V4 V4s Build - From Start To Finish

I've been noticeably (or more likely not) absent on here due in part to a number of reasons, including a house move, family bereavement, spinal surgery and a host of other things, but since a good few people have commented on a lack of communication from me recently (as a result of said life events), I have decided to run a timeline thread on the V4S Unica build I started way back in 2018. I will try and run it in some sort of chronological order, that mimics what I set out to achieve on book of face, so as you can see the progress of the build for yourselves as it moves through each stage.

This will be a picture heavy thread so I make no apologies for that, other than if you don't want to wade through them all then move along. I will try and upload an update daily, but that all depends on work commitments, so please don't flame me if things don't appear when you might expect them to. The first installment will begin tomorrow as I am on the back end of a 12 hour shift at work, knackered, hungry and tired so forgive me, but tonight I'm calling time on any further keyboard shenanigans.

 

Sorry peeps. Father in law is critically ill in hospital so I have been a little distracted of late. I will post up this weekend, just bear with me.

 

I make no apologies for the method in my madness, because there is one. Most owners would never go to these extremes and see little point in it, which is perfectly understandable, but OCD is something that has always plagued me, even as a child, so I'm driven to take things to levels beyond what many people consider necessary, just to satisfy myself. With all that said, the following should not come as such a surprise and for anyone that knows me, this build is much like many others I have carried out in the past. If you think I'm crazy, then you are probably right, but enough about me.....let's get started.......

First you'll need to rewind your clocks back to November 2018. Take one perfectly road legal, brand new 2018 Panigale V4S with PDI mileage on it and reduce it from this....to this, in less than a week!




Note that the engine stand is an absolute must for this kind of build as it makes life a whole lot easier. I already had the stand itself from the 1299 build I previously did, so I simply bought the correct sump liner/plate, as shown below....

 

Like any build and with such a myriad of wiring and sensors to take into account on the Panigale, I have always found it advisable, if not essential, to label everything as you go as well as taking numerous photos of some of the more complex assemblies, such as the variable/motorised inlet tracts/trumpets.

Parts were separated into three distinct groups....those that were to be replaced entirely and which were carefully packed away (stock OEM parts), parts that were to be modified in some way and parts that were purchased to replace those removed. The vast majority of these consisted of fasteners. It never ceases to amaze me, given the price point of Ducatis, just how bad the quality of their hardware is. Some of the bolts, screws and nuts on this bike were woefully bad, akin to swiss cheese and frankly fit for the bin. Every one was replaced where I felt they could be bettered, and only those on the engine itself, or fasteners that were simply too difficult/not cost-effective to replicate remained, for example fairing bolts. From now on marine grade A4 or A2 stainless steel and titanium was the order of the day. Fit and forget, well about any possible corrosion at least.

I also managed to get hold of an official copy of the workshop manual on a USB disk from Moto Rapido, so torque settings and any of the more demanding processes of the rebuild would match those set by the factory when the bike was originally assembled (in May 2018 if records are correct). Where necessary I will add in images of any relevant tools, should you be inclined to want to carry out any of the tasks I've undertaken.

Spring puller is a God send when removing any exhaust, Saves you from the inevitable bleeding knuckles, potential eye injuries, hunting around in the bowels of the bike for the one that got away. Cheap enough to buy and always in my toolbox.



If you ever come to remove the rear headers on a V4 you will soon come to realise that swivel sockets are an absolute must, as you simply cannot access the cylinder head manifold nuts otherwise. As it is, it's still a total PIA to remove them but this set of sockets saved the day and turned an otherwise mare of a job into a 15 minute exercise.

 

Zip lock bags, where are they when you need them? I bought 300 just to be on the safe side!



Here is just a small selection of the fasteners removed from the bike. Most of these were or will be replaced with titanium or stainless steel equivalents. Some such as the bodywork fasteners, for example will remain as OEM.

 

I guess you learn from your mistakes. Here was my first one. Whilst removing the front frame I snapped the mounting point on one of the front coil pack connectors which clips onto the underside of the air filter inlet behind the radiator. I dug out some old AMP connector tools, ordered a new one and replaced it. Job done.

Here's the damage



These tools are invaluable for removing AMP TYCO connectors. It's a simple matter of ensuring you re-insert the wires back into their correct pin positions on the new connector block e voila as good as new. I will know for next time (should there be one) to unclip these connectors from the inlet duct first. Doh!

 

Talking of poor quality parts. This little lot came out of my front frame when I removed it from the engine, as I was trying to work out what all the rattling was inside it.



If you want further evidence of cost cutting, then take a look at the quality of the front frame casting. Those of a nervous disposition please look away. I've seen 'lost wax process' school projects that look better than this.



Here are the front frame and swing arm castings. Both were stripped of all bearings, bushes, oil seals, hubs, etc (my thanks to Carl Harrison Motorcycles who carried out this task) ready to be packed up and sent off for Cerakoting.

 

Talking of tools, if you want to ensure you can remove the oil cooler without damaging those aluminium nuts on the supply/return pipes, these nylon jaw pliers are a must.


It's very easy to get side tracked by the enormity of completely dis-assembling your bike, so I always tackle it as a series of sub-assemblies, that way it never seems such a daunting prospect, putting it all back together. A good example of this being the cooling system, many components of which were due to be either Cerakoted or ceramic coated or the OEM hoses and cheap zinc plated jubilee clips ditched for better items.

The thermostat assembly is buried in between the two cylinder heads. Anyone attempting to replace the stock hoses is going to find out just how difficult this job is with the airbox in situ. Fortunately for me this as accessible as it gets.



Cheap zinc plated jubilee clips are history as are the hoses.



Radiator fan bracket stripped of all it's clips, brake guide block, and protective strips ready for Cerakoting. From 2019 onwards, Ducati replaced this whole assembly with a black plastic version.

 

I'm willing to try my hand at most things MH, except wallpapering which I'm shite at!

 

More supplies in the form of tools, specialist adhesives, new parts. I will throw these in to the mix as the thread continues.

Found out the hard way that aluminium wheel socket tools are a false economy, so I bought a decent one for the forthcoming weeks




Silicone taper plugs for the oil cooler and radiator inlet outlet pipes keep any potential crud out and paint come coating. The oil cooler was in fact replaced as it was under recall. My local dealer knew me well enough to just give me the new version and handed them back my old (new) one, in the knowledge I'll fit it myself. I will deal with any records of recall work through them in due course.



This stuff is ideal for load bearing applications and what the factory recommend for axles, bushes, hubs etc, so I always keep a tube at hand for the muckier jobs.




Loctite 480 is a purpose made adhesive for bonding rubber to metal or rubber to plastic. It is used extensively on the Panigale and I'll use it during the airbox/fuel system build and the cooling system. The SAMCO kit after several modifications, finally fits! My bike was the prototype for the V4 kit they produce, which earned me a sizeable discount on the cost of the kit. Sadly their jubilee kit does not work as some of the clips have bands that are too wide to fit correctly onto the thermostat housing, so I opted instead to make up my own kit using "Mikalor" jubilee clips which are A4 stainless and much narrower, as per the OEM ones.




If you have never heard of them before ACCU fasteners have a great website where you buy one or 1000 fasteners at a time and search/select by size, material, head type etc. A lot cheaper than ProBolt and they have pretty much every conceivable type you might need. This is just a small sample of what I bought, in this case A2/A4 grade throttle body, airbox and inlet manifold bolts. The stock bolts are so soft, they chew up at the mere hint of being undone, so most went straight in the bin. In the end I probably bought over 250 fasteners from ACCU alone.

 

Exquisite stuff Pierobon, sadly it took them over four years to put that frame into production and it still requires a number of other mods to make it into a cohesive bike. Another company has already released a trellis frame for the V4, but the quality (welding) is very questionable.