles on the camshaft for every valve—you’ve gotten one rocker arm for the opening and one rocker for the closing section.”
With the valves being each opened and closed mechanically, quite than utilizing a spring, this implies the poppet valves are beneath optimistic management always. The phrase “desmodromic” truly comes from two Greek phrases, “desmo” that means managed or linked, and “dromic” that means a monitor or racecourse. Having this a lot management over the valve opening and shutting has three distinct benefits, in accordance with Davide.
“First, the acceleration of the opening of the valve may be very excessive—greater than the traditional system. You can even have excessive acceleration for a traditional system, however just for the opening section. Not for the closing section as a result of you’ve gotten a spring, and the spring is designed to have a correct drive primarily based on mass of the valve multiplied for the utmost acceleration that you really want.
“The desmodromic system permits us to have extra time the place the valve is totally open, additionally within the decrease rev. This enables us to extend the amount of oxygen and gasoline that enter the cylinder. The opening section of the valve remains to be greater than [that of a] regular system. You possibly can have a really large acceleration additionally for the slower rev.”
“The second benefit is that you’ve lowered friction on the system,” Davide continued. For the reason that camshafts don’t must press in opposition to the valve springs in the course of the opening section, that is much less power spent by the engine. The dearth of frictional loss is most vital within the low-to-mid vary.
“The final benefit of this technique, and that is our technological flag, is that you would be able to obtain a really excessive rpm limiter with this technique. You don’t have the limiter associated to a coil spring.” Davide can lay out the exact engineering phrases for you, however in plain language, you’ll be able to rev it to the moon and it gained’t float the valves.
“When you might want to obtain a really excessive rpm, take into account that our Panigale V4 manufacturing engine, the limiter is fastened at 16,500 rpm. That’s a normal homologated street-legal engine. However the regular timing system can’t permit this type of rpm.”
There may be numerous delight and heritage behind the desmodromic system, however that doesn’t imply Ducati is ignorant to the drawbacks, as Davide went on to explain. “The system is a bit sophisticated, and requires numerous high quality and accuracy within the manufacturing of the camshaft profile and the rockers. The burden of the finished system is a little more than a traditional system as a result of you’ve gotten two rockers, and the camshaft is a bit heavier than a traditional camshaft.”
Regardless of the burden, Ducati engineers preserve that the Desmo450 engine is the lightest DOHC 450cc engine in its class. “[Compared to] the rivals with two camshafts, the Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki, our engine remains to be the lightest. The burden is just 26.5 kilograms (58.42 kilos).
“The opposite dangerous level of this technique is the associated fee,” Davide stated. “The accuracy and the equipment that these camshafts require are very costly. The cams and crankshafts are made straight inside our manufacturing unit, and we handle by ourselves. As a result of I repeat, these will not be straightforward parts from a producing viewpoint.”
In accordance with Perni, this additionally means we shouldn’t count on to see any third-party cams or cranks for Ducati dust bikes.
A Transient Desmo Historical past
The know-how truly dates again to the 1950’s when the desmodromic valve system was adopted by (not invented by) Ducati. On the time, valve management know-how was a significant mechanical problem, so famend Ducati engineer Fabio Taglioni utilized for the patent and constructed the desmo system into the corporate’s 125cc race bike. Ducati’s 125 GP Desmo ran away with the 1960 Grand Prix victory, and the desmodromic valve system has been absolutely embraced by the Bologna model ever since.
Due to fashionable supplies, valve management is way much less of a problem at this time, making the desmodromic system much less of a bonus than it as soon as was. However within the formative many years of Ducati racing improvement, the desmo system outlined the soul of the corporate, and 65 years later, it sees no purpose to change course. It’s the system they know finest, and there’s a lot of delight and heritage behind the design.
Placing Energy In The Dust
When it comes to motocross, the horsepower race is over. At a sure level, large horsepower turns into extra of a burden than a bonus, and we discovered that restrict fairly shortly with the early era 450 motocross bikes. This was apparently tough for Ducati engineers to listen to. Coming from the tarmac, the place Ducati can ship sufficient energy to ship you right into a time warp, and sufficient ride-control know-how to someway preserve you connected to the bottom and shifting in your meant course, the concept of curbing energy down for a extra manageable supply didn’t fairly compute.
Davide recollects again to the early days of Ducati’s motocross improvement. “We battle rather a lot at first,” he stated with amusing. “Our 1000cc displacement bike is round 237 horsepower. For engineers, this implies in case you have round 230 horsepower per liter, this implies a 450, kind of, you’ve gotten an affordable 100 horsepower, straightforward. However [our test riders] say, ‘Guys, please cease!’ Primarily based on motocross, when energy will increase over 65 to 68 horsepower, a rider can’t journey properly anymore. So, the goal is just not the utmost energy as a result of we’d threat creating an engine that no one can use. For the 250, we’ll see. However for the 450, this isn’t the case.”
Studying to restrict the facility quite than unleash it truly got here in the course of the Desert X improvement, which was an vital step in Ducati’s understanding of driving within the dust. 5-time World Enduro champion Antoine Meo was central to the Desert X improvement, Ducati’s journey mannequin that was launched in 2022. Their first stab at a devoted off-road bike was admirable, and the following Desert X Rally (2024) was much more spectacular. Probably the most direct strategy to start motocross testing was to take the 937cc twin-cylinder Desert X on the motocross monitor.
“It was fairly loopy. While you see a 180-kilogram (400-pound) two-cylinder soar on a motocross monitor, individuals with the opposite motocross bikes had been scared!” Perni stated with amusing. “However, that was actually good to grasp the potential of the system. It was a superb expertise for Antoine as a result of when he understood the potential of the traction management, it pushed us to enhance the system for off-road.”
As we additionally know, nine-time FIM Motocross World Champion Antonio Cairoli together with Italian MX hero Alessandro Lupino are behind the Desmo450 improvement. Perni himself additionally comes from a motocross background, having labored as an engineer and race group supervisor for Husqvarna. The fitting persons are on the job, however there was nonetheless numerous push-pull in constructing Ducati’s understanding of the dust. Fortuitously engineers listened to the consultants and got here to phrases with the blasphemous notion—extra energy isn’t at all times higher within the dust. They settled on a peak horsepower of 63.5 at 9400 rpm, and a rev limiter of 11,900. Modest numbers in accordance with Ducati’s engineering math, but nonetheless a benchmark for the category.
Getting Plugged In
Nearly as straight in Ducati’s wheelhouse because the desmo valve system is journey management know-how. Whereas their experience as soon as once more lies on the pavement aspect, adapting the electronics to the dust was a significant side of the Desmo450’s design. Perni talked concerning the all-new Ducati Traction Management, or DTC.
“We’re consultants on the electronics that apply to 2 wheels,” stated Perni. “Ducati was the primary producer that put traction management on the manufacturing bike; it was 2007. Traction management is just not fully new for off-road, however let me say that DTC is very totally different with respect to what’s available in the market now.”
“The true benefit of our system is the traction is just not like a map that cuts the facility. We’ve an algorithm that’s beneath patent pending, that may handle the reply of the system primarily based on the acceleration and the place of the bike in house.”
Reasonably than counting on wheel pace, DTC makes use of an onboard sensor to feed info to the electronics. “We use a sensor that’s state-of-the-art known as BBS—Black Field System. Inside you’ve gotten an accelerometer and gyroscope sensor. We’ve had this science for 20 years, so it’s fairly frequent know-how. The problem is utilizing this know-how with out the pace of the wheels.”
Ducati opted to go with out wheel sensors not solely as a result of it felt there was a greater means, however as a result of FIM rules don’t permit it for competitors use. Sure, Ducati expects that even the professionals will wish to use DTS. Bear in mind, they arrive from the street racing world, the place the highest groups in every part from MotoGP to World Superbike make the most of a full suite of digital rider aids.
“The rear wheel pace, you’ll be able to measure not directly, however the issue is that usually in off-road you continue to work with 30-, 35-, 38-percent wheel slip,” stated Perni. “Contemplate that within the street race when you’re greater than 3-percent slip, the engineers go loopy as a result of it’s an excessive amount of. [laughs] Right here we’re fully in one other world.
“This group of digital engineers develop a brand new software program system, an algorithm we name Job Detection Operate. The system acknowledges when the bike is within the air and when it’s engaged on the bottom. As a result of when you’re in air, you want the throttle to switch the stability of the bike, and on this second, the system can’t minimize the facility. Job Detection Operate is beneath patent as a result of is a vital operate on the system.”
Launch management, engine brake management, two driving modes and a built-in quickshifter are additionally a part of the electronics we will look forward to finding on the Desmo450. For the DIY crowd, don’t fear. “Clearly you’ve gotten the likelihood to disengage the system,” Perni added. “You wish to change off each management, you are able to do it, completely.”
And?
So how does all of it work? Do the claims add up? We haven’t gotten our soiled palms on a Desmo450 but. At this level our aim is to be taught extra about what’s beneath the hood and what precisely makes this bike distinctive. Now that we’ve got a greater understanding the Ducati-ness of this all-new participant, we’re able to put the desmodromic energy and Ducati electronics to the check. Watch the pages of Dust Bike Journal for the total evaluate of the 2026 Ducati Desmo450 motocross bike coming quickly.
