Ducati DTC EVO – Explained
Ducati officially turned 90 on July 4, and the weekend before was the ultimate celebration for Ducatisti. World Ducati Week 2016 brought together thousands of Ducati fans from around the world to celebrate the brand at Misano Circuit Marco Simoncelli in Italy. Besides the typical Ducati personalities – Troy Bayliss, Chaz Davies, two-time MotoGP Champion Casey Stoner, CEO Claudio Domenicali – one special motorcycle was a highlight of the show – the 1299 Panigale S Anniversario.
The 1299 – limited to 500 – is not only loaded with racing-inspired graphics and high-performance parts such as Akrapovic Racing exhaust, it also featured something new to the Ducati brand – Ducati Traction Control EVO. DTC EVO is Ducati’s latest technology, which brings traction control to an entirely new level.
Following is DTC EVO explained, courtesy of Ducati:
DTC EVO, based on entirely new software algorithms, becomes both more precise and consistent in its intervention. It interfaces with the 1299’s Bosch Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), sensing at all times the bike’s lean angle and using that to judge the required intervention more accurately and so allow an ideal amount of slip for the rear tire (according to the selected DTC EVO level), providing increased precision. And when the system does intervene, reading the lean angle ensures that it does so consistently and repeatably in the same riding conditions.
Furthermore, DTC EVO adds the ability to intervene on the butterfly valves in the motorcycle’s throttle bodies, in addition to altering spark advance and fuel injection. Under conditions in which high-speed intervention of the DTC EVO system is unnecessary, closing of the butterfly valves allows the system to manage traction while maintaining optimal combustion parameters, resulting in smoother intervention and engine response.
On a simple traction control system, when tire slip is sensed the system intervenes to control it. As the tire grips again and slippage stops, the system reduces its intervention until slippage occurs again, and the cycle repeats. This results in a graph of system intervention that, viewed in detail, shows oscillation around a theoretical “line of perfect intervention” which is the precise limit of traction:
DTC EVO reduces the magnitude of these oscillations to bring system intervention closer to this line of perfect intervention:
This is especially advantageous under conditions of varying traction, such as the changes in rear tire grip as it is consumed.
In addition to this increased precision of intervention, when set at level “1” DTC EVO adds a new functionality, allowing a rider to control the bike at a level formerly available to only the most advanced riders and professional racers.
While the bike is leaned over in a turn, the rider can use the throttle to dial-in additional rear-wheel slip beyond the “normal” level of intervention – thus further pivoting the motorcycle around its front wheel, and closing the trajectory of the turn. DTC EVO in level 1 allows this pivot to occur, effectively allowing rear-wheel steering with active traction control.
By increasing consistency and precision of intervention, and opening up a whole new way of adjusting the bike’s dynamic behavior, DTC EVO gives the 1299 Panigale S Anniversario maximum cornering performance and acceleration with the highest level of safety.
Complementing the DTC system is DWC EVO, which uses information on the 1299’s pitch from the Bosch IMU to control front wheel lift and allow maximum acceleration in safety. Using entirely new software, DWC EVO more accurately detects the occurrence and severity of wheelies and intervenes to control them with a high degree of robustness and precision.
