No Stopping Ducati
NO STOPPING DUCATI
ELECTRONICALLY ASSISTED braking has come to Italy in the form of the ABS-equipped 2003 Ducati ST4S.
Based on the Bosch/Brembo system used by BMW since 1989, Ducati’s version has been fine-tuned so that it in no way impedes the bike’s sporting capabilities.
“The ST4S is a sporttouring bike, yes, but most of all it’s a sportbike,” says project engineer Corrado Cominetti.
“As such, we gave the ABS very, very sporty settings. We tried to keep the feeling at the lever the same as without ABS.” This was achieved through new software developed in conjunction with Brembo, and by using as much rigid metal tubing as possible; flexible hose is used only on the fork and at the swingarm pivot.
The system is transparent in more ways than one, as the only visual clues are the wheel-speed sensors and associated wiring. The electronics, pump and valves are all hidden beneath the seat.
The biggest news, however, might be the on/off switch on the left handlebar cluster-a first on a pure street motorcycle. This works the same as on BMW’s GS models: You press a button for 3 seconds until the “ABS” light illuminates on the tach face, confirming that it’s disabled.
Durability questions were answered by two long-distance outings, one by Ducati R&D engineer Andreas Forni in North America and the other by former Paris-Dakar Rally racer Edi Orioli in Siberia. And the system has already passed tests conducted by Germany’s TUV (roughly the equivalent of America’s DOT), achieving 100 percent efficiency with no loss of distance compared to a nonABS bike, Cominetti claims.
The system will debut on a special version of the 2003 ST4S, priced $900 higher than the standard version ($16,195 vs. $15,295), and is also likely to be employed on the 2004 Multistrada. -Brian Catterson
