Designing the Ducati StreetFighter...
04-24-09, 06:15 PM
#1
Designing the Ducati StreetFighter...
In conversation with Damien Basset
Deposit placed.
We think the Ducati Streetfighter really is one of the very best looking machines to come out of Italy in recent times. It’s buff and muscular, taut and aggressive, and gives out that ‘you don’t want to mess with me’ vibe, which we quite like. So it was only natural that we tracked down the man who designed this bike – Damien Basset – and asked him some questions.
From 1997 to 2000, Damien studied at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, in the US, from where he got a degree in product design. He then started his career in 2001 with Honda R&D Americas and now works with Ducati at their Design Center in Bologna, Italy. He was the project leader for the Ducati Streetfighter and was responsible for the concept, design and development of the bike.
Here are some excerpts from what Damien has to say about his life, his work and motorcycle design:
On European vs Japanese motorcycle design:
Japanese manufacturers must follow their market very closely. They are huge enterprises therefore must sell lots of ‘products’ to sustain their activities. This is something that drives their design. A bike will look different if you sell it for 15,000 euro to 4,000 people or if you sell it for 9,999 euro to 20,000 people. Because it's a saturated market, you must make sure you'll design something that will please those 20,000...
Europeans must identify a narrower set of taste and opinions, which lead to more targeted design. This what BMW or Ducati are doing. Talking about evolution, It's seems there are many more crossover concepts nowadays. Bikes used to be classified in just a couple of categories – standard, cruiser, sports... Nowadays, it's motocross-meets-streetbike and sport-tourers with 300km/h top speeds.
They're all doing it, but Europeans have to stick to their core market due to limited resources. The Japanese have expanded exponentially in all directions – and not only in the motorcycle business – Honda is making jet airplanes now…
On the Ducati Streetfighter:
Claudio Domenicali identified an opportunity to use the chassis and engine of the 1098. Because of the new Monster 696, we had to find an alternative for the S4RS. We rapidly decided that the ‘Streetfighter’ had to have its own style.
Due to time restrictions, we decided not to modify the 1098’s chassis, engine and airbox. It was clear to me from that point that the ’Fighter would be closely tied to the 1098. So, identifiable details and form language are directly drawn from the 1098, but proportions are clearly more aggressive and the lines are more directional. I also put it on steroids – more muscle. I really wanted it as the ‘pissed-off’ alternative!
Another design prerogative was to make it a 160kg/160bhp motorcycle. We blew it somehow, but not by much and certainly those figures remain easily reachable. Overall, I am quite satisfied, considering the complexity of the project. The bike is very short, narrow and directional. The goal was to keep most of the volume contained in the perimeter of the frame. Proportion is the most important aspect of design, the rest is detail.
In terms of integration, creating a sense of unity was one of the biggest challenges. Unlike with a faired bike, the bodywork and surfaces are interrupted by mechanical components on a naked. Overall, I just kept the bodywork on top of its mechanical, functional part. In terms of surface treatment, I wanted fluid surfaces, along with clear and sharp character lines.
I have to give credit to the patience and perseverance of the development team in charge of producing the bike – they're the ones who really made the Streetfighter, not me. With the time constraints, it turned out to be an engineering nightmare, but they still pulled it off.
On how people react to the Ducati Streetfighter:
The response of Ducati fans has been very good. The bike won the best of Milan show – I guess that means something. Still, I get criticism about the headlight and the bellypan (I hate it by the way!), more from people who’ve only seen the bike in pictures. But once they have seen it physically and felt its volume, size and proportions from all angles, the criticism tends to vanish. In the end, you can't please them all, right?
In fact, I can't wait to see personalised Streetfighters. And I dream of making a ‘Director's Cut’ version – all carbon and aluminium, back to the original 160kg/160bhp concept. The final test will be when the bike hits the dealers but I am convinced owners will love it.
On what he would build, if he had full, complete freedom to design a replacement for the 1198:
It would have to be identifiable as a Ducati in any colour, without any logo – just gorgeous by any standards! The bike would be small and very aggressive. It would have a pair of eyes and flowing lines, shapes inspired from nature, designed by wind tunnel – a mix of the 916 and the Desmosedici.
I would try to bring in the mix, some ‘shrink wrapping’ around the technology – just like the human form, which follows the shape of the muscle and the bone structure. Don't you find that F1 cars have such an intrinsic beauty, due to their absolute function-oriented shape? I'd like people to think at first glance, ‘That is the F1 of motorcycles.’ And it would be red!
From 1997 to 2000, Damien studied at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, in the US, from where he got a degree in product design. He then started his career in 2001 with Honda R&D Americas and now works with Ducati at their Design Center in Bologna, Italy. He was the project leader for the Ducati Streetfighter and was responsible for the concept, design and development of the bike.
Here are some excerpts from what Damien has to say about his life, his work and motorcycle design:
On European vs Japanese motorcycle design:
Japanese manufacturers must follow their market very closely. They are huge enterprises therefore must sell lots of ‘products’ to sustain their activities. This is something that drives their design. A bike will look different if you sell it for 15,000 euro to 4,000 people or if you sell it for 9,999 euro to 20,000 people. Because it's a saturated market, you must make sure you'll design something that will please those 20,000...
Europeans must identify a narrower set of taste and opinions, which lead to more targeted design. This what BMW or Ducati are doing. Talking about evolution, It's seems there are many more crossover concepts nowadays. Bikes used to be classified in just a couple of categories – standard, cruiser, sports... Nowadays, it's motocross-meets-streetbike and sport-tourers with 300km/h top speeds.
They're all doing it, but Europeans have to stick to their core market due to limited resources. The Japanese have expanded exponentially in all directions – and not only in the motorcycle business – Honda is making jet airplanes now…
On the Ducati Streetfighter:
Claudio Domenicali identified an opportunity to use the chassis and engine of the 1098. Because of the new Monster 696, we had to find an alternative for the S4RS. We rapidly decided that the ‘Streetfighter’ had to have its own style.
Due to time restrictions, we decided not to modify the 1098’s chassis, engine and airbox. It was clear to me from that point that the ’Fighter would be closely tied to the 1098. So, identifiable details and form language are directly drawn from the 1098, but proportions are clearly more aggressive and the lines are more directional. I also put it on steroids – more muscle. I really wanted it as the ‘pissed-off’ alternative!
Another design prerogative was to make it a 160kg/160bhp motorcycle. We blew it somehow, but not by much and certainly those figures remain easily reachable. Overall, I am quite satisfied, considering the complexity of the project. The bike is very short, narrow and directional. The goal was to keep most of the volume contained in the perimeter of the frame. Proportion is the most important aspect of design, the rest is detail.
In terms of integration, creating a sense of unity was one of the biggest challenges. Unlike with a faired bike, the bodywork and surfaces are interrupted by mechanical components on a naked. Overall, I just kept the bodywork on top of its mechanical, functional part. In terms of surface treatment, I wanted fluid surfaces, along with clear and sharp character lines.
I have to give credit to the patience and perseverance of the development team in charge of producing the bike – they're the ones who really made the Streetfighter, not me. With the time constraints, it turned out to be an engineering nightmare, but they still pulled it off.
On how people react to the Ducati Streetfighter:
The response of Ducati fans has been very good. The bike won the best of Milan show – I guess that means something. Still, I get criticism about the headlight and the bellypan (I hate it by the way!), more from people who’ve only seen the bike in pictures. But once they have seen it physically and felt its volume, size and proportions from all angles, the criticism tends to vanish. In the end, you can't please them all, right?
In fact, I can't wait to see personalised Streetfighters. And I dream of making a ‘Director's Cut’ version – all carbon and aluminium, back to the original 160kg/160bhp concept. The final test will be when the bike hits the dealers but I am convinced owners will love it.
On what he would build, if he had full, complete freedom to design a replacement for the 1198:
It would have to be identifiable as a Ducati in any colour, without any logo – just gorgeous by any standards! The bike would be small and very aggressive. It would have a pair of eyes and flowing lines, shapes inspired from nature, designed by wind tunnel – a mix of the 916 and the Desmosedici.
I would try to bring in the mix, some ‘shrink wrapping’ around the technology – just like the human form, which follows the shape of the muscle and the bone structure. Don't you find that F1 cars have such an intrinsic beauty, due to their absolute function-oriented shape? I'd like people to think at first glance, ‘That is the F1 of motorcycles.’ And it would be red!
Deposit placed.
