After some advice to see if anyone has ridden or used both of these bikes? Before I do the full track conversion of the 959 this winter, having a think about if its time to move up onto the bigger Panigale for track use from the 959. Always loved the 959/1299 - and I can re-use most of the track only bits I have bought for the 959 so worth considering. While this is a last hurrah track bike for me, the resale value or investment bit is of no concern, if I want it as a long term track bike should I skip consideration of a conversion of an R or SP model for example over an S or Standard V4/1299? All new to me, so any pro's/cons of either and advice on anything to look out for?
I had a 1299S as my first Ducati (track only) then one of the first V4S in the country then a 2020 V4 (converted with Ohlins trad etc) and an 1199 I would say the V4 is easier to ride faster than the 1299 and that easier than the 1199, but it depends on what you want and your ability and size etc I went away from the S as I wanted traditional suspension I could set up, I am quite heavy at 93Kg and found traditional better for me. for involvement the 1299 or 1199, if I had the time again I'd by a 1299FE
@bradders is right I have had a couple of 1299’s and a few V4’s (also tracked an 1199 and an 899) firstly these are only my opinions and I’m in no way a professional but the V4 is a better track tool that the 1299. The 1299 is a beautiful machine and with some money on suspension you can get it to handle and corner well. The electronics are a step forward on the V4 which is needed to tame the ridiculous power the V4 has. I’ve never ridden the V4R only the the base / S and / SP… and I haven’t yet owned the latest generation V4 (2022 onwards) as the electronics on that are suppose to be even better than the last 2 generations. Again solely my opinion, but I’d get a base model V4 and get some decent front and rear suspension and enjoy absolutely blitzing people with the insane power. I’m not the most aerodynamic of humans but the V4 can carry me around most tracks at a decent pace. All that being said, get what makes you happy, what you like looking at when you open the garage and have great time on track. My first V4 (2018) but with the 2020 fairings and @bradders 1299 when it used to actually leave a garage my first 1299 was the S and even on the stock suspension it was pretty decent… brakes worked as well
