Ducati to offer radar, cornering ABS but not missiles on its motorcycle range
Ducati has sent out an official announcement today stating that it plans to offer a host of safety features on its motorcycles, that is a part of the company's 2025 Safety Road Map. While the missiles bit in the headline was a joke (though, the idea sounds super fun to us) features likes cornering ABS and radar-based safety system will be introduced in the Ducati range in the not so far future.
The ARAS (Advanced Rider Assistance Systems) increases rider safety with the help of number of sensors, including radars. These safety systems will provide feedback of the surrounding environment - helping prevent possible collisions with obstacles or other vehicles by alerting the rider, states Ducati.
The Italian motorcycle manufacturer started developing these systems as early as 2016, in conjunction with the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering of the Politecnico di Milano University. The results of the study is the development of a warning system based on a rear radar, that can identify and detect vehicles present in the blind spot (the section of the road not visible either directly or in the rear-view mirror), or traffic approaching at high speed from behind. This was then followed by positioning a second radar system in the front in 2017 which offers adaptive cruise control wherein a given distance which can be set by the user will be be maintained from the vehicle in front, warning the rider of any risks of collision. All these safety related features will be available on one of the Ducati models coming in 2020, maintains the company.
Ducati will be offering cornering ABS powered by Bosch on its complete range. This system allows full braking grip control even when cornering, effectively ruling out the risk of falling during the delicate corner-entry phase. The Ducati Scrambler 1100 will be equipped with this safety feature. Additionally, the Ducati Multistrada 1260 will come with a feature that will connect with the D-air in-jacket airbag system, designed to deploy in just 45 milliseconds.