2020 Ducati streetfighter new owner check-in

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DucatiKev said:
doesn’t even matter dude, ur gonna have the biggest smile on ur face very soon. The wait must be killing u haha
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Yeah for sure but it’s def giving me something to look forward to. I’m really thinking she’s going to be my daily girl in my stable. Out of all my bikes now my daily is my 1290SD. She’s real comfortable and a .... ton of torque. I love me super bikes but back and forth to work and around town they are definitely not built for. Lol
 
On almost every bike I have i always -1 front and on my V4 Speciale I added one to the front and two to the rear. These bikes come in so they meet sound requirements and emission. I don’t need a bike to go 85 in first. If you drop one off the front sprocket and add one or two to the rear and lose the exhaust your going to .... your pants trust me. I rode my 1290 Super Duke stock for 150 miles and then added the full Akrpovic system, air filter and gearing and it transformed her into that girl your mom always told you to stay away from! I have yet to have a bike come through set up exactly how I want it. You always wind up making some adjustments to fit your particular liking. when I first rode my Speciale I thought she was slow compared to my 1299. Because the blunt force torque the 1299 has. But the more I rode the V4 the more I realized she was way faster but just did it in a smoother manner then the 1299 and I suspect this will be the same with my SF vs. the 1290SD.
 
Inadeje said:
I picked up my StreetFighter V4S today and rode the bike for 60 miles around Miami, combined city and freeway riding. This is my first owned Ducati, however I did ride a 916 in the 1990s. I have not ridden a modern Ducati since and I bought this bike because I’ve always admired the design of Ducati’s.



As per my signature, I’ve owned numerous suoerbikes and have been riding since age six (now early 50s). My latest bike, which I still have, is a naked BMW K1300R, it has 173bhp and 101 Lb ft between 8000-9000rpm



Now onto my initial impressions of the SF 4S



Aesthetics - obviously the bike is beautiful, beauty is of course subjective but, this bike looks stunning to my eyes. I was surprised that the rear fender was so terrible and I guess the bikes designer cringed when he was told that DOT homologation requires a tow hitch style fender. Needless to say I ditched that like everyone else does. The front turn signals were not the fault of DOT and Its abysmal that incandescent bulbs are featured on a 2020 motorcycle of this caliber. Changed to LED too. I also bought the passenger seat delete and, while I had that installed in advance, when I arrived to collect the bike I was told that to reinstall the passenger seat it wasn’t just the insertion of the key under the seat, but rather tools are needed to reinstall the passenger seat, I find that really inconvenient and unusual, so I had them remove it and, since I had already paid for it, it’s languishing in a cardboard box and I doubt it will ever be used. I never know when I will have a passenger and certainly can’t plan when my GF or daughters fancy a ride, so its a shame that this aesthetically pleasing part couldn’t have been made to be fitted using the seat latch for fixation.



My first ride was in Sport mode the whole time and I haven’t investigated the software yet.



Riding position - I’m 6ft and 200 lbs, the riding position is excellent and I didn’t feel undue buffeting at the sustained 90 mph I managed on a stretch of freeway today. The bike feels ergonomically natural and comfortable. One weird aspect though is the position of the rear brake. It is unduly high and impossible to leave my foot preemptively hovering over it as I would on other bikes. I hope there’s some type of lever position adjustment, I didn’t notice it today. The seat sent my ass to sleep after less than an hour in the saddle, this hasn’t happened on any other bike...I hope it was just today and I need to get used to the bike or something...



Engine and Power - since I am running her in I only revved to 8k RPM in all gears. My BMW produces around 160hp at this rev range (173bhp @ 9250) and pulls hard, the ducati feels more like a 600 in comparison at equal revs. I was actually quite surprised how lethargic the bike was and wondered if it had inadvertently switched to a lower power mode, but after checking, it was still in sport. There was no front wheel lift at any time, which again seemed odd compared to my bmw. I can only assume that the bike has a kind of powerband? where it comes to life over 8k revs but, that isn’t exactly tractable nor akin to what I’m used to, not just with the bmw but the long list of liter bikes in my signature.



Handling - I was only on public roads but, the bike feels supremely agile and almost telepathic compared to my BMW or previous bikes. I can sense that this bike will be great fun when pushed or on the track.



Brakes - I didn’t use the rear because I couldn’t access it when needed (see above). The fronts don’t feel anything special to be honest. Maybe the pads need to bed in or something but, the bite didn’t seem very decisive and I will investigate further on a longer ride tomorrow.



Engine - I’ve never had a V4 nor even a V2, so my comparison is with a multitude of in-line 4s. I guess for that reason the engine sound and feel will take some getting used to. It certainly doesn’t sing like a straight 4, or maybe the above applies and, above 8k it comes to life?



Suspension - Nothing jumped out at me as being worth stating. The damping and spring rates seemed ok and it doesn’t really feel much different to other bikes I’ve had but, without any electronics. My BMW has electronic rear preload adjustment but the front and rear aren’t electronically damped. Either way, the SF 4S seems fine but not the massive Ohlins leap I was expecting.


Fueling - the bike feels weird at low-rev initial throttle openings or using throttle blips when pulling away. Its like its fueled incorrectly at very low rpm and seems to get bogged down, requiring a decisive twist of the wrist to emerge from the low rev problematic fueling. This made leaving lights hit and miss. I felt I had to over rev her to get out out of this boggy region in the rev range, which then made me feel like those 20 year olds we see revving at standstill at the lights. The bike stalled twice too, both times sat at lights with the clutch in. The stall felt like it is trying to run too lean.


Quickshift - I’ve had a up gear only (ducati is up and down gears) quick shift on my BMW from new. Again, I’m not sure if I need to adjust something in the Ducati’s electronics but, the shift on it has a weird pause (again compared to the BMW). Its like the software is killing the revs for a fraction of a second too long, the effect being a pause in power that kicks back in smoothly instead of the inertia I’m expecting.


Engine heat - it wasn’t particularly warm in Miami today. Still T-shirt weather but around 76f. The under-seat heat I’ve read about on here was absent on this bike, however, it runs very hot with the fan coming on frequently. I was wearing shorts and heat from the upper engine area was fierce but not unbearable on my bare knees and calves. I’m guessing that with jeans it could be either better or worse, depending if the heat is dissipating around my legs or if it would penetrate into and heat up fabric. I will try tomorrow.
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A few things to note on your initial review Inadeje. If you take a Panigale V4S out for a spin, you'll notice the differences, especially if it's a non-2020 model as I feel the 2020's softened things up a bit more with gearing and how power is delivered compared to the 18-19s.

The brakes seemed to have less bite, compared to the Pani V4S. I did notice it didn't have strong of an initial bite, but it was smooth and I still had confidence in the stopping power.

I think the QS has improved quite a bit, but with aftermarket rearsets, it's hard for me to tell if this was a major improvement in regards to your pause. I really have to force my shifter up when I change gears on my Gilles Tooling rearsets, but you're right, the BMW QS is still buttery smooth compared to the Duc.

Engine heat isn't so bad. Definitely don't go out riding in shorts on this bike, especially when the fans kick on. It's still a sauna in the right temp and stopped for long enough stints that the fan kicks on. But compared to the Pani V4, it's pretty comfortable. Certain areas of the test ride I took, I remember the heat emitting under the seat whereas the new 2020 Pani V4 and the SF V4 really are much more comfortable.

Glad you got your bike Inadeje, enjoy!!!!
 
@Shotcaller I could only do 50 miles riding today, we had some torrential rain about half way through my ride. Incidentally, the Anti lock breaks work fine, as does the traction control, albeit quite sudden shut down of power when traction is lost. As happened yesterday, the bike stalled just once today, approaching some lights, descending from 2nd to 1st, the engine died while I had the clutch in. My assumption is that Ducati have programmed the bike so lean at idle that it struggles. That wooly area between 0-1250 or so revs is what I mentioned yesterday, it hesitates (misfire sensation) in that range, which forces the rider to stay above those revs or it hesitates. It reminds me of the old days with jets in carbs, where the idle jet was too rich or too lean, the bike would misbehave at low revs until the right jetting was discovered. Beyond that, I was riding pretty slowly due to the extremely wet roads, so I couldn’t test the full power on settings. The removal of the rear hitch like fender has an unusual downside, the bike sprays high volumes of water from the rear wheel right up the center of the riders back...however, there is no water ingress on the feet nor legs from the front wheel during heavy rain, even riding through standing water. The rear break position continues to be problematic. I had more time today to establish that there is clearly a mistake on ergonomics with the bike, because the gear shifter is at a perfect height yet the rear brake lever is much higher. I will take her out again tomorrow.
 
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DucatiKev said:
Gotta adjust that brake lever
Click to expand...

i looked at the adjuster but didn’t have a wrench with me. Its a small screw, so based upon its current position I’m guessing it wont be enough adjustment. Oh and the seat is terrible, it sent my ass to sleep again in under and hour...I sound like I’m whining but I prefer to be objective. I’m not a bike journalist who fears not getting another bike to test from a manufacturer...
 
First post here guys. I was considering changing out my 2018 KTM SDR for a 2020 SF as I absolutely adore the V4 engine configuration.

I would imagine that based upon what I'm reading as far as observations goes, I would probably have alot of the same gripes which I DONT currently have on my SDR...hmm.

I'm going to have to test ride this thing.
 
Hi Guys,

wondering if any of you would have any insight, I put a deposit down on a SF V4S back in January and I am on a short list here at my dealership. #4 or #5 , they received 2 thus far.

I am starting to wonder if all the bikes currently stateside have been distributed. And how the trickling out of bike is handled. Dealership told me any week now and with the current state of affairs of the world I wonder if all the bikes stateside are already been distributed and I will be waiting a lot longer ... until the next batch make it in a container.

this will be my 3rd Ducati, and after reading all the reviews I am getting cold feet. Concern the bike won’t be as raw as the others, I’ve ridden quite a few bikes. Wondering how it feels compared to the monster 1200s in terms of ergonomics and quality feel. I know there not the same at all.

just wondering if I am going miss the rawness and analog feeling of older models like 1098 SF or even 1299s.
 
Gouldilocks said:
Hi Guys,

wondering if any of you would have any insight, I put a deposit down on a SF V4S back in January and I am on a short list here at my dealership. #4 or #5 , they received 2 thus far.

I am starting to wonder if all the bikes currently stateside have been distributed. And how the trickling out of bike is handled. Dealership told me any week now and with the current state of affairs of the world I wonder if all the bikes stateside are already been distributed and I will be waiting a lot longer ... until the next batch make it in a container.

this will be my 3rd Ducati, and after reading all the reviews I am getting cold feet. Concern the bike won’t be as raw as the others, I’ve ridden quite a few bikes. Wondering how it feels compared to the monster 1200s in terms of ergonomics and quality feel. I know there not the same at all.

just wondering if I am going miss the rawness and analog feeling of older models like 1098 SF or even 1299s.
Click to expand...

@Gouldilocks I wrote a reply in this same thread Which may answer some of your questions. I will answer those questions not in that thread.

In my case I am pretty familiar with vendor sagas, especially when they have your deposit, so as a general rule I always condition a deposit for any purchase (cars, bikes, watches, property, etc) to some type of binding agreement and timeframe. I explained in this thread what I did SF V4S - Any members know a US dealer with one?

Pretty much the moment I told the dealer I was about to “walk”, within a few hours he had found me a bike. Sometimes these dealers are lazy and unless you threaten they prefer to sit watching youtube videos haha.

“I am starting to wonder if all the bikes currently stateside have been distributed” - yes they are all at their respective dealers now and all those bikes (Beyond those that were allocated a test bike) that dealers received technically had firm pre-deposits on them. So, if you’re 4-5 in the list and your deposit was placed in Jan (pre-covid) then there isn’t a logical reason why yours wasn’t within the first shipment that has arrived in the states around three weeks ago.

“And how the trickling out of bike is handled” if your bike wasn’t shipped to your dealer in that first shipment then either they didn’t order with Ducati USA immediately when you gave your deposit or something else happened at your dealer. As I mentioned above, dealers are lazy, especially when the bikes don’t just arrive by themselves in crates after being ordered. In this case, the dealer has to do some additional leg work which includes: 1. calling/contacting ducati USA and asking them which dealers haven’t sold bikes they got (yet) and getting Ducati USA to force said other dealer to ship the unsold bike to them. 2. Calling/contacting other dealers directly to get a bike that way (usually includes some back scratching between dealers). Both 1 and 2 require your dealer get off his butt, which is always the hard part.

When I told my dealer I was about to walk and wanted my deposit back, I had already located two unsold bikes by myself, both with help from members of this forum. I would have simply bought one of those and had it shipped to me.

“Concern the bike won’t be as raw as the others” I have written a few reviews about the bike over the past few days on this thread. Unlike you, I cannot compare the bike to other Ducati’s since before this the only one I’d ridden was a 916 in 1994. My opinions compare the bike to those in my signature and, one I still own, the BMW. I will continue to post opinions on the bike through the coming days.

cheers
 
Inadeje said:
@Gouldilocks I wrote a reply in this same thread Which may answer some of your questions. I will answer those questions not in that thread.

In my case I am pretty familiar with vendor sagas, especially when they have your deposit, so as a general rule I always condition a deposit for any purchase (cars, bikes, watches, property, etc) to some type of binding agreement and timeframe. I explained in this thread what I did SF V4S - Any members know a US dealer with one?

Pretty much the moment I told the dealer I was about to “walk”, within a few hours he had found me a bike. Sometimes these dealers are lazy and unless you threaten they prefer to sit watching youtube videos haha.

“I am starting to wonder if all the bikes currently stateside have been distributed” - yes they are all at their respective dealers now and all those bikes (Beyond those that were allocated a test bike) that dealers received technically had firm pre-deposits on them. So, if you’re 4-5 in the list and your deposit was placed in Jan (pre-covid) then there isn’t a logical reason why yours wasn’t within the first shipment that has arrived in the states around three weeks ago.

“And how the trickling out of bike is handled” if your bike wasn’t shipped to your dealer in that first shipment then either they didn’t order with Ducati USA immediately when you gave your deposit or something else happened at your dealer. As I mentioned above, dealers are lazy, especially when the bikes don’t just arrive by themselves in crates after being ordered. In this case, the dealer has to do some additional leg work which includes: 1. calling/contacting ducati USA and asking them which dealers haven’t sold bikes they got (yet) and getting Ducati USA to force said other dealer to ship the unsold bike to them. 2. Calling/contacting other dealers directly to get a bike that way (usually includes some back scratching between dealers). Both 1 and 2 require your dealer get off his butt, which is always the hard part.

When I told my dealer I was about to walk and wanted my deposit back, I had already located two unsold bikes by myself, both with help from members of this forum. I would have simply bought one of those and had it shipped to me.

“Concern the bike won’t be as raw as the others” I have written a few reviews about the bike over the past few days on this thread. Unlike you, I cannot compare the bike to other Ducati’s since before this the only one I’d ridden was a 916 in 1994. My opinions compare the bike to those in my signature and, one I still own, the BMW. I will continue to post opinions on the bike through the coming days.

cheers
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply,

I had a feeling this is what was happening, I am ready to take delivery ASAP. I might get the calling tomorrow to see if I can locate an unsold one...I am curious how many are stateside and unaccounted for. I imagine the number is less than 10 at the moment.

probably guessing next batch aren’t coming anytime soon...

BTW what is everyone insurance looking like considering the bike it’s not in a locator tool in insurance quote because brand new bike ?
 
@Inadeje

I would politely suggest that you take your bike to Chris Boy at MotoCorse Performance in Fort Lauderdale and have them tune your bike properly. It will fix the fueling issue and eliminate the stalling. They can also break in your bike on the dyno while they do it.
What you’re describing is an easy fix for experts like Chris and his staff.
 
Gouldilocks said:
Hi Guys,

wondering if any of you would have any insight, I put a deposit down on a SF V4S back in January and I am on a short list here at my dealership. #4 or #5 , they received 2 thus far.

I am starting to wonder if all the bikes currently stateside have been distributed. And how the trickling out of bike is handled. Dealership told me any week now and with the current state of affairs of the world I wonder if all the bikes stateside are already been distributed and I will be waiting a lot longer ... until the next batch make it in a container.

this will be my 3rd Ducati, and after reading all the reviews I am getting cold feet. Concern the bike won’t be as raw as the others, I’ve ridden quite a few bikes. Wondering how it feels compared to the monster 1200s in terms of ergonomics and quality feel. I know there not the same at all.

just wondering if I am going miss the rawness and analog feeling of older models like 1098 SF or even 1299s.
Click to expand...
Two seems about right. My deposit went down in January as well. I thought I was the only one on this thread that hadn't received theirs. Perhaps those who have theirs will let you know when they placed a deposit, when received, and what country or state:)
 
Gouldilocks said:
Hi Guys,

wondering if any of you would have any insight, I put a deposit down on a SF V4S back in January and I am on a short list here at my dealership. #4 or #5 , they received 2 thus far.

I am starting to wonder if all the bikes currently stateside have been distributed. And how the trickling out of bike is handled. Dealership told me any week now and with the current state of affairs of the world I wonder if all the bikes stateside are already been distributed and I will be waiting a lot longer ... until the next batch make it in a container.

this will be my 3rd Ducati, and after reading all the reviews I am getting cold feet. Concern the bike won’t be as raw as the others, I’ve ridden quite a few bikes. Wondering how it feels compared to the monster 1200s in terms of ergonomics and quality feel. I know there not the same at all.

just wondering if I am going miss the rawness and analog feeling of older models like 1098 SF or even 1299s.
Click to expand...

Don't worry man. I viciously claimed another virginity yesterday and for all the hype, that sure was a tame letdown :/

HPBHfmZh.jpg


Cv3r5sQh.jpg


I'll spare you all the details. While definitely better than gen 1 and gen 2 SDR, this thing has become so tame it's lost what it was about imo. It's also super porky looking IRL. Not my kinda thing.

It would need a ton of suspension tuning and setup to be good enough on the bumpy backroads we got around here for the kind of riding I like to do. 2020 SDR has become super stiff everywhere. Very harsh. It feels a lot like a Monster 1200R in how smooth the engine is and how it builds power. Except it doesn't have Monster suspension and chasis. And to be frank, the last Monster I really cared for was the S4RS. Since then they became kinda tame and lost the raw feeling. Gen 3 SDR moves in similar direction. That engine tho is still a work of art but it's just moving closer to where the 1299 was 5 years ago. My 1299S felt much better on the same route than the brand new 2020 SDR.

Went 250kmh in 6th gear but it's not as stable as SFV4S and did not get there as fast as SFV4S either. No Holy .... feeling at all.

Disclaimer: Brand new 2020 SD1290R was gimped to 8K rpm until 1st service so no feeling of that supposed new top end.
 
Last edited:
Gouldilocks said:
Hi Guys,

wondering if any of you would have any insight, I put a deposit down on a SF V4S back in January and I am on a short list here at my dealership. #4 or #5 , they received 2 thus far.

I am starting to wonder if all the bikes currently stateside have been distributed. And how the trickling out of bike is handled. Dealership told me any week now and with the current state of affairs of the world I wonder if all the bikes stateside are already been distributed and I will be waiting a lot longer ... until the next batch make it in a container.

this will be my 3rd Ducati, and after reading all the reviews I am getting cold feet. Concern the bike won’t be as raw as the others, I’ve ridden quite a few bikes. Wondering how it feels compared to the monster 1200s in terms of ergonomics and quality feel. I know there not the same at all.

just wondering if I am going miss the rawness and analog feeling of older models like 1098 SF or even 1299s.
Click to expand...

I thinks it important to clear the air about some of the negative reviews on this post.

let’s start with the one where the guy has not made any adjustment on the bike or electronics to fit his riding stye (no disrespect) or the guy that doesn’t have one and his mates mate beat up on a SF.

One biggest things I’m seeing is the bike is packed with technology and nobody is using it. You want raw power shut off all technology with over 200+hp please report back on how that worked out. The bike is designed to be able to use and manage the power without getting in over your head but still be fast. My point is get to know the bike it’s an amazing ride with a lot of technology at your finger tips to go faster and faster as you get use to the power output.
 

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