Hey! I received to trip a kind of as soon as. My previous 608cc Yamaha SRX-6 singles racer was constructed not fairly to the hilt and made 52 horsepower. The Ducati Supermono made extra like 70 hp from 502cc, and was a few 3/4-scale mannequin of the Yamaha.
Ian Falloon could be the biggest author of motorbike books ever. These days he’s taken to excerpting a few of his work on Fb, which is the place we stumbled throughout this tidbit from his 2014 tome, The Artwork of the Ducati.
Over Ducati’s historical past there have been many unfulfilled guarantees, however none extra squandered than the Supermono. Ducati’s custom was based on single-cylinder bikes, and when the Supermono was conceived it promised to resurrect the idea, forming the inspiration of a brand new household of excessive know-how single-cylinder machines.
The magnesium engine instances match the highest triple clamp, and assist maintain the load all the way down to round 300 kilos. Moist.
Championed by Massimo Bordi, Ducati’s then engineering chief envisaged the Supermono as the proper single-cylinder motorbike for each the racetrack and avenue. Though the Supermono venture started after the 916, the Supermono prototype was unveiled a yr earlier, on the Cologne Present, on the finish of 1992. It prompted a sensation, and stays probably the most stunning and timeless of all Ducati designs. The Supermono was a catalog racer produced by the racing division, and meant for “Sound of Singles” racing, a lot the identical because the 888 Racing.
The center of the Supermono was the engine, improvement of which started throughout 1990. Bordi elected to adapt the 90-degree V-twin in order that vibration, the normal bugbear of massive singles, might be eradicated. Bordi’s authentic concept referred to as for a V-twin with a dummy piston, however as a consequence of inside friction and crankcase stress, the 487cc engine produced a disappointing 53 horsepower on its first dyno run. A rise to 57 horsepower was additionally deemed inadequate.
Bordi then included a novel counterbalancing system, attaching a second con-rod to a lever pivoting on a pin mounted within the crankcase. Referred to as doppia bielletta (double con-rod), it was the primary time this method had been utilized in a petroleum engine, though it had beforehand featured on diesel engines. Bordi had appreciable expertise with small direct-injection diesels, as he was concerned with VM diesel improvement at Ducati from 1978 till he began engaged on motorbike engines in 1982.
Doppia bielletta, US Patent Workplace
The revised Supermono engine was extra compact than the sooner design, and it replicated the dual’s good main steadiness with out the burden of the dummy piston’s friction. Energy rose instantly to 62.5 horsepower at 10,500 rpm. The following improvement stage noticed a 502cc model (95.6×70 mm) that produced 70 horsepower.
The event group, led by Gianluigi Mengoli and Claudio Domenicali, then created a bigger cylinder with a wider stud sample. This allowed a 100mm cylinder and a British Omega 11.8:1 piston. This 549cc model produced 75 horsepower at 10,000 rpm and went into restricted manufacturing throughout 1993. Even at 10,000rpm the big single was as clean as a twin. It was an excellent idea, each in design and execution.
Most of the Supermono’s options had been inherited from the 888 Racing, together with liquid-cooling, the double overhead-camshaft four-valve desmodromic cylinder head, and an equivalent Weber I.A.W. Alfa/N gasoline injection system with twin injectors. Throttle physique diameter tapered from 50mm to 47mm on the butterfly. The valve sizes had been 37 and 31mm, and the camshafts used the identical profile because the 926cc 1994 888 Racing.
There have been some vital departures within the engine design, notably using a lot stronger 49mm plain principal bearings, a dry 180-watt alternator, and the water pump pushed off the exhaust camshaft. Many different engine parts had been particular to the Supermono, together with the crankcases, cylinders, crankshaft, and gearbox. As with the 888 Racing, the 2 Pankl con rods had been titanium. The 50mm exhaust exited on the suitable into both a Termignoni single or dual-outlet muffler.
Housing this outstanding engine was a TIG-welded tubular metal body constructed by Cagiva Telai in Varese, with an aluminum Verlicchi-made swingarm. Every body was individually crafted, and was meant just for restricted manufacturing. The 916 body appeared crude by comparability. The Supermono’s rear suspension was by cantilever, however with a 9 p.c rising charge as a result of mounting angle. Solely the best high quality suspension parts had been fitted: a 42mm Öhlins inverted fork with magnesium triple clamps up entrance and a ride-height adjustable Öhlins shock absorber out again.
A steering head angle of 23 levels and a compact wheelbase of 1,360mm (53.5 inches) assured responsive dealing with. Much more vital than the chassis dimensions was the load distribution, which positioned 54.5 p.c of the bike’s weight on the entrance wheel. Brembo brakes and 17-inch magnesium Marchesini wheels had been full race spec.
When the Supermono debuted it wore gorgeous, full carbon-fiber bodywork that had been designed by Pierre Terblanche in simply two months. The Supermono lastly went into manufacturing throughout 1993, constructed solely as a Sounds of Singles racer by the racing division. Solely 30 had been manufactured that yr, plus an extra 10 in 1994.
Troy occurred upon a Supermono final month within the Ducati Museum.
The Supermono suffered as much as a 50 p.c deficit in capability in comparison with a few of the specialised single-cylinder racers it competed towards. In effective Ducati custom, it relied on finesse and steadiness to attain success. A bigger model was created for 1995, its 102mm piston yielding 572cc. Updates included a revised EPROM and silencer, and a brand new 42mm Öhlins entrance fork and longer shock absorber. Even this capability enhance wasn’t sufficient to make sure racetrack dominance, and after solely 25 additional examples had been constructed, that was the tip of the Supermono. (A Supermono engine was positioned in a 900 SS body in 1998 with a view to implementing manufacturing, however nothing got here of the train.)
Other than the flexibility to rev easily to beforehand extraordinary ranges for an enormous single, a lot of the Supermono’s distinctive capacity was as a consequence of its remarkably low heart of gravity. Completely balanced and proportioned, the Supermono provided every little thing: stability, agility, fast steering, and superb response. It’s a disgrace such a beautiful machine by no means made it to common manufacturing.
Store for the Artwork of the Ducati right here
We’re dedicated to discovering, researching, and recommending the perfect merchandise. We earn commissions from purchases you make utilizing the retail hyperlinks in our product opinions. Be taught extra about how this works.
Develop into a Bike.com insider. Get the most recent motorbike information first by subscribing to our e-newsletter right here.
The submit Falloon Recordsdata: 1993 Ducati Supermono appeared first on Bike.com.
