The Streetfighter S was Ducati’s first ever naked sportbike to be fitted with the awesome Ducati Traction Control (DTC) system. (Photo: Ducati)

Intelligent muscle
The Streetfighter S was Ducati’s first ever naked sportbike to be fitted with the awesome Ducati Traction Control (DTC) system and the Streetfighter 848 is also armed with the same full eight-level DTC as standard equipment. In developing its World Championship-winning traction control system for road use, Ducati continue to demonstrate their strategy of transferring technologies from their race bikes into the production environment, and show how solutions developed for performance on the track really can be applied to enhance safety on the road.

Accessible from the left-hand switchgear and displayed on the digital instrumentation, the system offers a choice of eight profiles, or ‘sensitivity levels’, each one programmed with a wheel-spin tolerance matched to progressive riding levels of skill, graded from one to eight.
While level eight administers a confidence-building, high level of interaction from the system by activating upon the slightest amount of wheel-spin, level one offers a much higher tolerance, resulting in less intervention for highly competent riders. Once the level is selected and DTC activated, both are displayed on the Streetfighter’s instrumentation. The system then analyses data sent from front and rear wheel speed sensors to detect wheel-spin. Should the system recognise wheel-spin above a certain threshold, the DTC ECU instantly evaluates the many possible wheel-spin scenarios before administering two types of interaction in varying amounts.

DTC is able to sense the exact use that the Streetfighter is being put to. From slow mid-corner acceleration with considerable vehicle inclination to high speed corner exits while almost upright, DTC is intelligent enough to react according to each and every situation. It’s even smart enough not to intervene during a burnout or a wheelie.

The first “soft” stage of system interaction is executed by high speed software that instantly makes electronic adjustment to the ignition by administering varying amounts of retardation to reduce the engine’s torque output. During this initial stage of DTC interaction, both outer warning lights on the Streetfighter instruments – normally used to signify over-rev – illuminate to signify that DTC is being applied.

If the DTC software detects that the first “soft” stage of system interaction is inadequate to control the wheel-spin, it continues to administer ignition retardation and instructs the engine ECU to initiate a pattern of constantly increasing injection cuts until, if necessary, full injection cut. During this second stage of system interaction, both outer and central warning lights fully illuminate to signify that DTC has also initiated injection cuts.

After either stage one (ignition retardation) or stage two (pattern of injection cuts or full cut), the system incrementally returns to the original ignition and injection mapping as the wheel speeds approach equalisation. This carefully programmed return to full power delivery is the real key to DTC’s smooth and efficient operation.

Exhaust system
The stylish Streetfighter 2-1-2 exhaust system is made from weight-saving 1mm thick steel and flows from 58mm to 63.5mm diameter pipes. The system uses two lambda probes to ensure precise fuel mapping for optimum performance and an electronic valve in the mid-section to achieve a wide spread of power. The cannon-style, vertically stacked mufflers sport a brushed steel for the Streetfighter 848 and black brushed steel for the Streetfighter S, both delivering the famous Ducati L-Twin sound synonymous with raw, Desmo power.

Single-sided swingarm
At the rear-end of both Streetfighters is a black-finished, single-sided swingarm beautifully cast in aluminium. The long swingarm brings the total wheelbase to 1,475mm (58in) and ensures the Streetfighter’s acceleration is never compromised.

Lighting
The aggressive looking headlight is the ‘face’ of the Streetfighter and it leaves little doubt as to its character. While the main lighting source and multi-reflector design provides powerful illumination to cut through the night, its two evil eye strips of LED positioning lights give a striking and unmistakable identity to the bike.

Preserving the clean and stylish design, the directional indicators remain unobtrusive with clear lenses and coloured bulbs, while the rear light is integral to the shape of the tailpiece, providing unobscured illumination
while maintaining the smooth and elegant look to the high and sharp rear-end.

DUCATI STREETFIGHTER 848
Streetfighter-style excitement
The 848 Testastretta 11° engine is a masterpiece of Desmodromic engineering. 132hp and an exhilarating 69lb-ft (93.5Nm) of torque is delivered with silky smooth precision by using innovative cam timing solutions proven on the now legendary Multistrada and Diavel power plants. The engine lives and breathes Streetfighter-style excitement, while revised chassis ergonomics and race-derived, eight-level electronic Ducati Traction Control ensure enhanced rider comfort and a confident ride.

A chassis born to fight
At a class-leading 169kg (373lb) dry weight, the Streetfighter 848 boasts an incredible power-to-weight ratio. The beautifully built Trellis frame uses the same 24.5° of rake as the Superbike 848EVO to provide optimum agility, while 103mm of trail gives the confidence-inspiring “feel” of a well-planted front-end.

The Streetfighter 848 is armed with fully adjustable 43mm Marzocchi forks up front and a fully adjustable Sachs monoshock at the rear, giving the bike high performance handling and the rider absolute confidence and a comfortable ride. The matte champagne coloured fork bodies house natural chrome finished sliders, are fully adjustable in spring preload and compression and rebound damping and feature radial mounts for the Brembo brake callipers. The lower triple-clamp is formed in a strength-enhancing gull-wing shape for increased rigidity, it maintains a vice-like grip on the fork legs, giving a precise and solid feeling through the bars on fast direction changes.

Streetfighter tyres
The Streetfighter 848 confidently relies on Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa tyres created using technologies developed in the Superbike World Championship and perfected for street use - the ideal methodology for bringing race technology to performance street products. The construction and profiles ensure optimum agility and control by providing enhanced support during vehicle inclination.

The 120/70ZR17 front tyre uses a 0° steel belted construction that guarantees maximum support under heavy braking and corner entry. The new 180/60ZR17 sized rear tyre is constructed with three compound zones, featuring a softer compound on the shoulders (25% on each side) for performance in cornering and a harder compound on the centre section for longer tyre life.

The 180/60ZR17 rear tyre implements an aspect ratio used in World and National Supersport competition and offers a larger contact patch compared with the 180/55, further enhanced with an increased “slick” area when at maximum lean angle. The higher and slightly wider profile improves riding comfort and the larger contact patch spreads road stresses throughout the contact area for reduced wear of both rear compounds. Transversal grooves between the rear tyre’s central and side shoulder sections quickly disperse residual water, providing excellent grip in wet conditions, while the central non-grooved rib ensures maximum rubber on the ground for traction under acceleration and improved straight line stability.