I just don't get the v4 hate. The thing is a massive step, insane fast and I think it looks the part.
Ducati to me is vacuum tubes and transistor radios. I was prepared to forgive them the Cucciolo but after that? Pah, bloody progress and evolution, outrageous.
I don't ride either a 1299 or a V4, and have no great desire to do so..... But to my unbiased eyes, the 1299 is a much better looking bike than the V4. It somehow looks unbalanced, the arse looks angled too high and the middle looks too fat. Not trolling just imo only
Nice come back,however,the only reason I put up with all the less than perfect Ducati "experience" issues is for the beautiful 2 cylinder engine. Be it it an old 600cc Monster or the 1299. And as for progress,not easily being able to fix my own machine is not. 2 of anything is nice,4 is greedy.
I don't think theres anything wrong with the V4 personally, other than it being priced at least £3-£4k too much on either model, thats always going to hit used figures. Ducati IMO have taken this V4 panigale launch as an opportunity to increase the price far too much, its simply not that special to try and command £24k when you consider its peers. Before even looking at other fairly stock bikes like the S1000rr and its times around a track, even the Yamaha R1M is arguably just as special as the V4S, especially if you're going to consider that for track weaponry, and its only a couple of hundred more than the base V4. Ducati, whether you want to look over the rose tinted glasses or not, do not exude quality in terms of manufacture. Therefore its nothing short of a blatant play on brand when trying to justify the prices. Couple that with the fact most of the V4's will be sold via PCP deals, then as private sales they don't exist, hence why when it comes to sales the loss will be bigger. i'd have a V4 panigale, just wouldn't pay anything like the ticket prices Ducati want for them new.
I used to part own aeroplanes made in 1946 and 1950 and we used to do much of the work on them ourselves. But we didn’t then bemoan the fact that we could if we wished, at the time, fly to New York in three hours at twice the speed of sound in a machine a bit too complicated for our tinkering skills. Anyone is of course free to enjoy their particular niche, but I just don’t then get the need to decry progress and development. The future may not always be to everyone’s liking, but overall it’s probably better than still living in caves. But one can still live in a cave if one wants.
Ducati prices are getting way out of control , I cannot see me buying another new one anytime soon, I have taken my business elsewhere, picking up my S1000r on Thursday for the cost to change my multi for a new one and I did not even have to start a thread on what colour or model I wanted or what anyone thinks, I made up my own mind on how to spend my own money.
I think part of the V4 doubt 'thing' is that it looks too much like what went before, and as has been said earlier in this thread its not easy enough to distinguish between 1199 and V4 , it just doesn't look special enough ,especially when you take in how much it costs, IMO Ducati should have bitten the bullet and gone for a whole new design concept like they did with the 749/999 , it was slated to f@ck when first unveiled ...the rest is ongoing history!...just my twopenneth worth.
The revolutionary bit was the new engine, the change of look was to house it, a bit like needing a new shirt and pair of trousers to hide your beer belly! Does the job but not necessarily an improvement.
