You don’t need a PP to blast lol . If you prefer the 17/17 option the 1260 , I loved my 11plate 1200 s multi but for me the Grand Tour v4 (or standard V4)is way better in all situations, tour ,fast ,scratch and chase lol especially on the roads we have in the Marches and Wales and the Uk in general . The multi V4 chassis copes incredibly well , even with the weight , and can keep its own on the twisty roads all day long . My min ride ( pleasure only as never use for A to B ) is 250 to 400 miles and every time I get off I feel great , a little light on cash as it loves the fuel , but I gratefully give it .
I use the 1260s mainly for two up rides out but do the occasional tours(off to Normandy on Sunday). I prefer the looks and bling of the PP but not sure if that compromises its use as a tourer. The skyhook is very useful, but I ride with it on its firmest settings and sometimes find it lacking when pushed.
Just rode my new bike home, no pics yet other than those in the dealer ad. Journey was mostly motorway unfortunately, no time for an interesting route having already taken a chunk out of the working day. Did cover some of the potholed streets of Cheltenham at the end of the ride and it seemed great on those too. I'm not sure if my memory is fuzzy from not having ridden my 1260S since late June when I tragically killed it, I'm suffering from confirmation bias or the 1260 PP is truly that awesome... The only suspension fiddling I did before setting off was backing off the rear preload and then winding it in ten turns. I stopped for fuel after 20 mins and wound two turns back out again. It was sublime I have to say. Floated along in a firm and controlled manner. Felt really stable, planted and precise. Don't recall the Skyhook feeling anything close to that TBH. Going to wait until I've fitted and scrubbed in the new tyres before I engage in further suspension fiddling. Very happy with my purchase, was getting a bit down about it earlier with all the negative waves from @Captain but feel completely satisfied with my choice now. Experience was enhanced by my new lid, a Shoei Neotec3. My first flip front and I'm very pleased with it. Going back for a PFS fitting tomorrow with the local bike clothing place I bought it from on Saturday.
The Shoei fitting service is a mixture of the archaic and the modern. They’ll use wooden calipers and a dress makers tape to measure your head, the figures are then put into a computer program which spits out cheek pad and cap sizes. If I don’t get satisfaction from Shoei next week, I’ll have a Sena Mesh 2, a set of spare pads, clear visor and drop down sun visor I’ll no longer need. Andy
I’ve gone with my heart and put a deposit on a PP. Hoping to swap out the 1260s early October if my trip to Normandy is still on. I’ll follow up with a review when I can.
Interesting development. Hope you'll be as pleased with your descion as I currently am. Pics? I see it as: The PP is more focused and maybe requires a bit more attention to get the best out of her. I'm hoping that it makes for a more rewarding experience. Not that the 1260s didn't mind you, just expecting that little bit more.
He was talking about the V4 Pikes Peak, as he bought a lemon, and enjoys reminding everyone about it at any opportunity.
An it was a right lemon ...... Still I have the better bike now lol..... Was looking at the RS , but once bitten..
Isn't the V4 Pike Peak different anyway. In so much as the Ohlins is electronic/dynamic rather than manual?
It is, to its detriment IMO. The V4 Pikes Peak doesn’t need Panigale V4S fork performance when you are fully toured up. Would have much preferred manual adjustment. Andy
Agreed. I’d much prefer to adjust it manually, and save the extra £2k or whatever it is they’re charging for the electronic suspension. I don’t think I’ve adjusted it once since I’ve had the bike.
Isn't it dynamic though, adjusting depending how aggressively you're riding. I understood that's how the Skyhook system on my 1260 worked though that might have been a delusional assumption... It certainly changed setup when you switched modes which I'll grant you was useful. It addition it had the option of rider only, rider with luggage, rider and pillion and rider, pillion and luggage. All very handy. All customisable if my memory serves. Something of a broad but useful brush and for me now in the past. You can feel the quality of the Ohlins in the ride, or so I'm trying to convince myself
The Ohlins suspension on my V4PP is the best I’ve had on any bike. I’m not sure what it does in the background, but I’ve not had to adjust anything in the whole time I’ve had it, so maybe it’s automatically adjusting itself to the road conditions regularly.
When you dig deeper into the blurb, the suspension is described as “semi-active” but there is no further explanation. In the RS blurb, it states the (same) suspension compression and rebound is “event based”. Looking on the internet, explanations are over my head but if I’ve grasped the concept, instead of having a single diameter valve for the oil to squeeze through, the diameter of the valve is hydraulically varied by a dedicated computer which uses an algorithm and data from sensors on the bike. Does that fulfil your understanding of “dynamic” ? Andy
Back in 'the day', sounding old now, when I got a new bike I used to spend hours on the same section of local, twisty, fast road with a notebook and pencil, stopping at each end, making a change to front/rear/both - compression/rebound/preload, noting the change the running that section of road again, repeat, repeat....it could take the best part of a day on some bikes, and sometimes cut short when it attracted police attention, TL1000R springs to mind as the longest time spent, often making things way worse before it got better. I do like to be able to adjust things on the fly these days to suit road conditions, or riding style, for that period of time or road, I don't think I could go back to manually adjusted suspension now.
I'm still on manual Ohlins but there's something to be said about electronic suspensions. They've come a long way. The first we're crude with comp only, then some added rear pre-load, then rebound, then front pre-load etc. Now the 2025 Panigale has all that plus different speed and cornering angle settings as well.
