Hi all, just got my V2 yesterday and not even ridden it as yet. Waiting to get hold of some Evotech radiator guards before I take it out but I may break before they come back into stock. Are all the single seat units and wings you all have directly from Ducati? I have seen in this thread the red front fender is a genuine part and I’m trying to avoid the whole carbon thing as it will get expensive and this won’t be a garage queen, more a commuter and weekend toy.
Thanks for the tips. I’m quite new to the forum but I’m sure I met evoboy a while back at Manchester Ducati, he was wrapping a V4 which looked great! I normally change bikes out after a year, mainly because of the 10k a year I used to do but I’m a lot closer to work now and with circumstances changing so much I think this will be a keeper I do love the whole carbon thing but it gets expensive and I can’t see it when I’m riding. I’ve looked and could easily spend over 1k on bling, I’m fortunate enough to live within a mile or so of Maxton so it’s kind of rude not to pay them a visit The bikes off to Invisible Patterns in the morning for a week for full PPF. They are using it as a template so will be available as a diy kit pretty soon.
I just got back from a last minute trip to the Smoky Mountains with The Streetfighter. We trailered the bikes down because 1) The center of the tires would be worn flat by the time we got back and 2) I detest riding bikes on freeways. The Streetfighter had 1140 miles on it when we left and just over 2200 on it when we got back, so roughly 1000 miles of riding in the 4 days down there. That may not sound like much, but here's a GPS shot of the road we took to get to the place we were staying. It's typical for the roads we were on. Our first day we went a little over 300 miles and were gone for about ten hours. Sure we took an hour or so for lunch but most of the day was spent in 2nd and 3rd gear. This is the area of the world where the infamous(?) "Deals Gap" aka "Tail of the Dragon" is. It's claim to fame is 318 turns in an 11 mile stretch. IMHO there are nicer roads to ride in the area, but you have to go down it just to say you have at least. And it's on the way to other places. On the way home we took the car/trailer up it to shave an hour and a half off our trip. We left before the sun came up, so didn't get in anyone's way. In fact we passed someone even with the trailer, but that's a different story... Ok, fine. We passed a Prius being driven excruciatingly slowly. And they pulled over to let us by. But still. We passed someone on the Dragon while towing a trailer. Side story - it's not uncommon to see cars pulled over with a passenger getting sick on the side of the road... it's a curvy road. There are a few photographers that set up shop along the road and take pictures all day long, every day. https://www.killboy.com is the original as far as I know, they've been down there for ages. But there are others, including the place I stole this proof from. Yeah that's me and the SF. But the reason for the post is - I first rode in this area of the country 30 years ago. I've been down there on various Ducatis and a Honda Hawk NT650 (Bros in the UK?) that I specifically modified to ride there, and the Street Fighter was the best bike I've ridden there so far. It was awesome. The suspension was firm but not at all harsh. No complaintes. Even with a couple significant midcorner bumps it never got unsettled. The stock seat was one of the most comfortable I've been on. Considering most of the bikes I've ridden there have been Ducatis of some sporty shape that's not saying much but still. Sure, I was sore after multiple 8-10 hour days but less than even my 1200 Monster that was my previous best bike there. That said, the "comfort" seat is high on my list of changes for the bike. If it's the upgrade people have been saying I'll be a happy camper. I get pain in the base of my palms pretty quickly on most other bikes. A sharp pins and needles thing. Never felt that on the SF. I did have massive pain between my shoulder blades at the base of my neck on the morning of the last day, but I usually feel that near the end of the first day on other bikes. Power - I thought I'd miss the low end grunt of the Monster but it wasn't an issue. The power delivery of the SF was predicatable and easy to modulate in curves. I never had it out of "Road" mode now that I think about it. Should have tried Race mode but never did. And when I needed to catch the guys I was riding with, letting it rev over 8000rpm helped erase the gap pretty well. One guy I was riding with has a 1299 Panigale with higher bars, basically a Street Fightered version of the big twin Pani. I thought my bike worked better. He had 50hp on me but could rarely use it and he was working harder than I was. The bike was in his terms "cantankerous" while the SF was so easy to live with. On the more technical sections of road, ie the ones with 10mph hairpins followed by sharp turns in the other direction, the V2 SF was easier to transition from one direction to the other, or it seemed to me like it was anyway. Which is all a long winded way of saying I like the V2 SF more now after riding it down there than I did when I first got it. I always liked it, but now I've gotten over the lack of low end compared to the Monster. Two negatives I found... There have been reports of massive heat. In the first 1000 miles I never felt that. The first day of our trip I felt it at the beginning of the ride. I was worried that the riding pants I was wearing were an issue on the bike but the heat went away in a few minutes and it became a non-issue again. Over the 1000 miles of riding down there the heat would return for a few minutes (less than 10?) on occassion and then go away. I never figured out what the trigger was. The first time I noticed it the temp was in the 50s. We rode in near 90s later and I didn't feel it. We rode in slow traffic and I didn't feel it but then felt it on open roads. I have no idea what causes it but it doesn't last long so I didn't worry about it. And, I swear this doesn't run as smoothly as previous Ducatis. There is more vibration below about 4500 rpm than I'm used to. This means 6th gear is useless below about 75mph. The vibration may have been worse sometimes than others - the 1299 guy claims the gas we were using caused it - he got a bad tank at one of the stops. It may be that, or it may be when it gets hot it runs rougher? The highest coolant temp I saw was 221 degrees. 210 was common. All of THAT said. I got home Friday and today took my 1993 900ss out for it's first true ride. I rode it about 25 miles each way to a meet. I can't believe I used to ride these things hundreds of miles a day. Holy cow... the Street Fighter has it beat by a mile in pretty much every category. Granted it has 30 years of development to fall back on, but still. Modern bikes are f'ing amazing.
Nice write up Craig, sounds like a great trip. I can confirm that the comfort seat is a very worthwhile upgrade. I’ve done a few 250 mile days on mine, and it makes a big difference. As to the rough running/ vibrations that others have mentioned, since getting the Akra with upmap on mine, the fuelling is spot on. You still have to rev it, and make sure you’re in the right gear, but it’s made a huge difference to the fuelling.
Modern bikes are indeed amazing, it’s only going to be downhill from here! What size plate are people running with the Evotech tail tidy? I normally use 8x6 but thinking of possibly a 7x5.5 I almost went for this tail tidy https://futurismoto.com/collections/ducati-v4/products/v2-v2-streetfighter-tail-tidy But living in the UK I think the Evotech with DP indicators is a better option
As the bikes at the PPF place and I can’t check, does the V2 use a normal or lithium battery? I’ve looked but can’t find any info. I’ve also ordered some Aella engine sliders for when the inevitable happens and spoken to a couple of suspension tuners. I can’t wait to get the bike back next week and get it run in.
The V2 Streetfighter uses a regular Lead Acid battery - I may switch mine to a lithium over winter as it's as easy, cheap, and very effective mod - I had the same Lithium battery in my Street Triple for over 5 years, and never had an issue.
They are incredibly light and have a lot of power for their size... assuming they are warm. They also don't lose their charge as fast just sitting there. They can be mounted in any position and the contents are non-toxic. The flip side is, they are much more picky when it comes to charging voltages. Discharging them too far will ruin them, as in throw it away and buy a new one. Many of them have built in electronics to prevent the issues but even with that they can fail. They are also expensive.
The weight is irrelevant, charging issues seem to be a bit hit and miss too, so I’ll stick with what it came with.
Update on the bike it’s still at Invisible Patterns, it was ready to pick up on Saturday but I was unable to collect it due to a last minute drama. Hoping to get a lift off a friend tomorrow but it’s on the back of a fireblade so I’m a bit dubious A few bits turned up over the week and I’ve just ordered the Evotech tail tidy that finally back into stock. Almost went Futurismoto/Fulcrume for the stultify but the weak £, strong $ and legality of them put a stop to that idea. Still waiting on the Ducati dealership to get back to me regarding one issue and prices for some parts. Namely 2 sets of DP indicators, wings and a screen. Multirider, you have convinced me to go for the Akra slip on but in no rush so going to see what deals come along over the winter.
I believe both the Evotech tail tidys and radiator guards are back in stock for those that are waiting.
I should be getting my new V2 at the end of the week - I'm trading in my V4S Streetfighter for it - I have a couple of questions 1. Can I upgrade the front calipers to M50 or Stylemas - what fits from the V4? And will the master cylinder be ok ? Was hoping I could just do caliper swap. Has anyone done an upgrade? 2. Rear Shock upgrade ? Can I fit a Ohlins and from what bike? Trying to get second hand if possible - also from factory what is the sag setting? What have people done? 3. What sort of tank range touring should I expect ? Many thanks
on number 2, the Ohlins from all Panigale’s fit. I had a TTX gp on mine from an 899 and I just adjusted the length to make sure it was fine for the swingarm ratio they used on the Panigale v2. on the brakes front, the v4 standard bike uses the same forks, and the standard Panigale v4 so you should be fine, although I’d urge you to simply try better brake pads first, because the brakes have loads of power, just need a little more bite
I filled mine up the other day at 208kms. It took 15.5 litres and from memory the tank is 17 litres (strangely 1 litre bigger than the V4 I think) This wasn't touring mileage though, this was more twisty/sport riding.
