DUCATI PANIGALE V4S V V2
Are size and horsepower really all that crucial to conquering the when it comes roads? Some would but we wanted to argue that is the case, know for sure... so we pitched Ducati's pimped V4S against its new little brother, the V2
Is the V4 S worth all that extra cash?
When Ducati unveiled their all-new Panigale way back in 2011, it’s fair to say that every man and his dog got excited; not only did it look the absolute the absolute bees knees, but it came with some serious spec to back it up – not to mention a seriously exhilarating personality thrown in for good measure. And the thing is, it’s always been an animal on track, but whether the Italians stuffed the minimal chassis with their V-twin or V4 powerplants it’s not always been the easiest, nor most pleasant machine to ride on the road. But then again, fast forward nigh on 10 years, and the Panigale has been through a raft of improvements, making it sexier, smarter and now for 2020, softer and easier to ride. In last year’s Ultimate Sports Bike test, the big Panigale really did suffer on the roads, but after spanking the new one on circuit at the launch earlier this year, it really did feel like a much calmer animal.
But then again, it needs to be, as the updated V4 and V4S aren’t the only new kids on the block, with Ducati ditching their entry-level (per se) 959 in favour of the updated V2. See, although the little Pani can quite easily be seen as the middleweight, or the runt of the litter in Ducati’s sporting line-up, it’s actually anything but.
Think about it this way, it packs more power than the original 999R, and very nearly the same amount of torque… and that was a world championship winning superbike just 15 years ago. It’s no slouch then, and for this year Ducati have really ramped it up a notch; it’s been given some seriously saucy cosmetic surgery, a chunk of extra beef in the engine and somehow, the V2
has even managed to nick the top-spec, and utterly spellbindingly good electronics package from the range-topping V4R. Couple that with a softer seat and suspension setup, and it sounds like a seriously sensual recipe for a decent road bike.
So how would the two measure up together? As far as specs go, there’s a whopping 20Nm of difference where torque is concerned and a monumental 59 horsepower difference, which is massive when they weigh about the same-ish. But the biggest gulf? Well, there’s also an absolutely gigantic difference on price tag –the BS4 V4 S costs `26.5 lakh and the BS6compliant V2 is expected to launch at around `16 lakh. So the question is, is the V4S really worth an extra `10 lakhs? Or is the more modest V2 enough for the job? Well we wrapped up and racked up some serious road mileage in typically grim Blighty weather before self-isolation to find out…
With the temperature sitting just a notch above freezing, the roads caked in mud and the rain pissing down every time the clouds looked to be parting, it wasn’t exactly the ideal climate to be spanking two incredibly saucy sports bikes. But then again, that was the point in this test; we know these bikes are great on track, but we wanted to give ’em a pasting in the real world as well.
And to be honest, even with no sun glaring down, the duo of Panigales looked absolutely incredible from a distance; now the V2’s been equipped with a singlesided swinger and sharper bodywork, you could be fooled into thinking they were twins – if those wings weren’t sticking out the side of the V4, anyway. It’s only on closer inspection that the little differences make themselves known. The V4S actually looks a bit chunkier, and those monstrous wings are impossible not to notice and almost impossible to avoid… I’m not sure I’d want to be walking around my garage with those puppies sticking out. Now I’m going to let you in on a little secret for full disclosure; I’ve actually spanked a load of my own cash on a V2 already this year, to turn into a race bike for the Ducati Tri-Options Cup. This meant, although I’d had a few sessions at Jerez last year, I opted for the baby Panigale first – you know, short of a week’s testing in Spain it made sense to get some mileage in before the start of the season, whenever that may be. Plus, after seeing how well behaved the V2 was on track, I was really excited to see if it could hack the local roads just as well.
I know it’s expected to be a whopping `16 lakh, but I’ve got to say, little details like having the ‘V2’ logo etched into the seat make it really look the part, and the baby Panigale did feel both special and premium when I lost the warmth of the van and hopped on. Like with most modern Ducs, the cockpit really is a nice place to
be; the dash is actually easy to use, the buttons to toggle modes are where they should be, and even little details like the placement of the indicators just feel right from the get-go. Alas, the same can’t be said for the sidestand, which is a real pain in the ass to flick up or down. After some serious fumbling, and a few other ‘F’ words thrown in for good measure, it was ready to go, and with that gorgeously sounding V-twin fired up, it didn’t take long for me to have a smile back on my face.
And to be honest, chucking it into Street mode, the smile stayed for longer than I thought. See, not only was the clutch incredibly soft and responsive, but below 40kmph the V2 didn’t really feel like a Ducati – it was much smoother, softer and, shock, horror – it was actually fuelled rather nicely at the bottom end. Who’d have thought? Even the updated ride-by-wire system worked an absolute charm at pootling speeds, and having a ’shifter and ’blipper that works not just when it’s flat out really did help to save the day as well. See, there wasn’t a heated grip in sight so with my hands absolutely frozen it didn’t take long for me to want to avoid touching the clutch at all costs.
But then again, a lack of heated grips was forgotten as we soon managed to get a few miles under our belts. I think the first thing that got me was how comfortable the little Duc was; although it’s got a sporty stance, the riding position didn’t feel too cramped – in fact, it felt quite nice and spacious, which is good if you’ve got some gangly legs, but even for my little ones I felt
incredibly cushy. One thing I did find as well, was that even in the freezing weather the V2 did run quite hot, which although was a godsend in warming my gonads then, will be a pain in the ass when the sun properly comes out. Ducati did say they’ve improved the cooling with new fairings, but not by enough, it would seem – mind you, thanks to the bigger front cowling, there was even a surprising amount of wind (and therefore rain) protection as well. As far as the ride goes, through slow speed stuff another surprise was the suspension, and just how forgiving the chassis and pogo combo was, actually creating a really nice ride and offering loads of feel on the road below – not to mention the incredible electronics, which did actually kick in a couple of times on the ABS side of things when very, very necessary.
I know I’ve said it before, but my God they’re good. To be honest, the only niggle I could really find was the mirrors; they weren’t the most useless things I’d ever used, but they still do suffer with that cursed vibration that makes glancing behind harder than it should be – and with a big bad V4 behind me, I quite liked what I saw for a change… especially with some dry(ish) roads on the horizon.
See, although the V2 had performed admirably rolling through villages, crappy roads and dodgy conditions, the truth is most of these bikes will never be seeing such a thing, so it seemed like the only honourable thing to do was give it a good ol’ fashioned spanking, where the roads of Northamptonshire were surprisingly accommodating. With the mode quickly switched back into ‘Sport’, it was time to have a little play, and the baby Panigale proved it was anything but the runt of the litter.
Although its slow speed manners have been improved considerably, don’t for a second think that it’s been dumbed down at all; oh no, it is very much the opposite. The little added injection of power and torque have made a massive difference in its straight roadmunching capabilities; the V2 seemed to eat up the roads effortlessly, with an urgency that lended itself to feeling much more heavyweight than lightweight. Sure, it would’ve been nice to have had a bit more go at the top end and a few more revs to play with, but even so it was by no means slow, and the V4 hanging on to my number plate wasn’t just bumbling along stuck in first gear.
The same goes for the set up; the V2 really was an absolutely class act when it came to carving up the curves. I don’t know how the Italians have managed it, but even though they’ve softened it up it still performs incredibly under pressure; whisking from side to side is effortless, yet stabbing on those gloriously powerful
Brembo brakes, or accelerating hard barely makes the Showa suspension sweat, it just keeps asking for more abuse. It does feel every bit of its price tag, closer on a likeliness to an exotic superbike, than your everyday budget middleweight.
Now, if only we had an exotic superbike to compare it with…
Ah yes, we do. After smashing a big old chunk of mileage (and a massive lunch), it was time to swap, and I was absolutely buzzing to jump on its bigger brother for the rest of the journey. Now the previous V4 was just about the softest range-topping Panigale to date, but it still did have a seriously feral nature; putting it bluntly, the thing just did not like being on a low speed leash, so I was keen to see how this one would cope. To be honest, once the wings have been dodged it really didn’t feel a million miles apart to the V2; yeah the seat height might be a touch lower, but it has got a slightly chubbier engine, that did make itself known straight away between my legs. The dash and configuration is all very similar (with some more options though, may I add) but aside from that it’s fairly similar – until its sparked up that is, and the monstrous roar of the V4 takes over. I’m a real sucker for a V4 soundtrack, and as far as stock cans go, this may just be my favourite; it genuinely did feel like something special. Talking of special though, in typical Ducati fashion, the first hurdle was the sidestand; I thought the V2’s wasn’t great, but the V4’s sidestand is flimsier than natural yoghurt, and having miniature legs really makes the job a lot tougher than it should be. After what felt like a billion attempts to get the thing up though, we were straight back into the twisties – and my God, the V4S knew how to move.
There’s no getting away from that engine; when I think back to that bike it’s the first thing that crosses my mind. Just everything about it just screams excitement, as it heads into the region of 13,000rpm and beyond. It’s one of the most furious thous that cash can buy as standard, with the sensational wheelie control forever fighting the front end lift, and the power just continuing with every touch of that sublimely smooth shifter. Everything about it feels race-y, and when pushed on it really does make sense. I know it sounds silly, but on big, open, dry, smooth roads everything about it just works; the chassis feels gorgeously composed like a well-set race bike, the brakes are more responsive than an armed ninja and the suspension, well, although still super stiff on one of its softest settings, gave an insane amount of feedback. It just felt at home on big, open bends, eating up corners like the savage it is.
And when I say savage, I mean it. With that much power it didn’t take long to run from the open road into towns and cities, and although it worked wonders off the leash, when stuck behind traffic, pottering through town and hitting potholes, speed bumps and such like, it is still incredibly savage where feeling is concerned. Yeah, Ducati may have softened it off a touch, but it’s still exceedingly stiff when it comes to riding at anything other than flat out, and although the V4S is electronically suspended, it doesn’t offer a monumental ride-changing softness, which is a real shame. Mind you, they would have to be seriously soft to cope with the state of some of the roads we were hitting.
It wasn’t just about its chassis and pogo tekkers through town though, as the same goes for the engine when rolling at a snail’s pace. It might sound silly, but the big Duc just didn’t seem to be happy when any form of slow speed riding made an appearance, with the V4 powerplant making itself very known that it didn’t want to be sitting anywhere under 20 where kmph was concerned. In all fairness, the throttle connection is a lot less aggressive than I expected and the clutch is pleasantly soft for a big shouty sportsbike, but due to the ruthless, revvy-nature of that engine, the bottom end still has a serious chug to it, which in turn makes walking pace riding a real pain in the ass. In fact, anything up to 40kmph seems to be out of the comfort zone, so if you were a bit cuckoo and fancied having one of these as a weekday commuter, I’d strongly advice against it.
But then again, I can’t imagine anyone would, and that’s the point of it; the V4S wasn’t designed in the secret labs in Bologna to be pottering around in first gear, nor was it designed to be a fuel-saving mile muncher – which is good, because it doesn’t half drink its petrol. It’s designed to be ragged to within an inch of its life, and if it wasn’t, it wouldn’t be a range-topping weapon. It’s easy for us to say that it’s hard work through town, and that it’s pretty chuggy at low speed, but when that throttle’s opened and the V4 is firing you forward like it does? Well, it’s a price worth paying, and a feeling that not many standard road bikes on the market today could ever offer.
CONCLUSION
Although these bikes are Panigales, they are both incredibly different; and I’m not even talking about the opposing engine configurations, nor the monstrous gulfs in power and price. See, although the Panigale V2 worked surprisingly well on track, Ducati have somehow seemed to have designed it to be a real puppy on the roads as well; in fact, taking its fuelling, ride and comfort levels into account, I’d go as far as to say it’s the best sportsbike that’s come out of Bologna for pure road riding, and every bit a junior superbike in its own respect – think of it like that, rather than being a middleweight, and it makes a lot more sense, feeling pleasant whether poodling along in the wet, or going flat out under the sun. But then again, how many people that buy a new Panigale will want to ride in cold, damp, dreary days? Because I sure wouldn’t, and if I had a load of cash to spank, the V4S really would be close to the top of my list. On track, the thing is just out of this world in terms of excitement, and yeah, the power delivery and chassis have been softened for 2020, but I can safely say that it’s still a ruthless animal. It still wasn’t happy moping through town or sitting in traffic, but when the sun did break through a bit, the V4 really did prove its worth; it felt truly special and exciting, which is something that many other machines struggle to muster up. See, on a warm, summer’s day, I’d have to go for the bigger beast, with its insatiable thirst for openthrottle activities; even thinking about it as I write this is making me smile like a Cheshire cat. But at the end of the day, it’s still stiff, and it really is made for the track. So for a bike that can do it all, and give you `10 lakh change? I’d have to say that the V2 has won this round…. Just.