I'm about to put my 1299S back to OEM to sell. I spend more miles doing track days now and less and less road miles. My 916 is better on the road as it isnt trying to kill me quite so eagerly as the 1299 does, plus it isnt as stupidly fast. The 1299 is still stupidly fast. For similar reasons to above, I'm going to teh dark side and buying an Sthou. I figured if I want a german bike, I may as well get one that isnt pretending to be Italian. (I'm fishing for controvery here hehe). No, seriously I figured I'd feel better chucking an sthou into the scenery than an expensive Ducati. The 1299 has been great on track, lot of fun but its at 15k now (desmo service done) and it is not the easiest thing to ride very fast for an amatuer like me. So sthou it is. It makes economical and logistical sense. Plus Ive not owned or ridden an IL4 since my old big Kat. I could buy a new v4 tomorrow, i'm lucky I have a decent job and my parasites are old and moved out with parasites of their own to keep them busy. (granparasite has a iphone now and fleeces me by txt). I'm also angered by Ducati somewhat. I feel pissed off at them. Rational or not, its time to sample other marques. I love big V-Twins and always will. I still miss my 1198 and wish i'd had a go on a 1098R. God the 1198 was so visceral. Proper Italian. Mad as a bag of cats. I rode the early V4 and it did nothing for me. I found it a bit boring but probably because it wasnt mine and I was thruppeny bitting it. Plus it felt wide. If i'd rode it a few days, thing would prob be different. So, yes a boring sthou. But prob better for a novice track rider to get better on.
The 2022 V4S I have is as easy to ride quickly as the 2020 S1000RR I had (I never ever got on well with the 1299S). The 2025 V4 S from the couple of hours road riding I had on it is easier again to ride. An IL4 won’t be easier to ride than the 2025 and it really just boils down to if you really have to have a Ducati or not. I decided not 4 years ago, and now I am back because there is something a little bit more interesting about them (probably an emotional thing driven by the high cost!).
A new V4 would hold me back out of fear and anxiety. An s1000rr? Prob just fling it in. Thats the rationale. Maybe once i'm a better rider...or they make a new nutjob V2.
I try never to think of the consequences of it all going wrong! I have my limits, however they are self preservation rather than vehicle protection.
I have all the injuries of an aged motorcyclist. Broken both wrists, twice. Shoulder, collar bone, all lhs ribs and a few rhs ribs, dislocated several toes and had a hip so badly bruised, I thought I was paralysed. Ive also had my head run over by a van. Which may explain some things. It is these memories of pain which temper my enthusiasm. Not Dani Pedrosa scale of injuries, but Im not an alien.
Chucking 15k into the gravel is less worrying than chucking 35k into the gravel. That fear can hold you back in the braking zones. The BIM has all the bits I require at half the cost, so I have less reticence and may be quicker. Of course, it may all be that I am shit either way. Wont know if I dont try. Plus my 12 wont get on any UK TD's. Its way too loud. Even with dB killers. I tried. I will likely keep the sthou on standard pipes. 200bhp is plenty.
I’ve not ridden the new V4 but I have sat on it and instantly liked it - the tank is far better, it felt slim and light and the throttle was excellent. A V4S with a half-system exhaust, TPMS, DDL, basic track prep for protection and some rearsets would no doubt make an excellent track bike. The 2024 Fireblade would be far less money even with HRC track kit and a full exhaust system. Logic tells me to go the Honda route, but I’m still very tempted by the new V4… I am only interested in riding on track and either option will be far better than I will ever be. I’m not hung up on sticking with Ducati but I probably would if I wasn’t starting to feel that they were really starting to fleece their customers. I guess someone has to pay for all those bikes on the grids.
Strangely (or not?) my confidence comes purely from how good myself and the bike feel, and I haven't braked later or harder than I have on my 2022 V4S. Something about that bike (maybe the "braking support" setting in the active suspension?) inspires confidence in the front end. The bike feels solid and safe. As a result I don't think about the cost. It doesn't enter my risk equation. I find if I start to think or worry about crashing I am more likely to.
I think Ducati are fleecing us less than most companies at the minute. With prices of so many other things doubling over the past few years, the Ducati rise is quite modest. 9 years ago a new 1299S was just shy of £21k and the 2025 V4S is now just shy of £30k. A quick inflation check suggests that £21k in 2015 is now equivalent to £28k. With the extra costs Ducati are being hit with for utilities and from suppliers and all the extra tech going into the new bike, I am surprised that the bike has only gone up £2k in real terms over 9 years. There cannot be many products with that amount of development that have such a small increase over that time. Having said that, it does not mean there are not other cheaper brands, however will they go as quickly straight out of the box? I run my 2022 V4S almost exactly as it comes from the factory. OEM exhaust and rearsets and clipons and suspension and wheels... not all bikes are supplied equal and can go straight to track without any real compromise. Of course, all of that could just be my man maths convincing me I am stupid not to get the new bike.....
I don’t entirely disagree, but a full Akrapovic exhaust for the Ducati is over €8000 and a full Akrapovic exhaust for a Honda is under €3000… Inflation has nothing to do with that. Want vs need…
Oh, I totally do not agree with the Akra cost, though it would be too noisy for track so it doesn't enter into my reasoning. The Full Akra for my S1000RR was £1,200!
on the Ducati website there is another part listed, it’s basically from what I can see the ‘UP Map’ but sold separately, and it’s £400-500!!!! So add that to the £8k exhaust
Noise limits are getting silly. Fortunately the full exhaust hasn't caused me any issues at my usual tracks - Most and Brno. Their rearsets are optimistically priced as well - I guess it reflects the increase in the cost of unobtanium.
I didn't notice that? Are you sure you weren't thinking of the DTC software for slicks? I'm pretty sure the exhaust includes the map. EDIT: Just checked and the exhaust includes the map.
Without looking, are you sure it isn’t a software upgrade equivalent to the Evo2/3 available on the current models that upgrades the traction control?
think my confusion was that in the description it states it has to be combined with the race exhaust so while I noted the comment about sticks, I wondered if it was a different map. How complicated!!!! i spec’d a base model up the other day, just the bike and the cruise control and sat nav, basically the bits that are difficult to retro fit later, or potentially difficult. I think it was £25,500…. I think though, with the current market, once dealers start to struggle, that £1k worth to extra electronics that should come standard on a £30k bike would get thrown in to the price of a new S. This is why I think people should just wait 6 months, I think even for Ducati (bearing in mind at least 4 dealers have closed in the last month) it will struggle to shift standard bikes, because the Uber rich will buy the specials, the standard bikes where they need some form of volume at the mo, not sure. even in these two threads, people who have been buying new ‘S’ bikes we looking at options like waiting for the R to come out etc
Yep, you can only have the DTC software if you have the full exhaust - you cannot have it with the cheaper half-system… I only ride these bikes on track. I wanted to get the new Pani and there’s a lot to like, but the cost of getting one to a spec I would like to have has made me look at alternatives and the alternatives look pretty good (primarily considering the new Fireblade). There’s no doubt that the new Pani is going to be pretty awesome on track though.
