THREE BIKES ONE ENGINE - Ducati Monster, Supersport 950, Multistrada V2 S

The 937cc V-twin engine that Ducati calls the Testastretta 11° is the centrepiece of a family of bikes including the Monster, SuperSport 950 and Multistrada V2. Riding that contrasting trio back-to-back should highlight the pros and cons of one of motorcycling's hardest working powerplants...

- Roland Brown

Ducati's versatile Vee

Ducati makes some cracking V4 models these days, but the firm’s trademark engine layout is unchanged: two big cylinders, arranged at 90 degrees and set in line with the bike, with top-ends employing the desmodromic system of positive valve closure. It’s as much a Bolognese signature as a bowl of spaghetti with meat-and-tomato sauce.

And of the desmo V-twins of recent years, the most successful and widely used has been the dohc, eight-valve unit that Ducati calls the Testastretta 11º. In its latest 937cc capacity, the ‘Narrowhead 11 Degrees’ powers not only the Monster, SuperSport and Multi, but also the Hypermotard and new DesertX.

The V-twin in this form has been powering Ducatis since 2013, when a new 821cc unit was bolted into the previously air-cooled Hypermotard. The Testastretta name goes back further, to 2001, when the 996R got a new engine whose inlet and exhaust valves were set at a narrower angle (25º from the previous 40º), a more compact and efficient design.

The Testastretta 11º was introduced in 2010 to power the original Multistrada 1200, and this is where things get slightly complicated because the 11º part has nothing to do with valve angle. Instead, it refers to the engine’s valve overlap – the number of degrees that the crankshaft turns while its inlet and exhaust valves are all open.