I don't own one but done some extended rides on both a Speciale and V4R. Very, very competent bikes and very fast. The V4R was a game changer for me in that it's the easiest bike to ride fast that I've ever been on. That said, I haven't ordered one and I don't think that I will.
Test rode the S model twice Ergos seemed better for a tall rider less heat on the
crotch than a 1299 while it was very fast, I expected more from it only due to all
the hype. Would I like to own one yes but I am not a track rider so it would not be
a good toy for me given the cost and 5,000 exhaust I would need to have. Maybe I
will pick one up 2nd hand in a few years.
Evening Paulie. Working in the industry and being a member of an excellent club, I get to ride a LOT of bikes around town and through the twisties. In the last 15 or more years I’m always overwhelmed by the hype that surrounds new models and underwhelmed by what I ride. In that time I can’t remember a bike I didn’t like. Well maybe the desmosedici rr, not a bike that impressed me at all. If push came to shove out of the Aprilia or Ducati I would chose the Aprilia only because I like its look. The v4 Ducati looks to close to the 2 cylinder Pani and for the real world where we ride, doesn’t do anything better. I chose looks first and nothing else after. No manufacturer make a bad bike. They’re all good and if I don’t like something about it I change it. Moto journalists, don’t get me started. My all time favs are the F3 800 and the R6.
Am just curious as to what it was about it that you didn't like.
Reason for asking is that of ALL the v4 superbikes, and I'm going all the way back to the RC-45, the D16RR is the one that always appealed to me the most. I'm pretty sure that it was the extremely narrow focus adhered to by the design team that got my attention, as I feel the same way about the RC213V.
Seems like decent post xracer.
I would only add that whatecer bike we buy, we have to set up suspension and ergonomics, because we are all diferent in size, age and type of driving style.
I'm 186 and 97kgs, pretty far away from average italian rider (170cm 60plus kg). Now imagine myself on bike made for italian
I've been sitting on v4s few times now, 4 days ago recently, and i found out only by pushing the handlebars that front suspension is extremly soft.
There is eletronics setup, i know, i was playing with it but still its on soft side for me. After ride i pretty sure i would have same conclusion..
try. Striped down they are an extremely complex machine. Built like an Audi car with not much thought about easy maintenance(the Aprilia isn’t much better). The Ducati techs pull their hair out with how little time they’re given to do recall silly and trivial recall work that should have been sorted in the design and testing stages. It’s not an enthusiast bike and in my view this will not be a bike that will stand the test of time like the 916-1098. In ten plus years they will have so many electronic issues it would be easier to scrap than fix. Just like an Audi.
I had a V4s for about a year and really loved it, but never got it to the track. The bike was fairly comfortable for a sport bike and the rider aids are many and work well. I ended up trading the bike for a Hypermotard 950 SP because with the V4s I was doing to much crazy stuff on the street. The bike has irresistible speed even for me at 62 years old. Fun on the V4s is going really really fast whereas fun on the 950 SP is at more reasonable speeds. But yeah, the V4s is an incredible motorcycle and the catalyst for other manufacturers to step up their game.
Regarding the complexity of the bike, I completely agree. In that sense it was almost a relief to not own the bike anymore because it was mostly a big unknown black box and hard to work on for sure. Just putting on an Evotech rad guard was an involved job. Also the coolant overflow level markers were hidden behind a fairing so to check the coolant level involved removing a fairing......what?!!!
Morning Proph. Unrefined is a word that comes to mind. And try undressing one.
The only r bikes I haven’t ridden are the OW01 and the RCV213v (haven’t even seen one in the flesh). RC30 I liked the most. I was really in my mind “different”. In race trim they were awesome.
I think I know what you're talking about by "unrefined", and I think that is one of the aspects of these machines that appeal to me. Tooling marks on machined parts... I LOVE seeing that. It imparts a definite "one off" feel for me... The cars we build at BAC are good examples of just that.
It is literally everything needed to get around a race track faster than just about anything else... and nothing more. It is raw, and that could be interpreted as "unrefined". But in my eyes, it is just about perfect.
The only r bikes I haven’t ridden are the OW01 and the RCV213v (haven’t even seen one in the flesh). RC30 I liked the most. I was really in my mind “different”. In race trim they were awesome.
Don't know about those guys, don't get up there much anymore, Springwood Suzuki is a dealer now, they have a demo and they're just down the road. I'm a bit reluctant to take one for a ride, I may have to have one then. Trying to resist buying anymore bikes at the moment. Maybe that's my subconscious reason for posting this thread, to be talked out of buying one.
Buy some old stuff paulie. If you’re handy it becomes very therapeutic AND they usually never depreciat in value. My latest is a baby F1(F3). Horny little bike that is the essence of what I think a Ducati is and shockingly capable through the twisties.
My next Italian bike will be either an 899 or an F3. And regardless of which way I go, it's going to have one of these on it... These guys make such a nice exhaust system.
Geez... this is the first time I've ever looked at the two of them simultaneously. The 899 is sexy AF...
I was so ready for the V4 Panigale to come out. I wanted a V4 Ducati ever since the first MotoGP bikes were tested in 2002 (you just knew eventually Ducati would do a street version). The Desmosedici RR was just a tease, super expensive and so precious I am not sure I would ever leave it parked anywhere. Just hitting a pothole with the forged mag wheels would cost a nice used 996 to put right these days, assuming you could even get the wheels (or tires that fit them).
But the D16RR did hint at what Ducati could do if they wanted, I didn't expect it to be another decade before the production bike materialized, and when it did it looked fantastic. Quite a bit like the twin Panigales that came before it actually. Along the way I bought the most amazing twin Ducati (if not the most amazing twin production sportbike ever): my 1299S. It is beautiful, ludicrously fast, reasonably comfortable. A lot like the V4 Panigale is reported to be. And the they sound almost the same...
Er...sound the same? One is a V2 and the other a V4. V4 are supposed to sound like an RC30, or an early GP Ducati with Capirossi smoking the tire out of every corner, or maybe an RSV4...
I understand why they sound very similar with the crank offsets in the V4. My question however is why Ducati chose to do this. Perhaps because it mimics the MotoGP bike, but I suspect it is a marketing decision to have it sound like their twins. IMO this actually makes the bike slightly less desirable to me personally. It is not really nitpicking, things like this affect who buys these premium toys. Dropping $5k for an exhaust so it sounds like a louder twin isn't a great option either.
Haven't ridden one, and I am sure if I didn't already have a recent Ducati superbike I would be anxious to buy one (still want a complete set of all six gens of Ducati superbike, half there now). I probably will buy one eventually. But the sound issue stopped me from just going down to the dealer and saying "take my money"
Meanwhile, Aprilia seems to have quietly made the RSV4 Factory better in every way for 2019 with the bigger engine and included exhaust that actually sounds like a V4 should and looks to be equally fast to the V4S. Who knows what might happen, Aprilias tend to be discounted heavily after the initial pop of a new model. An 1100 factory that is many thousands less than a full MSRP V4S would be very tempting.
My understanding is Ducati are going for the big bang rather than a screamer engine config. It's less likely to spin up, that's why the gp bike is similar.
It is perhaps ironic then that they have chosen to go against the conventional layout for a 90 deg V4. They have traction control and the Ducati has an amazingly good system if my 1299 is any indication (undoubtedly the race team has an even better system).
A decade or more ago in World Superbikes, 2007-ish would be the year with Toseland and Ten Kate, that traction control really started to be effective for the fours. The inherent advantage of the twins off the corner was negated and we were left watching Bayliss attempt to defend his title with 1000cc and a big power deficit. Long straights the fours' advantage was clear while the Ducati no longer had any area where it was clearly better.
I get that designing an engine that is already less likely to spin up could be advantageous, although the team with the last four WSBK titles has a conventional inline four (probably the worst for "spinning up"). Aprilia has also won titles in the last decade using a conventional crank layout albeit with a narrower Vee angle. And in MotoGP I am not sure anyone outside of HRC knows exactly what is in the RC213V engine but it sounds different than the Ducati for sure. They win a few races and championships without resorting to offset crank pins. The 2020 BMW will likely be the biggest competition for Ducati and Aprilia, and it gets by with standard four layout.
It seems as much a marketing decision as an engineering one. Yes their MotoGP bike has this arrangement, and it is already the most powerful bike in the field so perhaps it could sacrifice a bit of power loss. Unknown.
I had theorized the V4R engine would be normal crank layout, but it looks like it has plenty of beans as it is.
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