While Bruce was over in Valencia joyriding Ducati’s newwonder-weapon, Boothy was nuts deep in books finding out what makes the V4 configuration so great…

It’s an exciting time in the motorcycling world, with seemingly endless innovations headed our way from every manufacturer and their dog. Ducati in particular, famed for pioneering technology such as Desmodronic valve systems and bringing monocoque chassis designs to the forefront of production sportsbikes, have more than done their bit to make our biking world better, so we can forgive them for not seeing the virtues of the V4 motor.

Well, at least in a street bike context, as they’d seen the light several years back in their MotoGP efforts – the source of much of the tech that’s made the new Stradale motor the performer that it is. But before I digress any further about Ducati’s new choice of configuration, let’s take a more general look at the brilliant V4.

In the beginning

The first V4s were designed and manufactured by a Parisian bloke who went by the name of Emile Mors, but he only used them in cars. Weirdo. It wasn’t until the 1930s when Matchless started to use them in models such as the Silver Hawk, that they were considered suitable for bikes.

Fast forward 50 years, and although there had been a smattering of V4 motorcycles in the meantime, the 1980s was the golden era of sexy new two-stroke and four-stroke V4 bikes such as the Suzuki RGV500, Honda VF1000R and the Yamaha V-Max, to name but a few. Since the 80s there has been a real smorgasbord of V4s hitting the racetracks and the roads, many of which have captured the hearts of motorcyclists the world over. And it’s easy to see the appeal, with an arguably perfect balance of torque and peak power, not to mention the completely unique sound; what’s not to like? Well it’s a fact that there have been some jolly impressive motorbikes utilising V4 engines, but if they are so good why isn’t everyone using them?