Interesting to hear all the comments on the V4 from differing views. Some from non-owners and others from actual owners. From the hype in the marketing pre-launch, one gets the impression it is the best bike they have developed and built, and one would think also that the Press were in their back pockets! From an owner aspect of 500 miles in, I have to say the reality doesn't live up to the hype. To the point that I filled out a negative survey from Ducati and had a very weak reply. In essence, I felt that spending £21k to get a V4S, I expected a lot better for the money. 1: The Sygic Nav is the worst ever, and why didn't they give us a choice of TT/Garmin or Apple Play? 2:The dash needs to be reconnected to Bluetooth even when you stop for coffee/fuel every time. 3:Cant play music in Sport mode. Really, who programmed that? 4hone compartment totally unusable, and suggested I use a tank bag instead. 5:You have to reconfigure the heated grips every time your stop for fuel or coffee! 6: No under-seat room for anything. 7: The worst, and not related to the engine valve guide recall. My bike has the roughest engine on acceleration and isn't as smooth as a V-twin. To the point, it gives numb feet and right hand after 30-40miles. The vibration through the frame and bar is worse than anything I've ridden. To my mind, Ducati has oversold and under-delivered for a bike of this price. And they want to charge me £271.00 for a 1st service.
Thanks for the honest appraisal, I’d be feeling quite deflated ... The vibration would be a stopper for me. I really like the 1000XR but after a day on one I couldn’t stand the ‘buzz’. Not had any issues with it on my two mutleys. I think I’ll be keeping my 1260GT for quite a while !!
Interesting reading. 3. Same on my 1200 Enduro, doesn't bother me as I don't bother connecting through the dash any more. 4. Why is the phone box unusable? Depends on the phone perhaps, mine doesn't fit in but it's a stupidly big rugged phone ...
The phone box is unusable because A: the plug in is at the top on the right which means it infringes in the connector and the phone which limits space and B: when the phone is inserted it drops down to the bottom and cant retrieve it easily when you need to leave the bike.
At first, I thought you was referring to a V4S Panigale Was about to write since do you need all these on a road legal superbike...when I spotted that the "subject" under fire is a Multi. I not so much into modern electronics, however having to reconnect the Bluetooth every time and set the grips after very stops seems wrong and just programming issue, so they could have added two more code lines to save this in memory.
I’m sure some of those issues will be addressed in future firmware updates, not sure about the vibes/rough running though? but that aside it’s pretty poor and something that basic should have been addressed during testing and not after release. Ffs even my 8yr old multi remembers if I’ve turned the heated grips on!
Exactly! sometimes tech people get too bloody tech for no reason. I know when its bloody cold outside
Which all goes to show how biased the press reviews are when some people are offered an all expenses trip to Italy in the middle of a pandemic when everyone else stays locked up in Blighty. Oh dear Ducati — not good.. (Vibes won’t be a problem, you get a new engine every few months) hope the 2022 pikes peak is a bit more successful.
Brave man to actually tell it like it is, I honestly think sometimes that newer isn’t necessarily better, ...kudos to you for an honest appraisal
I realise you are disappointed but to be honest I’d never consider buying a new model bike without test riding one first. (I’d also not buy a new Ducati model for at least a year either)
Others are not reporting this problem, heated grips stay as set from previous day? Maybe it’s a problem with your bike?
I would not be so sure. Don't buy based on the assumption that there will be firmware improvements. It is not an Apple iPhone, safety issues will be fixed with updates but I doubt anything else will be.
