Are you saying that one of those 70 sensors is not an olfactory sensor?
Ducati
July 30, 2024 in 8:28 AM EST
3 min read
There’s a ton to say about the new 2025 Ducati Panigale V4, and honestly, I don’t know how Robbie managed to condense over 20 pages of information into one article last week.
The end of the single-sided swingarm (RIP), more horsepower, incredible aerodynamics and a string of small and big changes throughout the bike have culminated in something out of this world.
But the most shocking statistic of all is one that will seem inconsequential to most, but is simply unbelievable. No, it’s not the increased horsepower despite being Euro5 compliant, or the weight loss on an already light bike, or even the MotoGP feel. It’s the technology in the Panigale V4, specifically its sensor suite that can “simulate” over 70 different sensors throughout the bike.
The Panigale has so many sensors that they can even detect when you fart. Probably. We don’t know. Probably not. But what else could those sensors detect? Well, let’s talk about that.
Sensors on modern bikes have a wide range of roles. They detect normal conditions like engine and oil temperature, oil pressure, fuel level in the tank, wheelspin and even tire pressure. Superbikes like the Ducati Panigale V4 also come equipped with yaw, pitch and roll sensors as standard, along with wheelie control, launch control, brake sensors and other race-specific sensors. The bike’s electronic brain helps you get through the race without crashing headfirst into the barriers.
But the new Panigale V4 takes it a step further, adding MotoGP-derived technology to a street bike.
“Alongside the six-axis inertial platform, from which the control unit receives roll, yaw and pitch values, Ducati has included an (enhanced) DVO feature that can simulate the input of 70 sensors to support control,” Ducati said in a press release. DVO stands for Ducati Vehicle Observer, the company’s language for the ECUs of its bikes.
Unlike other superbike ECUs, however, DVO learns.
“The algorithm allows us to instantly estimate physical, kinematic and dynamic quantities that cannot be measured in reality; these quantities affect the ground forces, acceleration and maximum torque that the vehicle can withstand in different riding conditions. The system effectively simulates the presence on the new Panigale V4 of sensors capable of measuring 70 physical quantities, in addition to those detected by the inertial platform, allowing us to accurately estimate both the operating thrust and the maximum forces that the bike can withstand at a given moment.”
In other words, by using algorithms that Ducati has come up with and some physical sensors on the bike, it is able to run some simulations to make the bike move better while you are riding it. Then, using these simulated sensors, the bike will figure out how to make you go faster when you are riding the bike as hard as you can by giving you more power, less slip angle, more traction control, less engine braking, etc.
It’s okay to admit that this bike is probably smarter than you or I. And it is.
Ducati won’t admit that the new Panigale V4 can detect farts, but don’t you think one of those mock sensors is a fart detector? In other words, it can provide extra thrust depending on whether or not you ate that whole burrito last night.
Beans might make you faster.
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