Complexsimplicity
Dangerous thing, idle curiosity. Mike Armitage wonders how easy it is to properly clean our Panigale V2’s grubby bits and loses most of the day (but just one fastener)
eing unable to go out very much means Mrs Armitage thinks my time should be fully taken with important jobs. Things like repotting dead-looking plants that I can’t pronounce and rearranging the towels in the bathroom. Today I’ve got something more engaging to attend to. Our long-term test Ducati Panigale V2 was given a hearty clean before being shackled into my garage, but while fiddling with the trickle charger in a bid to postpone domestic duties I’m annoyed by dirty marks on the inaccessible inner base of the screen. Closer inspection reveals a filthy bottom yoke, the fat fork legs and proximity of the snug-fitting bodywork having prevented my sponge from gaining access. Having used plenty of profanity while disassembling the V4 we had last year, I’m also intrigued how the V2 fits together. Time for exploration; the pittosporum tenuifolium can wait.
BWith few panels and minimal fasteners the V2’s fairing looks simple and elegant. This of course means it’s complex. Removing the inner fairing panels is essential to reach the yoke. Doing so will also give access to bolts mounting the nose panel, and removing this will give easy access to the screen as well as the inside of the nose itself. Sounds easy, but main fairing bolts need removing, mirrors need unplugging from indicator wiring, fairing inners need contorting... By the time five simple parts lay on a colour-coordinated sheet (not an ocial accessory) I’ve removed 20 clips, screws and bolts. Yes, twenty. And it’s taken twice as long as expected. There are some sweet details in how the V2 is constructed, mind. I like how the mirror bolts also locate neat covers, the discreet reliefs giving access to the two main fasteners for the nose. Muck removed, reassembly shows Ducati have
made the V2 easier to work on than the 899/959 too. Yes, the fairing inners still need bending four ways at once. But the rubber that accepts the big central nose clip is friendlier and doesn’t require scary force to remove/replace the bodywork, and the wires to the mirror-mounted indicators are longer. They’re still fiddly, but reconnection is possible by normal humans, not just factory techs with freakishly long fingers. There’s also something to be said for build quality. I’m a hamfisted fool, but there are no rounded-out fasteners, split plastics, misaligned parts or leftover screws. Pleasingly unusual. Things go back to normal as I drop the last screw for the left-hand mirror and it hides itself deep in the fairing. Extraction means removing most of the fasteners and panels I’ve just refitted, plus the fairing side. It’ll be the perfect job for when the next load of plant pots are presented.
‘Reconnection is possible by normal humans, not techs with freakishly long fingers’