First the good news. There’s more than a little of the 916 in this, the latest in Ducati V4 superbikes. The same drooping front fairing. The same tiny slits for headlights. And a near identical slimming through the waist while finishing in a, let’s call it muscular, rump. Save for the very MotoGP-like ‘ground effects’ winglets, this latest Panigale is not only the best-looking of the V4s, but also the most blatant homage to what many people consider the most beautiful sportbike of the modern era.
Less well received — it’s already generated its fair share of online haters — is the now dual-sided swingarm. Previous V4s — like that much-loved 916 — ran on super-stylish single-arm swingers and the Ducatisti have become quite enamoured, it seems, of its iconic shape.
Perhaps the loyalists will get over themselves when they understand that the new duel-sided affair weighs a substantial 3.8 kilograms less than the ultra-beefy single-side system. The Hollow Symmetrical Swingarm is also, aggressively dual-beamed, pretty stylish in its own right. Interestingly, Ducati boasts that it is 37% softer in lateral stiffness. This allows more sideways flex when the bike is healed over 45 degrees or more, crucial to responsive handling because at large lean angles, a bike’s suspension system — both front and rear — tends to bind. Trust me, matching the lateral stiffness of both swingarm and frame members is now the most important criteria of the modern big-lean-angle superbike. And, as hopefully some small comfort for all those haters, know that your sacrifice is for the greater good. I suspect that, if Ducati engineers could have figured out a way to imbue their preferred single-sided swinger with the necessary balance, they would have. So, console yourselves with the justification that higher performance, stickier tires and the 60-degree lean angles the modern superbike is capable of, demand the ‘flexibility’ of the new design.
The upmarket V4 S version further ups the handling ante with premium suspension gear, namely the latest spec — and electronically adjustable — Ohlin NPX-30 front fork and TTX 36 rear shock. Ditto, the very latest in radial monobloc brakes with Brembo’s Hypure promising more power and less pad wear (a neat trick if the Italian giant can pull it off). The latest Panigale also benefits from Bosch’s new Race electronic Combined Braking System (eCBS). Tuned specifically for track use, Race eCBS applies rear brake pressure even when the rider only pulls the front brake lever. Processing data — front master cylinder pressure, front and rear wheel slip as well as lean angle — 100 times a second, the Bosch system attempts to emulate the latest MotoGP and World Superbike techniques. It even continues to apply a little rear brake pressure after the front brake lever is released, presumably to add more stability to the transition from maximum straight-line braking to trail-braking all the way to the corner’s apex.
But Race eCBS is just the tip of the electronics iceberg. A new electronics package called Ducati Vehicle Observer (DVO) supposedly estimates the forces being applied through the suspension and uses it for finer control of the Ducati Traction Control DVO, Ducati Slide Control, Ducati Wheelie Control DVO, Ducati Power Launch DVO and Engine Brake Control systems. We’ll have to wait until we test the new 2025 model to fully understand how proficient this new MotoGP-based system is.
Less dramatic are the changes made to the 1,103-cc V4. In fact, the 2025 model gains but 0.5 horsepower in its makeover, European versions now boasting 216 horsepower while our North American models make due with 209 hp. Indeed, all the technical changes — shorter duration cams with higher lift and wider range of adjustment for the variable-length intake trumpets — are aimed at meeting more stringent Euro 5+ emissions standards, the reduced overlap of tighter cam timing the most common way to reduce the amount of unburned hydrocarbons exiting the exhaust system at low rpm. The higher lift and the shorter intake tunnels restore the power that would otherwise be lost by letting the new engine rev 500 rpm higher than its predecessor. A track-only Akropovic pipe is available that is claimed to liberate a further 12 horses.
Thanks to a lithium-ion battery and forged aluminum rims, the V4 S version of the Panigale tips the scales at 187 kilograms while base Panigale V4 weighs 191 kg. Here in Canada, the base V4 will start at USD$29,995 while Ducati wants USD$38,295 for the V4 S version.
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