Driving report Ducati ST 4

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Driving report Ducati ST 4

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The Ducati ST 2, presented in 1997, already received a lot of recognition. The ST 4 seems to be even more remarkable, as it has eight valves and significantly more power.

Bologna, October 8, 1998, fresh and slightly foggy. A horde of hooded figures busily approaches the crowd of no fewer than 39 motorcycles. As if arranged for a domino record, the Ducati ST 4 are there, all retracted over 1000 kilometers. No small effort that Ducati Motor SpA makes to present the new four-valve sports tourer.
Umberto Ucceli, Head of Marketing at Ducati Deutschland GmbH, hands out the keys to the test machines with a self-confident smile. The Italians‘ first sports tourer, the ST 2, found almost 3,000 buyers across Europe, many of them newcomers to Ducati. Reason enough to be optimistic about the future of ST 4.
At first glance, the new one looks exactly like her “little” sister. So everything is the same? Not at all: the side stand still snaps back by itself, but it is much safer to “get under” it. The length of the gearshift lever now also fits Central European shoe sizes. Lighter rims are supposed to improve handling, the headlights are protected from fogging via an air supply, and a rich metallic blue rounds off the color palette. The decisive difference is hidden behind the full fairing.
This is where the Desmo heart of the 916 beats, although the engine could not be transplanted into the ST 2 landing gear without any changes. The cylinder heads were built too high and had to be redrawn. Layout, timing and valve dimensions remained the same, but the center axis of the exhaust camshaft moved 15 millimeters below that of the intake sister. The resulting mega-short exhaust valve guides – the technicians present assured us – easily withstood the loads. Except for the head layout, everything could remain as it was, because the water-cooled two-valve engine of the ST 2 and the 916 four-valve engine are based on the same engine housing. The difference is hidden: the primary drive of the ST models has a shorter gear ratio than that of the sports model. That is why the (identical) gear shafts rotate faster, possibly the reason why the precise and easily shiftable gearbox reacts a tad rougher than the 916 rear derailleur.
The engine delights with its well-known talents. A push on the starter, and accompanied by the rattling of the dry clutch, the appetizing Ducati sound can be heard. After a short cold-running phase, the four-valve engine hangs tightly and with lively revving on the gas. Below 3000 rpm he reacts somewhat unwillingly and sometimes shaking violently to gas commands, but above that it gets down to business. In terms of performance, the ST 4 with 105 hp is fully on par with the sport touring competition. As with the 916 brother, the engine management locks electronically at 10,000 rpm.
The workstation familiar from the ST 2 is also impressive. The arrangement of handlebar offset and height as well as footrest and seating position is sufficient for both sporting and tourist requirements. The legs are not bent too much, the upper body is comfortably upright, just right for easy control of the ST 4 at any speed. At very slow speeds, small pilots can be bothered by the high seat height, but due to the low center of gravity and the pleasantly narrow tank seat bench line, they too can maneuver the ST 4 safely.
A reason to be happy: compared to the previous ST 2, the ST 4 amazes with its almost astonishing handiness. The reason for this could on the one hand be the slightly more front-heavy weight distribution, on the other hand the lighter rims – which the 1999 vintage of the ST 2 also receives – which, thanks to lower gyroscopic forces, build up less resistance to leaning. Otherwise, the chassis of the ST 4 is completely identical to that of the ST 2. Stable straight-line stability is also one of the strengths of the Italian. Ducati indicates a top speed of 245 km / h, which is confirmed by the traditionally very precise speedometer. At such high speeds, turbulence on the helmet causes a slight unrest in the line, but the wind protection is good overall.
The ST 4 really feels at home in curves of all radii and textures, which it was able to prove on the country road and the small circuit of Varano. It steers lightly and precisely, follows the line chosen, immune to interference, and loses little of its maneuverability even at high speeds. The fully adjustable spring elements impress with their sensitive response and large reserves: for example, driving over a rough bump at high speed with a large incline caused nothing more than a short jolt.
The series-mounted, pleasantly versatile and, for a decidedly touring tire, very adherent Metzeler ME Z 4 contribute their part to the good driving characteristics, also thanks to their modest, but completely sufficient dimensions for the power of the Duc. The lean angle is sufficient even for sporty requirements, only the main stand is unspectacular. If you want to go even more diagonally, you can gain a further two centimeters of ground clearance using the push rod on the strut deflection. Less edifying: the braking system of the ST 4, identical to that of the ST 2. Although the braking power is sufficient at all times, the required high manual forces dilute the controllability. In addition, the stoppers clearly decrease in effectiveness after a few brisk laps.
UOn the whole, the ST 4 leaves a good impression on its first presentation. For 23,840 marks, the customer gets a motorcycle that whets the appetite for the first comparison test.

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