Dukes And Hazards

The Isle Of Man is an unforgiving place for any machinery, not least big twins from Bologna. Despite meticulous prep, a small stone did forJames Hillier’s Classic TT.

- Mark Graham

There have been some magical moments for Ducati at the TT. None more wondrous than Mike The Bike’s 1978 Formula One win on that old bevel twin. There were Tony Rutter’s four TT Formula Two wins in the early ’80s, Rob Holden’s Singles victory in 1995, then John McGuinness’ second place in the Senior on a 998 in 2003, and more recently just a 10th in the 2011 Senior from Michael Rutter on a 1098R. 

The Mountain Course and the big twins, however, are not a natural fit. Four (or more) laps of the 37 and three-quarter mile assault course amounts to a mini-endurance race for any machine. For a V-twin the demands are even greater. A long stroke (however oversquare a big twin’s bore/stroke ratio) dictates higher mean piston speeds. Big lumps of forged alloy accelerating to more than 22 metres per second (in an 888 engine) before coming to a dead stop and doing it all again 10,500 times a minute at peak revs – that’s tough on an engine. Four-cylinder machines rev higher with piston speeds reaching the accepted ‘safe’ maximum of 24 metres per second, but those moving masses are smaller and lighter. The TT exacts a heavy toll on twins.

Stafford Evans, who put together James Hillier’s Ducati for the 2017 Classic TT knows just what a challenge getting a Duke to stay the course on The Island is. “You could safely say even Ducati themselves know their bikes don’t like the Isle Of Man. Their new V4 bike will be much better there,” he says.