My 2023 V4 Panigale track build

[chris838]

Howdy,
I know I'm probably late to the party. Most of you guys are busy ordering the 2025 models. I made the decision to wait a year or two before moving on and stick to what I have for now.
I bought last year my first Duc, v4 base model and rode it on the street for 2800 miles since. It wasn't all the time pretty. Rather painful and overwhelming. I'm 5'3 and had lots and lots of ergonomic issues with the bike. I'm not long around sport bikes anyway and in hindsight that wasn't a smart choice to start with but what the hell.
I've done meanwhile 3 sessions of California Superbike School, have a ninja zx4rr and 250r and another V2 Bayliss in Europe in our second home mostly for trackdays with my best friend during our summer holidays. I talk to TGP Marco all the time and am happy with his feedback. Here in the US my go-to is HSBK and the DROC, please hit me up if anyone knows me here in real life. I'm usually not often in internet forums but just broke my collar bone and have to take a break from real life for a bit.

Thats the bike in its current condition. Mostly optical upgrades. Spark exhaust and a little bit bling here and there.

I was considering to upgrade to a V4R but I don't think that I'm ready yet.

I had another accident ( I know..) 6 weeks ago which brought me the enlightening to take the Panigale off the street. I got a Streetfighter coming in in a few days. This will be my DUC for the road and the Panigale is ready for its second life on the track.

I've got a few parts coming in already but milestone things are the radegarge tank and an AP Carbon SBK fairing from TGP. I'm hoping to get a better seating position on the RG piece. I've only heard good things about it and am super pumped to see how that goes.

I had some wheels from a v4s that we powdercoated in Gold. I originally had forged matte carbon parts from V4Evo and cant still decide if I continue with that or go the conventional DP route with twill.

So far what I got

 

[chris838]

now,
lets move on to what I want. and here is where I would kindly ask for your input. I dont need to do the same mistakes again that you guys have done. I understand that the current Panigale is 7 years around and there is tons of experience so I'm hoping to pick your guys brain a bit on that.


1. Suspension
I'm definitely down for an TTX GP DU468 and I guess that is the easiest choice.
On the fork side I'm torn. I'm usually not the 'bling bling' red chain sort of person but I wouldn't mind some golden forks to be honest. I'm flirting with the relatively new FGR254 at the moment or even FGR300. What I need to figure out is, to what extend do they differ from lets say NIX30 cartridges and therealike. Also, since it is more than obvious that sooner or later I migrate to the new platform, how likely is that any of these forks will fit on the 2026 Panigale V4R that will come out one day. Should I go and buy for instance a IMS triple tree and go with universal forks or commit to FGR254 and than may bite the bullet that nothing will fit going forward?

2. Dash. I got a racebox and on the little ninja 250 an AIM Chrono. I'm considering sensors and stuff on the Panigale. Who is running i2m or something and can share his experience? I'm sure all of these brands overwhelm with Tausends of functions but I'm primarily interested to get reliable data out that I may or may not can share going forward with a proper riding coach. Plug an Play ala i2m Chrome has its charme but with sensors probably 4k of costs.

3. EVAP/PAIR and all that.. Before I make the effort and rip all that out. How significant is the impact? I was planning on using the side mount steering damper. Is that worth the effort?

4. Brakes. Don't laugh, but I was planning to keep the ABS in place for now. I ordered a CC19 MC plus z04 pads and am going eighter Braketech or TK Dischi disks. I was planning to get gp4ms calipers. maybe. Or should I rip all that out bc I will never get what I want? For instance, on my little 400 i currently ride CC15 with Braketech 310mm rotors and XX vesrah pads, no ABS. the bike has 360lb and the brakes feel awesome. Needless to say that the V4 in stock configuration is spongy, that's why I plan on doing what i just wrote but the entire electronic on my V4, including the ABS is IMHO the most advanced electronic that I've ever expierienced. I can compare to BMW and of course the Kawasakis i own and none of them is even close to the DUC. I get it that the sponginess is 'system given' but i was wondering what you guys say that have upgraded their stuff and still run the stock ABS.

Looking forward to some dialog!
Thanks,
Cheers

 

[DV4]

My 2 cents
1. DU468 is a good upgrade, the stock showa's on the front are actually pretty good. Get them sprung for your weight. Sounds like you're new to the game but this setup is plenty good for a while yet otherwise the sky is the limit. My advice, find yourself a good suspension tuner and work with them.
2. Spend the money on coaching and seat time first, by the time you get to A group the numbers will mean something but if you have the $$ then why not spend the 4k now but its not going to help that much until you are more experienced.
3.Evap- if you remove it you'll need to replace it anyway with a catch bottle since then bikes spill gas under brakes with a full tank
4.Stock ABS is really good, in race mode its unobtrusive and you can lift the rear controllably anytime you like. Id get race pads and endless brake fluid, no more sponginess.

 

[chris838]

Appreciate your response. In all honesty, the showa fork is one of the biggest complains I have. Even my andreani cartridges on my baby ninja do a better job. I'm 170lb and the bike has seen professional suspension setting setup. But especially in the canyons with quick changes I don't feel enough confidence. Pretty wooden. Like if the system is quickly overwhelmed.
Things like this are always hard to describe. I want an upgrade to what is in there now for sure.
I'm with you on all other points

 

[DV4]

talk to your tuner, there are plenty of options re front forks. Wooden and overwhelmed, ok. youll probably need to get a bit more specific on the feedback, rather than just chucking money at it I'd work with the Showa's at least initially. How are you tire's and what pressures are you running, wooden suggests to much of something- too much compression or spring maybe? Is it under braking and corner entry or when you enter the S curves on a sports ride, high speed or low speed? Track setup is very different to street and you may find that as you get faster it begins to work better.

Im suggesting sticking with the Showa's for a while because an ex member here who was really fast had a base and an R, he rated the Showas over the Ohlins. i.e to get the next level up you need to spend a lot of money.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

FGR300 are very good set of forks and really competitive prices atm as their the older model but still very good quality. Rear shock i would go with the RSP40 depending on budget or the k-tech through rod, i have used both and i think the k-tech is better. Brake wise there's nothing much to be gained by swapping calipers if you don't get rid of the ABS, fit some Z04 pads to stock calipers and you will see a good improvement. Again depending on the budget but GP4PR calipers are relatively good price ATM for what is a really good caliper.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I have finally finished my V4R after a year of adding more parts every time i thought i was finished, these projects escalate very quickly

 

[chris838]

I have finally finished my V4R after a year of adding more parts every time i thought i was finished, these projects escalate very quickly

Holy cow, what the heck is this?? Forgive me my lack of knowledge but, this wasn't a regular v4r wasn't it? Looks like a former race bike to me with the tank and electronics and all that? Is there a build thread here for this bike?

Just for the record, I'm 100 percent aware that 99percent of these mods aren't necessary and over my head but for me the hobby is 50 percent track and 50 percent in the garage. I can totally relate to people with projects that get out of hand.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

The bike was built up with parts, i got the engine brand new from a bsb team, bought a stock frame, the swingarm, tank, electronics are all from Ducati corse and there's lots of parts i made myself, the calipers and discs are from a MotoGP team, i fitted a close ratio gearbox with the neutral lockout as well.

 

[CSV4]

I had another accident ( I know..) 6 weeks ago which brought me the enlightening to take the Panigale off the street. I got a Streetfighter coming in in a few days. This will be my DUC for the road and the Panigale is ready for its second life on the track.

curious about the enlightening... fairings and clip-ons were responsible?

 

[baggerman]

Appreciate your response. In all honesty, the showa fork is one of the biggest complains I have. Even my andreani cartridges on my baby ninja do a better job. I'm 170lb and the bike has seen professional suspension setting setup. But especially in the canyons with quick changes I don't feel enough confidence. Pretty wooden. Like if the system is quickly overwhelmed.
Things like this are always hard to describe. I want an upgrade to what is in there now for sure.
I'm with you on all other points

I put number 5 ohlins fluid in my showa's. Helps especially on choppy pavement.

 

[chris838]

I put number 5 ohlins fluid in my showa's. Helps especially on choppy pavement.

Ok good to know and thanks to the others voting for showa as well.
I got a harley dyna with a nix30 kraus front end that gives me better feedback than the showa. Therefore I had that thing on the chopping board since day one. We have done proper suspension set up as with all the other bikes but we never actually went in the internals and messed with it.

What is the best approach to the Showa than? Just out of curiosity?

 

[chris838]

The bike was built up with parts, i got the engine brand new from a bsb team, bought a stock frame, the swingarm, tank, electronics are all from Ducati corse and there's lots of parts i made myself, the calipers and discs are from a MotoGP team, i fitted a close ratio gearbox with the neutral lockout as well.

Absolutely stunning. Now my fingers are itching....... curious about details like the tank, where to get something like that? I went pretty deep in with my zx4rr and propably would have done smarter to start with parts instead of a bike so i can totally understand the approach you took. Killer machine!

 

[mattinrsm]

I have a 23 base and put Ktech on it. DDS shock and RDS fork cartridge kit. Works excellent at expert race pace. The Ohlins works great too, but there are other good options.

 

[Deleted member 14059]

Absolutely stunning. Now my fingers are itching....... curious about details like the tank, where to get something like that? I went pretty deep in with my zx4rr and propably would have done smarter to start with parts instead of a bike so i can totally understand the approach you took. Killer machine!

5.5K EUR for a 21-22 spec and you need A LOT of other parts to get it working. If you're serious, buying a complete SBK bike may be the way to go.

https://www.m-motocorsa.it/en/prodotti/1281-serbatoio-panigale-v4-sbk-f21-f22-completo/?ec_pId=1281
https://www.m-motocorsa.it/en/prodotti/1131-serbatoio-completo-panigale-v4-sbk-f19-f20/?ec_pId=1131
3K EUR for the subframe/seat unit.

https://www.m-motocorsa.it/en/prodotti/1281-serbatoio-panigale-v4-sbk-f21-f22-completo/?ec_pId=1281

 

[SuperDomestique]

Rear shock i would go with the RSP40

Wouldn’t you also have to go with a revised link and they’re $5k. FGR300’s are $11k. These suspension items require a dedicated tech/engineer to get the most out of them

 

[chris838]

Just grabbed the ttx gp from Steve and good. Next week or so I'll commit the front fork discussion


Does anyone here has the fast frank fender kit or quick axle?

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Wouldn’t you also have to go with a revised link and they’re $5k. FGR300’s are $11k. These suspension items require a dedicated tech/engineer to get the most out of them

Works ok with stock link but a linear Link is definitely better. I think the FGR can be had for around $10k AUD if you shop around

 

[chris838]

I've inquired about the FGR300 and could get them for 8.4k landed at the moment. Still a lot of money but given the high reputation and propably resell value I'm tempted

 

[SuperDomestique]

What group do you ride in at the track?

FGR opens up a can of worms. You’ll have to sort out rotor spacing, axle, and triple clamps.

Resell value? These things ain’t AP Royal Oaks