Fremont Street

by Ronan Glon from https://www.autoblog.com/ It’s an evolution of the world’s best-selling superbike Over a thousand attendees wildly cheered as Ducati boss Claudio Domenicali unveiled the 2020 Streetfighter V4, a racing-inspired motorcycle that weighs less than a Chevrolet big-block engine yet packs more power than a Subaru BRZ. It’s revving proof that jaw-dropping horsepower and eye-catching design are still the guiding lights in the motorcycle industry. The Streetfighter V4 is a Panigale V4 (the world’s best-selling superbike) stripped down to the bare essentials. In car terms, it’s like if Audi dropped the powertrain from the R8 LMS into a purer, simpler variant of the car. While that sounds relatively simple, Domenicali explained striking the right balance between performance, usability, and design was much more difficult than anyone anticipated. The company’s engineers put the Streetfighter through its paces all over the world — even at Pikes Peak. “We test prototypes once a month. About one year ago, we were in Sardinia and we were very unhappy [with this bike]. We were worried, but we totally changed the situation. It has taken one year of hard work, but in the last tests we’ve carried out, you can really feel the difference,” he explained. Andrea Ferraresi, Ducati’s lead designer, instructed his team to draw inspiration from the Joker; yes, that Joker. The Streetfighter’s face was extremely important during the development process, because it’s a model without any side fairing. The drivetrain is fully exposed, hence why this type of motorcycle is called naked. The front end consequently has to convey the bike’s identity on its own, yet it still needs to house the headlights, plus a growing list of electronics. Stylists bent the rules to add biplane wings near the front. Domenicali conceded it was a contentious decision, but the winglets ultimately stayed […]