2020 DUCATI PANIGALE V4S
At £24,795, the V4S is unsurprisingly the dearest bike in USB 2020, and it was one of the bikes that I was secretly the most excited to ride. Last year the V4S impressed us all on the road and on the track with its phenomenal engine – but it was a bit of a handful unless you were a WSBK spec rider. For 2020, Ducati told us that they’ve acknowledged that, and worked hard to make the package easier to live with. They’ve engineered 30% less torsional rigidity into the chassis, they’ve altered the geometry, given us a wider fairing and taller screen and improved the traction control and wheelie strategy. Oh, and bolted on a pair of wings to the side of it for good measure. The only hang-up I had with the Duke last year was that it was a bit highly strung, so if they had managed to calm it down a little bit, the new V4S had the potential to be a world beater.
As expected, the V4S exudes class from
every extremity, from its shiny red paintwork to its suede saddle, and when you jump on, things are just as positive with a sexy looking TFT dashboard supplying you with all the information you need. And despite the big 1103cc Stradale V4 motor between your legs, the Duke actually feels really rather narrow. That said, when you reach for the handlebars they are plenty wide enough for big red to feel like a proper man’s bike. The same can be said for the footpegs, which are low enough that the Duke doesn’t feel at all cramped.
The ignition button on the V4S is a funny affair, where you have to slide a cover off the button so you can get to it. I imagine Donald Trump has got something similar in the Oval Office for when he decides he wants to cure the coronavirus with a few weapons of mass destruction – let’s hope the virologists get there first.
When you press the button and put some fire in the V4S’s belly there is a monstrous-sounding rumble that emanates from the big motor. At tickover, it was definitely an ‘engine’ noise rather than an ‘exhaust’ noise, as the standard exhaust setup didn’t seem to amplify things very much, but when you twisted the throttle, there was plenty of volume that let me know that the V4S still means business.
I remembered from last year that the motor likes plenty of revs when you drop the clutch so I made sure I obliged, and before you could say Bob’s your uncle, I was motoring on. The first section of my ride was quite steady and I soon realised that Ducati’s efforts to make the V4S more refined had certainly made a difference. Don’t get me wrong, at that sort of pace it wasn’t night and day different, and you still had to be gentle with your throttle hand but the chugginess that you
OPEN THE THROTTLE UP AND THE THING TAKES OFF LIKE ONE OF TRUMPY’S NUKES
got off the throttle, followed by the lurch forward when you opened it up, certainly wasn’t as bad as I remembered it being. But it still wasn’t anywhere near as smooth as some of the other bikes on test, when ridden at a more sedate pace.
And it didn’t seem to matter how fast or slow I went, the mirrors still weren’t really up to the job, shaking and bouncing around to the tune of the engine. And not only that, you can’t fold them in, either, so if you are squeezing through a tight space or trying to strap the thing in a van, you have got to be ever so careful.
But that was soon forgiven (and forgotten) when we got out of town and started opening things up. The grunt that the bike has low-down and then the power that follows it up really is something to behold. Wherever the revs are, when you open the throttle up, the thing takes off like one of Trumpy’s nukes and just keeps on accelerating.
At first, I found myself changing gear at about 10,000rpm, because it sounded (and felt) like I ought to do – like it was ready for another gear. But the more I rode the Ducati, the further I ended up letting it rev, and the m i im m I r v n r v and revs like you wouldn’t believe. Phenomenal stuff. On our dyno, the Duke made its peak power of 199bhp at 13,315rpm, but it would keep revving quite a bit further than that, if you needed it to.
The other mighty impressive thing about the Panigale was its brakes. With ABS set to level 1, the Brembo Stylema calipers had a sharp initial bite followed by a ton of power when really squeezed. It’s nothing short of what I expected from the top-of-the-range brakes and it didn’t cease to impress me.
After a while in the Ducati’s saddle, I started feeling the familiar sensation that was a burning inner thigh. The heat from the rear cylinder and the exhaust was doing its best to cook my leg, arse and right testicle, which although didn’t spoil my ride on the Duke, was rather worrying.
On a hot day, in slow-moving traffic, I can’t see this particular trait being very n fi n m
Yes, the Panigale is a very expensive motorbike, but it is an incredible one, too. It’s got an awesome engine, brakes that are as good as anything else out there and a ton of easy to operate, mega effective electronics.
Unfortunately, although Ducati have worked hard on refining the package, the brutal truth is that it is only a nice bike to ride when you are wringing the thing’s neck, and if you find yourself trundling through towns and villages, more often than not the Duke’s harsh power delivery might start to wear a bit thin in short order. I love this bike because it’s so exciting, but if I was looking for a bike purely to ride on the road, it wouldn’t be at the top of my list.
Verdict 8/10
The V4S is a seriously awesome bit of kit, but it needs to be if you’re paying the thick end of 25 grand for it. It might be slightly more refined than last year but it’s still a proper handful on the road and on the track; it will definitely make you smile though.
+ AWESOME POWER AND SO MUCH CHARACTER - HARD WORK UNLESS YOU ARE A PRO RACER