Queue all the riders saying it’s an amazing step forward, 1 sec a lap, everyone must go and drop £10k plus to change to the new model… suddenly the old one is a dog, can’t believe anyone bought one…. Yuk….. Honestly boils my pee! I just don’t understand the ridiculous over hype and journalistic brainwashing. I fell for it though….. in 2020 I went and bought a Panigale V2 because of the LED lights (I never ride at night) and the blipper, and the single sided swingarm which I look at only in the garage…. I knew full well I should go and buy a 959 corse and save £3-4k but I didn’t, and within 500 miles I regretted it
I think the same about my 1299S. I shouldve stuck to my plans and bought the R1. Or kept my 1198 (i still miss that bike). Ive test ridden the v4 and whilst i liked it, its not that much better than my 1299. In many ways the 1299 is much more interesting to ride despite its tendency to cook my privates. On track its behaved flawlessly to be fair.
I think it will be another year, maybe even two years, unless they have to Euro5+ homologate the street fighter
I get a big feeling of deja-vu on this. I remember all of the negative comments on here when the V4 first broke cover. Didn’t seem to harm the sales, though.
I too saw that in the flesh earlier today and have to admit I didn’t even clock it was the new Pani until you pointed it out.
I'm having my 1098 fixed and am staying with it OR will free up some funds ASAP for a 998 I have my eye on. If I was to get a new-ish bike, I'd probably go S1000RR over a new Ducati - as you mentioned earlier they don't represent VFM any more (if they ever did). BUT I do like the new V4!
I just want to understand where the extra 8k over say a BMW M-Sport is? When Ducati were a small manufacturer, I can understand the cost. Now they are VW Audi, the largest auto manufacturer I just cannot see how they justify it. Sure, it costs to devlop a new engine format but we are now quite a few years into that. TBF, i like the new front. It appears slimmer. The exhaust is horrid tho and I know the clutch cover will deteriorate as soon as it hits fresh air. I do like the DSSA, its beefy. I thought the same when the v4 first arrived. I swear they make up prices they think they can get away with. I wonder what the new V4R will cost? Looking like a mid 40k bike.
The new V4R (for 2026) will be priced to meet the FIA homologation rules, currently capped at 40,000€. Andy
I was trying to work out what that front end reminded me of and finally I got it - How to train your dragon. Amusing (or sad) that Ducati are taking their styling cues from a children's animation nowadays. In of itself the front is not too bad - it just doesn't gel with the rest of the fairing IMO.
I'm in two minds. It definitely smacks of a Japanese bike with those fairings. Styling aside it has a lot of technicall improvements. Indicators are now integral with the headlamp, apparently. And mirrors. now mount UNDER the front fairing. I too was at the launch presentation at WDW. Some aspects of the bike look OK. I'm not bothered by the lack of the SSSA, for me it's the emaciated front end I'm not sure of. Dimensionally it reminds me of a Cagiva Moto. They do sound good however after seeing them ragged around the circuit by the likes of Bagnaia, Bastianini, Bautista, Bulega, Petrucci et al. The full system is allegedly now £8K which is completely mental.
Hmmm,..not really feeling the love for this new V4 tbh Technically it’s an improvement, but aesthetically it’s a bit of a dog’s dinner, definitely not a looker It’s a bit “ blocky” and unbalanced looking, and the area around the seat subframe front bolt just looks an utter disaster to me…. There’s about seven different plastic parts merging around that area, surely it could have been designed a bit tidier than that Will probably be a great ride, but will also be too spendy for my liking.
Good spot I hadn't really noticed what can only be described as half the fairing missing over the engine covers - In all the changes I had spent so much time trying to decide if I like the front end or not, and trying to work out why each evolution of the current model had more and more vents in the side till they seemed to removed them all on this one. Is that the best attempt they can have at cooling!
Agreed. My eyes were also drawn to that. All that plastic fantastic was half the reason I wanted to junk the OE seat unit and fit an aftermarket monocoque. Tidied it up and huge weight saving.
Jeez that’s ugly. I suppose it’ll cost £30K too. I’m not into these wings on the front. Pain V2 looks far nicer
No matter what super bike you buy, you’re paying for the engine and all the associated R&D. And tbh the engines are pretty fekin remarkable. 200hp from a 1000cc and service intervals every million miles… Electronics aside, the rest is shite. That’s where all the glossy aftermarket catalogs come in to finish it off. Along with any savings you may or may not have… I think it looks quite nice fwiw. Exhaust, bodywork and paint job, sexy wheels… that’ll be another £12k Sir…
