Roadholder 364 - April 2018

42 have been largely overcome due to vast improvements in metallurgy and valve train design etc. and modern engines fitted with 'standard' poppet valves and coil springs can handle speeds up to 16,000rpm and more. The latest 'exotic' and racing engines often deploy pneumatic and electro-mechanical valve actuating systems, thus, the actual need for desmo operation has really disappeared. Ducati still use the system, but it is argued, they do it really as it forms part of their heritage and as a 'look what we can do' marketing tool. KTM, for example, seem capable of extracting similar amounts of power from their similarly- sized V-Twins equipped with 'standard' valve gear as Ducati does with their expensive, labour-intensive and complex desmo-engined machines - discuss … .