Omg they couldn't be more different in terms of character. The 1260S is all Ducati typical V-twin clattery-ness, fairly raw grunt but unlike the DVT it's power is available from not much over idle and just pulls with no dips to mention. Altogether the character is a very familiar sensation to anyone that's owned a Ducati at some point in their motorcycling career. The V4 on the otherhand ... the best way to describe it is like a typical Ducati twin but without so much of the typical Ducati clatter and much smoother, and for such a very such a potent lump it's incredibly easy to use - which is something you're not expecting. It's got LOADS of bottom end and mid-range. If Ducati put this engine in a Multistrada they would clean up. It feels and sounds like a twin at idle and when you're pottering around, but when you open it up it smooths out and starts to feel a bit more like the V4 you were expecting. I like 4 cylinder bikes as I enjoy the revvy peaky nature of them and the screaming top end and the smoothness of them, but after a while they get boring. I love a fat torquey twin that just has loads of grunt and character, but after a while you get tired of the big power-pulses and the low frequency vibe and long for something a bit smoother - and this is why I have two bikes with the two different engines, although the MT-10's cross plane engine is different again. The lump in V4S sits right in the middle of all of those engines in terms of it's characteristics and give you a bit of everything - even better than a triple does. It's really quite something and a very unique and extremely enjoyable thing.
You get a more even timing with the boxer so it does feel a bit smoother but you get that horrible torque lurch to one side with the transverse crank, which I completely hate every time you blip the throttle.
tbh on the new GS bikes that is pretty well gone completely, but you are right on the older boxers that was a little annoying.
My mate has a new RT. It's still there. I dare say if you ride a boxer all the time you probably get used to it, but if you've only ridden with an engine where the crank runs across the frame then you notice it much like you'd notice it if someone stood beside you and gave you a slight shove. According to Ducati the same forces have been bothering us with across the frame cranks too, affecting cornering suspension and braking performance, hence the reason for the V4S contra-rotating cranks. When you think about it then it's pretty undesirable in those areas too but less obvious because at least the force in those areas doesn't feel like it's an unstable and lopsided bike. About 25 years ago when my Dad used to ride proper bikes he had a Honda ST1100. I had a go on it and dropped it doing a slow turn in a car park. The torque moment of that thing was savage, I guess with more cyclinders and camshafts all running in the same direction. Bloody horrid thing.
Having test ridden the 1260 on Monday, for me personally I'm not convinced its the better bike. It does have lots more low down torque but it appears to have lost power from the mid range upwards. That said it was a brand new bike with 50 miles on the clock. The autoblipper is great though, it handles probably marginally better than my DVT as its more stable but still turns quickly. New dash is easier to navigate. Rider sits closer to the screen so there is a little more noise and buffeting. Still remain to be convinced a QS is of any benefit in a road bike. I'll try it again in a month or so when the demo bike has more miles on it and the roads are warmer.
Damn you Rainman Now i await a V4 Mutley, could be waiting years....or will someone on this forum beat Ducati to it!!!!!
Yes - up and down, up needs revs to be smoother and not so good in lower gears. Downshift is good in all gears, only 900m so far. I expect it to get better now I have 7k revs to play with.
It's gained power not lost any power from the mid-range - yet to explore the top ... still got another 400 miles to go. I do a lot of motorway riding so I spend a lot of time in the mid-range. It's definitely not lacking in this area and it's much easier to modulate the throttle as it's much more responsive and the top-gear roll-on grunt is superior to the DVT. It might be that because the DVT had a bit of a dip around 5K RPM it made everything after that feel pretty decent, but the reality is that power on the 1260 continues to gradually build with no dips from 3.5K RPM where it's making 85% of it's torque, and from the graphs I've seen it goes all the way to the top in a fairly linear fashion. I can honestly say that jumping straight off the DVT after 18,000 miles and 2 years of ownership, and then straight onto the 1260S, I felt them to be exactly the same. To me at least, it felt like I hadn't changed bike other than the engine being the immediately noticeable difference. Maybe the bars had been rotated up and forward a little on the demo bike? Now owning my 2nd bike with a QS I wouldn't consider a road bike without one. You're not opening and closing the throttle as you go up the box, which makes for a smoother ride and better and more consistent cornering at any speed. Traditionally, when cornering you pick the right gear for your entry speed and hold onto that gear as you accelerate through the turn. On a long sweeping bend you can end up holding onto that gear for longer than you'd ideally want as you don't want to come off the throttle and start shifting weight back onto the front wheel mid-corner. Changing gear mid-corner isn't a great idea, however with a QS there is minimal delay in engaging another gear, so you don't get the same weight transition happening compared to shifting without a QS. Also, if you do change gear mid-corner without a QS then re-applying the throttle is something done very cautiously, whereas with a QS your throttle position remains unchanged and completely constant. Pillions benefit from a QS quite a bit as it reduces the occurrence of their face coming into contact with the back of your lid during gear changes. I'm a recent convert to quickshifters and utterly convinced that they have a long future on road bikes and definitely benefit all types of riding. They are here to stay. The wife loves a quickshift, and she also likes a bike that can do clutchless upshifts, fnar fnar.
It's good to see Ducati on the V4 revisiting the "contra rotating crank" arrangement, as previously used on all Ducati bevel twins 1971-1984 but later dropped.
Personally I’ll skip the 1260 and wait for the inevitable V4 Multistrada. My DVT is nicely brisk (understatement!) in the meantime.
Each to their own....a Ducati should be a twin, they only produced the V4 Panigale to reduce their huge WSBK budget! It may be successful, but i cant see them losing their heritage altogether and putting a V4 in everything, i may be wrong and in years to come may be lured by the V4 Multi, who knows, but the 1260 is a definite improvement over the 1200 and a worthy update.
I'm warming to the idea of the 1260 after having the KTM in the garage as well as my DVT. The 1290 engine is so easy to work at any rev range - it just pulls. The DVT really needs more attention to keep it in the meat of the power. That said, the prospect of trading my '17 for an '18 is making my budget squirm
Chopped my 16 DVT in for a 1260S on the premis that i’ll Lose less now on the trade in than hanging on to it for another 12 months. Agree with everything that @Rainman says above, the bike feels more planted, I’ve not touched the rebound settings as the bike corners like it’s on rails, I never felt that with the dvt. Quickshifter is a great addition. The standard screen caused so much buffeting on the dvt and I found it no different on the 1260, I’ve changed for my carbon Pikes peak copy from conquest, all we need now is some bloody sunshine!
I wasn’t expecting too much of a difference to be honest, however, they’re like chalk n cheese, the 1260 has more low down grunt and pulls smoothly from all revs, I’ve had it in 3rd at 30! I’m still on the run in so I expect as with the dvt for it to get better and better. The bike handles better too and with the addition of the quick shifter what’s not to like
soloman, I hear what your saying and love V-Twins, but horses for Corsas! Hideous radiators, wet clutches, electronic interventions! Even Porsche had to accede to radiators, 6+ cylinders and turbos! Character not withstanding, want torque, God forbid, go electric!
I have only done 80 miles on my new bike and it is clear to see that it is light and day different, and such a massive improvement of an already great bike. the shifter is much better than i ever thought possible, ( i thought it might be clunky) and the extra torque is noticeable right from the off, i have the full system fitted and it pops and spits just niceley, also with the pikey i have the marchasini wheels which are so much nicer than my 2015 pikey wheels. the heated grips are also so much better they actually work too well, i love the new colour scheme, i am already loving this bike, just need some better weather to get it run in and ready for a bit of a thrash.
I'll wager, if you rode a Panigale V4 but nobody told what the engine was, you would think you were still riding a twin. It sounds like one, feels like one, has the same (slightly muted) clatter and looses almost none of the character. It's down to the firing order. You only begin to realise that there is something vaguely different about the engine when you start to open it up and it feels somewhat smoother. That engine is still distinctly Ducati and there is nothing else on the market like it, so it still keeps a lot of what makes Ducati unique compared to other makes. Yamaha are tapping into this characterful engine element too, intentionally or otherwise. Their CP4 and CP3 engines are also like nothing else out there, because of their crank timing and are so different to other inline 4's and triples.
