Ducati Panigale V4 And V4S
This week, Ducati announced a major update to their flagship sports bike, the Panigale V4, and I was lucky enough last night to go to their Pre-british MotoGP dinner to see the new bike there in the flesh.
So having had a good chance to have a good look around it. Here are the 11 key things that you need to know now.
Swingarm Redesign
Number one, I think the biggest, most controversial change has to be the swingarm, which is part of an overall chassis redesign intended to optimize the amount of flex.
Basically, what they were saying in the presentation last night is that when the bike’s fully banked over at angles of up to 60 degrees,
the suspension becomes a lot less effective at ironing out bumps in the road surface, and so it’s harder for it to maintain grip.
With this new aluminum front frame, though, they say there’s 40% less lateral rigidity and the swingarm gives 37% less.
And so the result is more grip at those higher lean angles whilst maintaining enough longitudinal rigidity to handle the heavy forces of acceleration and braking.
Now look, on the one hand, I can see why people might be a bit disappointed about it, because it doesn’t quite look as exotic and Ducati as the previous generation.
But on the other Ducati have shown in the past, like with the latest monster, for example, where they got rid of the steel trellis frame that they’re not afraid of getting rid of some of these esthetic signature design features in the name of improving performance.
And so really it comes down to what you buy in the bike for.
If you just want something for the looks, you could argue this is a bit of a compromise, but if you just want the fastest bike possible, then it has to go in the plus column. Ducati Panigale V4 And V4S
Although I will say, admittedly it would have been nice if they could have done both.
Updated Desmosedici Stradale V4 Engine
Next up though, we’ve got the Desmosedici Stradale V4 engine, which has gone through quite a few changes in this new model.
So in Ducati’s own words, there are cams with a different profile and a higher lift value.
The alternator and oil pump are the same as the ones mounted in the Panigale V4 R, while the gearbox drum is the one used in the Superleggera V4 and also the variable length intake horns have greater excursion.
The result though, well, it gets 216 horsepower peak at 13,500 rpm. And that’s as opposed to the previous gen getting 215.5 at 13,000 rpm.
So yeah, half a horsepower more, but you do have to rev it 500 rpm higher.
I should also point out as well from the spec sheet that there’s a little bit less torque. So 121 Newton meters at 11,250 rpm. And that’s as opposed to the 123.5 Newton meters. Ducati Panigale V4 And V4S
So that’s two and a half less and also quite a bit lower at 9500 rpm.
Emissions Compliance and Performance
It seems like they’ve had to compromise quite a bit here when it comes to emissions regulations to make this bike compliant with the latest round called Euro five B or Euro five plus.
I will say though, there are quite a few exhaust accessory options in their catalog, all of which I think is fair to say, look quite a bit better than the stock silencer.
And I believe with the most free flowing track only Akrapovic full ray system.
That peak power figure goes up to a massive 228 horses, which is pretty mind bending, as is the price at over seven and a half grand.
So you can basically buy yourself a second bike with that.
Weight Savings
So yeah, engine output isn’t vastly different to the previous generation, if possibly slightly worse owing to that torque figure, but Ducati do claim that they’ve gone on a weight saving mission in order to increase the overall power to weight ratio.
So in the press release, they mentioned 2.7kg off the swingarm and almost another kilogram off that new front frame. Ducati Panigale V4 And V4S
So in total, they’re now saying the v4 s model is 187kg wet but without fuel, which is quite a peculiar way of measuring it.
But I guess we can work out that with 17l of a full tank you’re looking at just shy of 200kg.
they’re saying in the press release that this means the bike is a couple of kilograms less than the previous generation, but I’m kind of struggling with it because I can’t find a like for like comparison of the weights.
It feels like manufacturers, and it’s not just Ducati, are always chopping and changing between dry weights, wet weights, wet weights without fuel, wet weight with 90% fuel.
In order to make it difficult to see how the weight is changing from model to model.
I did find a press release for the previous gen 2022 Panigale V4 s on the Ducati media portal, and it said that it weighs 195.5kg, fully fueled up.
So that would make this new one a few kilograms heavier. It’s all a bit contradictory and hard to figure out, but basically it’s in the same ballpark.
Standard V4 vs. V4 S
And I should also point out you’ve got a standard V4 model as opposed to this v4 s, which comes in a little heavier at 191kg wet without fuel.
And so that makes it about four kilograms more. And that’s owing to the fact that it gets a lead battery as opposed to a lithium battery in the V4 s.
it’s got cast aluminum wheels as opposed to forged.
Advanced Öhlins Suspension
Now another key difference between the two bikes is the suspension.
the base standard Panigale V4 gets a shower fork, a sax monoshock, and a Sachs steering damper, whereas the V4 s gets the latest and greatest from Öhlins with their electronically adjustable smart E-3c system on all three pieces of hardware.
Now, apparently, this upgrade to the Öhlins system features a greater range of adjustability, so that should give you a slightly more comfortable ride on the road, as well as the ability to more comfortably ride the curbs on the track.
they also say they’ve increased the speed of the hydraulic valves for a more precise response to changing riding conditions.
First-Ever Brembo Hyper Calipers
Also on the chassis components, there are now new brake calipers from Brembo called the hyper, and I believe this is the first time they’ve ever been used on any bike. Ducati Panigale V4 And V4S
Now again, there’s a little bit of weight loss, so 60g per pair, but also better heat dissipation, which is said to lead to more consistent performance under heavy use.
New Bosch ABS System
Now these new calipers are also combined with a new ABS system from Bosch called Icbs.
And the general idea of this is that it’s like a linked braking system that can operate the rear brake on your behalf. Ducati Panigale V4 And V4S
In order to simulate some of the more advanced techniques used by pro riders on the track.
Enhanced Electronics Suite
Now, not only do they say that this should lead to better improved, shorter stopping distances, but also do stuff like automatically trail the rear brake when you’ve released the front brake lever, as a racer might do with their own thumb brake when they’re sort of tipping into a turn.
And look, that’s just one part of a fairly substantial overhaul to the electronics here with a new system employed called Dvo or Ducati Vehicle Observer, which they say was developed from their MotoGP program.
Effectively, it simulates input from over 70 sensors to give a total picture of the bike’s behavior, leading to better performance from the riders, which, as you might expect, are fairly comprehensive. Ducati Panigale V4 And V4S
So there’s Ducati traction control with Dvo, Ducati slide control, Ducati Wheelie Control with Dvo Ducati Power Launch, which is their launch control that also employs the Dvo engine braking control and Ducati Quickshift 2.0.
And that’s, of course, on top of that more advanced ABS system that we just mentioned.
New TFT Display
Now all of these riders can be managed and observed through the new TFT display, which, it has to be said, is really rather large with a super wide aspect ratio of 16 to 9.
That seems to make as much use of the space in the cockpit as possible. They say that you’ve got so much screen space now, basically, that they can add quite a lot more information. Ducati Panigale V4 And V4S
And so when you’ve got it in the track layout, you can show stuff like G-forces or the percentage of power and torque you’re using, or lean angles and things like that, as well as with the GPS built in lap times and splits.
So if you purely using this bike for the track, there’s really a lot of stuff now you can get stuck into with this new TFT display.
The thing is though, even if you buy it as a road bike, which you know is probably a bit overqualified for the commute, but the road focused layout still take advantage of all that screen space by using it to show stuff like navigation or connectivity, or some of the menus and settings.
Largely, though, it does feel like this bike was designed predominantly with the track in mind. Ducati Panigale V4 And V4S
And so you’ve also got a new data analysis system developed in partnership with 2D, that can plot all of the relevant parameters from the Canbus against the GPS data, to give you all the data, you’ll need to really precisely analyze your laps in search of some extra performance.
Ergonomic Improvements
Now, ergonomically, there are quite a few tweaks as well, so there’s more freedom to move around for the rider with more longitudinal space behind the tank, as well as a deeper recess in the tank to allow the rider to get into more of an aerodynamic tuck without the chin of the helmet sort of touching the top of the tank there.
On top of that, they say they’ve also changed the shape of the tank to give more support under braking and cornering, and the footpegs have actually been moved ten millimeters narrower, not only to improve ground clearance, which will give you greater lean angles, but also to keep the rider more aerodynamic.