Next Panigale goes the V4 route
THE Panigale V4, unveiled at the Eicma motorcycle show, marks one of Ducati’s biggest breaks with tradition.
The replacement for the 1299 Panigale V-twin at the top of the Ducati pecking order, it’s the first mass-production bike from the Bologna works with a V4 engine, derived directly from the DesmoSedici MotoGP machine, with an actual capacity of 1103cc.
There will be, we are told, a screaming short-stroke version displacing less than 1000cc to make it eligible for World Superbike racing, but it’s not clear whether a streetable version of that engine will be offered.
Be that as it may, the factory quotes outputs of 157.5kW at 13 000 revs and 123.6Nm at 10 000rpm for the V4.
Drive is taken to the rear wheel via a conventional six-speed gearbox and a standard-fit electronic quickshifter.
The Panigale V4 is also the first Ducati in many years that does not have a trellis frame; instead it uses the engine itself as the frame, with a box-section ‘Front Frame’, bolted to the front upper crankcase and rear cylinder head to support the steering head.
All of which, together with magnesium engine covers and a magnesium sump, has kept the kerb weight of the new V4 down to 198kg, only 7.5 kilograms more than the V-twin it replaces.
The electronics package of the Panigale V4 includes second-generation Bosch cornering ABS, traction control, slide control, wheelie control, engine braking control and launch contro.
The Panigale V4 will be released in South Africa during the first half of 2018 in a choice of three variants - the base model with Showa suspension and cast wheels, plastic bodywork and a wet battery, the V4 S with Ohlins suspension and steering damper, forged wheels and a lithium-ion battery, and the V4 Speciale, of which only 1500 will be made.
The Speciale will have all the S kit plus carbon-fibre mudguards, heel protectors and swing-arm cover, a machined-from-solid top fork yoke engraved with the bike’s serial number, adjustable footpegs, articulated racing levers, special grips and an alcantara seat.
Included in the price will be a taller racing screen, a racing fuel-cap, tail tidy kit, telemetry kit, a bike cover, and a track-only, non-street legal, full titanium Akrapovic exhaust system that boosts maximum power by 8.8kW to 166.2kW.
Prices:
Panigale V4 Panigale V4 S Panigale V4 Speciale
R280 000 R349 000 R650 000