1299 Panigale owner Ian rates the new V4
It shifted superbike performance into a new stratosphere. But what will a 1299 Panigale owner make of the all-new V4?
NOTHING ELSE CAME close. Asking which sportsbike made the biggest impact in 2018 is like asking which sporting event of 1966 is most fondly remembered by the British public, or which spacebased film from 1977 had the best fight between fluorescent phalluses. Ducati’s Panigale V4 drew a deep line in the sand for the Italian firm, ending 45 years of V-twin race-reps. More importantly, it packed more raw speed than any roadlegal superbike ever had before. Boasting 211bhp — while still meeting all Euro4 noise and emissions regulations, and still only needing valve checks every 15,000 miles — the Panigale V4 did more than just shuffle the performance goalposts along a little. It dug them up, drove them to a playing field the next village over and
planted them deep into the earth again. And then flew a giant red flag from the top.
But let’s step back from hyperbike hyperbole and ground the V4 in reality. It makes more power, packs more tech and laps faster round a track than the decades of Ducati V-twins that came before it. But how does it fare where it matters most: in the hearts and minds of the people who buy, own and ride these exotic flagships?
People like Ian Griggs, who put 5000 miles on his 1299 Panigale S in its first year. As well as masses of road miles, Ian has taken his 1299 round Donington Park and has recently returned from another track event, this time at Cartagena in Spain. “Not bad for a toy,” he smiles.
So what led Ian to buy the most powerful V-twin superbike? “I had a Triumph Daytona 955i before this, and I was quite happy with it. Then my son Harry took it out for a ride and crashed it – it was totalled. So we were both looking for new bikes. Harry ended up with a Ducati 848, and while we were in the Ducati dealership, I fell for the Panigale.
“It’s not my first Ducati: I owned an 860 GT back in the 1970s. I’ve got a Scrambler too, which is so easy to ride — but the Panigale’s an animal. I’ve added a full Akrapovic exhaust system and the throttle response is incredibly sharp now. Other than that, it rides awesome. I really love it and I do all my own work on it. I change my own tyres, balance my own wheels, do my own servicing. It hurts me to pay someone else to do something I can do.”
But in the past year, Ducati’s kingpin superbike has been re-crowned. Time to see what Ian makes of the newcomer…
2016 Ducati 1299 Panigale S vs 2018 Ducati Panigale V4 S
Half an hour down the road, we pull over to get Ian’s first thoughts on the V4. And they’re not the words I’m expecting: “It’s not half the bike mine is,” he says. I’m searching his face for a sarcastic smile, but there’s no sign of one yet. I’m sorry?
“The V-four is lovely and smooth, the power’s nice and progressive, but the V-twin really shouts at you: ‘I’m a real superbike! I’m a big monster!’ I didn’t get that with the V-four — not yet, at least.” Though the V-four makes more power (claimed 211bhp up from the V-twin’s 202bhp), its smaller 1103cc capacity means less torque (down from 107lb·ft to 92lb·ft). On the road, that translates to two strikingly different deliveries. The 1299 smacks you round the head with savage
speed whenever you open the throttle. After such a brutal assault, the V-four isn’t as instantly dramatic — but get the revs up and it unleashes a sensational, streamlined, super-concentrated speed more intense than any superbike before. Even on a race track and in ultra-experienced hands, it’s a huge physical challenge just to hold on to a full-throttle Panigale V4.
“The V-four might have more power at the top end, but do you want to be buzzing up there all the time?” asks Ian. “I’m not a hooligan, don’t get me wrong, but the 1299 gives you that hooligan feeling at a slower pace,” reckons Ian. “There’s more immediate punch at lower revs and lower speeds, which is why I get so much enjoyment out of riding it. It’s what you’re used to, isn’t it?
“This feels much more like a Japanese bike,” he continues. “I’ve ridden V-fours before: Honda’s 750F and VF1000 F2 in the mid-80s. So I’m aware they can feel smooth, but also buzzy at the same time – and that’s reflected in this Ducati too. Its power delivery is nice and smooth, though you can still feel it buzzing away. The mirrors vibrate but they don’t on mine. You’d think it’d be the other way round, wouldn’t you?”
But one area where Ian is definitely impressed by the new Panigale is its chassis. “Through the corners, it’s giving me lots of confidence; so there are no problems there,” he explains. “Feel-wise, you get a lot more feedback from the road through the new V4. It’s surprisingly plush; my 1299 is definitely set up a lot stiffer, a lot harder, a lot more rigid.”
It’s hard to know whether the V4’s improved road manners can be credited to its inertia-reducing backwards-spinning crankshaft; the geometry or rigidity of its new aluminium ‘Front Frame’; the calibration of its semi-active Öhlins suspension; or a combination of everything. But the dynamic difference feels stark. The V4 hugs the road snugly, with a confidenceinspiring direct connection, agile steering and deceptively compliant suspension for something designed as a vicious track animal. The 1299 handles far more harshly, feels harder work to direct and isn’t nearly as forgiving or encouraging in turns. It feels more how you’d imagine a fierce, focused race bike to be.
Astonishingly, the new V4 is actually more at home on the road. “The 1299 is a worse everyday bike,” concedes Ian. “It’s more extreme.”
But while the new V4 is both a better road bike and packs greater outright performance, it hasn’t won over Ian’s affections today. “It feels like the 1299 is the end of an era. And because of that, I can’t ever see me selling it or getting rid of it.”