On June 30, 2022, Ducati officially presented its new 2023 MotoE bike, the V21L, at a very small and exclusive event in Modena. Only a handful of European media members were invited to Casa Maria Luigia for the event—but now they get to tell the rest of us all about it. From what we can tell by looking at the photos, the V21L presented earlier this morning looks very much like the V21L prototype that Ducati has been testing. The livery is, of course, a bit different and more refined. Some of the carbon fiber is covered, while some is left exposed to show off its glorious and unique grain, as a fairly inimitable visual texture our eyes can feast upon
.The red line graphics against matte
black/dark gray successfully evoke a feeling of electricity in your mind—a sure
sign of successful visual communication. Ducati’s V21L design looks, first and
foremost, like a Ducati and the immediate visual cues don’t scream “electric
motorbike” in the way that we’re used to from other entries in the genre.
Still, even someone who didn’t know what the V21L was before looking at it
might suspect its nature just by seeing those graphics.
What other details have emerged about
Ducati’s MotoE bike? This first-gen version apparently weighs a stonking 225
kilograms. Much of that weight comes from the
110 kg battery, which is an 18 kWh unit specially
designed to fit this bike and connect directly to the swingarm. Peak is a claimed 110 kW, or 150 horsepower, along with 103 pound-feet of torque. It’s able to complete the required seven laps
of a GP track that Dorna wants for its MotoE races, and the top speed it's
reached so far is reportedly 171 mph at Mugello.
Other key components include an Öhlins NPX
25/30 pressurized fork with 43mm upside-down tubes, which is derived from the
Superleggera V4. There's also an Öhlins TTX36 fully adjustable rear shock, as
well as an adjustable Öhlins steering damper. Specially-designed Brembo brakes
that optimize cooling are also an integral part of this design.
Ducati is particularly proud of its
cooling system, which it says involves a double circuit of liquid cooling to
address the cooling needs of both the battery pack and the motor and inverter.
As a result, Ducati says there's no need to wait before charging once the bike
comes in hot from the track. It can be plugged directly in to charge, and reach
80 percent of a full charge in just 45 minutes.Also, what Ducati is learning
for the MotoE project is headed toward future production bike development.
