Understanding Opportunity

Developing vision Ducati had long thought of introducing a bike which would be a amalgamation of the sports bike and a dirt bike In accordance with this they introduced the Ducati multistrada in 2003 In compliance with their vision of introducing a bike that would bridge the gap between the two segments they introduced the multistrada 1 200 in 20 1 0.

 Having a engine of 1198 cc 4 valve desmodromic water-cooled L -shaped twin cylinder engine having a peak power of 150 hp at 9200rpm with a max torque of 135.7 n-m at 7200 rpm multistrada 1200 is one the first bikes having a racing track like engine coupled with a a electronically adjustable front and rear suspension system making it suitable in any type of environment.

 Opportunity analysis and customer need analysis Ducati did a research and found out that the model in between a superbike and a dirt bike was missing from the market After extensive survey they found out that there was a huge potential for this product. Customers required that they have a bike with specs of both the superbikes and offroad bikes in minimal costs.

 Competitive analysis A well planned and strategic competitive analysis led them to the belief that indeed there was no one offering what they had envisioned in the market. All their competitors like Yamaha, suzuki, honda did not have the necessary technology available to give a bike in this segment.

Developing the Concept

Portfolio planning The portfolio planning i.e. a detailed structured financial planning was done the risks associated were evaluated and a detailed approach was given for developing the new multistrada 1200

 functional modeling A prototype of the bike was made and was analyzed for various operating conditions and the necessary change were made in the design like for example a major challenge was to develop a electronic control unit (ecu)for the bike at the available current from the battery as space saving was the requirements and battery of larger size could not be accommodated The ecu gives the bike its distinct feature where the user can adjust the modes like urban, touring ,off-road etc by the mere touch of a button and the suspension system adapts itself and the bike can function as a dirtbike too. The A B S can be disabled and the bike performs well in rough terrain

 Architectural development The existing multistrada was modified and the multistrada 1200 was developed The 1200 is based on the testasretta from the 1198 superbike called testasretta

 Concept planning From the day the concept was put forth Ducati believed in the concept and implemented it to the fullest. Working with a team of experts they identified the potential area of improvement. A classic example is they brought down the valve overlap from 40 to 11 to reduce the vibrations during the idling of the bike. Another classic concept planning was the new ECU on the bike , the adaptive cruse control and the telescopic front suspension which were adjustable for the first time by the mere touch of a button on the handle bar

 Embodiment engineering The aim of embodiment design is to determine the layout and forms, and to develop a product in accordance with technical and economic considerations. Ducati achieved this by incorporating its latest racing track technology and developing a stronger and a adaptable suspension system for the new multistrada 1200. Ducati achieved this and kept the pricing at a mere 21995 $ which almost comes up to 1 1 ,00,000 in Rupees which is a low for such a high end bike.

Physical to analytical model Ducati went on to build more peaked up versions like the 1200 s , 1200 s sports , 1200 s touring etc.

 Design for x a wide collection of specific design guidelines are summarized. Each design guideline addresses a particular issue that is caused by, or affects the characteristics of a product. For this Ducati did a detailed testing of the bike where shortcoming in the suspension systems were detected for particular surfaces which were later made up for in the design analysis stage.

 Robust design Ducati In its own sense of style built the robust multistrada 1200 on the existing platform of its multistrada. One of the very robust designs developed till date multistrada remains one of the very popular bikes ever built by Ducati which truly bridged the gap between a sports bike and a offroady.