2023 V4R info to keep in mind

roadracerx said:

Another thing the marketers at Ducati are talking about to the press is the new pistons which have DLC-coated side skirts, BUT, they did this on the 1299 Superleggera AND Kawasaki has been doing it since 2017 on the ZX-10RR. I am sure other manufacturers have also done this as well.

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I believe this was on the 1299 pistons already so certainly not new as you mentioned more marketing

Man I’m not in the camp of “you shouldn’t buy a certain bike if it costs more and you aren’t fast enough of a rider to set faster lap times with it.”

Buy the best bike with as much go fast parts as you feel comfortable with financially…who cares if you aren’t fast enough to ‘actually use it’.

I mean by that logic almost everybody here shouldn’t be on anything above the price or power of an R6 or less.

Certainly there are marginal improvements to the V4R that justify it if it’s in your budget already. Personally I don’t think ‘being faster’ on it because you are near pro-level riding skill is a pre-requisite to buying one.

These things are more passion buys than practical ones.

I bought my 23’ V4R because it was cool and special. My 22’ V4S was faster and more comfortable. I ride these bikes to have fun and I have more fun on the V4R. It’s a win in my book and the only justification I need.

I want to share a truly incredible story. This past '22-'23 CVMA season, a new amateur class rider showed up on a 2019 Ducati V4R. This was his very first track bike and his first racing season, but, nevertheless, he had (absurd) ambitions to rapidly improve, move to expert class, and do some MotoAmerica races within a year! Okay, cool, good luck with that. Well, he got taken out in his first ever race but was back for the next round with a plate in his collar bone and other stuff still not healed, and the most patched together bike self-repair job you have ever seen. From there, he rapidly improved, turned expert for Rd 7, and got some expert points thereafter from other orgs. And this past weekend, he did his first MotoAmerica round at Brainerd, and got a 12th and 11th place in stock 1000 class, on this same 2019 V4R that has been crashed and repaired no less than 4 times, and I can guarantee that his geometry and setup is far from optimal, haha. Dominik Gajda, #921.

The point is, anything is possible if you follow your heart and don't listen to naysayers and critics. It is okay to be driven and exceptional. Its okay to race and repair a Ducati V4R. If you want a V4R, get one, push it hard, and have fun. I ride a 2019 V4 base model, which I think is an awesome bike and a great value, but the 1103 engine limits me to "formula" classes. I am thinking now that my next race bike will be a V4R, to keep my class options open, and I also think it will be wild to have so many revs on tap.

Yes I know Dominik and know the mechanic that put his bike back together after one of the crashes, so from a chassis and handling POV it is sorted. It IS impressive what he has done in a short period! I have seen this before and I hope he continues to improve and doesn't have an injury that ends that progress. It DOES take time to get better and attempts to shortcut that practice by taking big risks is impressive to watch when it works out but that doesn't happen very often.

Steven31371 said:

Man I’m not in the camp of “you shouldn’t buy a certain bike if it costs more and you aren’t fast enough of a rider to set faster lap times with it.”

Buy the best bike with as much go fast parts as you feel comfortable with financially…who cares if you aren’t fast enough to ‘actually use it’.

I mean by that logic almost everybody here shouldn’t be on anything above the price or power of an R6 or less.

Certainly there are marginal improvements to the V4R that justify it if it’s in your budget already. Personally I don’t think ‘being faster’ on it because you are near pro-level riding skill is a pre-requisite to buying one.

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We ARE getting WAY off topic here but as a former head riding coach and former MotoAmerica Stock 1000 participant with 20+ years of racing experience I both agree and disagree with this statement....

See IMHO too many people buy the wrong bike, more often than not because the marketing team has done their job in promoting the new sexy, badass bike of the moment and we all get caught up in that, myself included. It IS about what you are comfortable with financially but my advice has always been to define what your goals are and pick the correct bike that helps you achieve that goal. The new V4 Ducati Panigale is a BIG step forward in terms of ergos and rider aids but these bikes are NOT easy to ride at pace for extended periods of time and the dry clutch is more maintenance than it is worth ESPECIALLY when used exclusively on the street!

Half of my customers are folks who want the latest Ducati and they go on group rides in the canyons and come by for tire changes with the center of their tires worn out. Their goal isn't learning how to push THEIR limits on track.

The other half DO want to get better and ride track often. Many of these riders buy the V4S or V4R then come by for a setup and track tires and they are off to rip it up at the track! But they ALL have the same problem....they don't REALLY know the track. Almost everyone intuitively knows where the APEX of the corner is but WHERE are they going NEXT? WHERE did they brake? In my coaching I talk about each corner having THREE points of reference and I ALWAYS start by looking at the track backwards. Especially on big bikes, which prioritize accelerate, it is best to begin with the exit of the corner FIRST in figuring out where the APEX is. One should ask themselves, "How can I maximize my exit on this corner?" Knowing this will allow you to pick the Apex and when you know that you can continue to work backwards to pick your braking marker so that you can hit the apex with precision. IT IS key to actually PICK a braking marker and be consistent. MOST people brake out of FEELING and not FACT. The problem with that is you feel differently day to day so where you brake will change and with a BIG BIKE like the V4S/R, which accelerates like CRAZY, you are doing yourself NO FAVORS. Without this precise braking marker most big bike riders over-brake and therefore over-slow the bike to the apex or miss the apex and then wait a bit too long to get the bike turned and then wait a bit too long to get on the gas and then hammer the throttle when they are mostly upright and repeat the pattern again and again until they are worn out after 5 laps. There is NO replacement for seat time. Maximizing your opportunites to see the same corner as many times as possible during your track day is key to learning the track REALLY well so you can pick these 3 points...

I guess my point in all this is that the V4R is a bike really intended for the race track use, NOT street and for those who buy one, they should be SOLID riders in good shape because the V4R is a BEAST that is VERY capable in the right hands and really a waste being used for the occasional bike night or rip down the canyon.

FWIW, the last three R model Ducati (2013 1199R, 2016 Panogale R and 2019 V4R) I have purchased have never seen the street after an initial 100 mile break in followed by an oil change.

Not trying to piss anyone off here, this is just my .02

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TL;DW

They;re all roughly the same. 197 WHP for the V4R. The two BMWs were down roughly 10 WHP from the Italian bikes.

SuperDomestique said:

Neevesy recognizes that it’s easier to ride but isn’t too impressed by the V4R. For trackday riding, the base V4 is more than adequate.

One little nugget of information revealed is that the R chassis seems to be more flexible than S.

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I’ve had a blast on mine! Have over 400 track miles on her and she’s night and day from my 2019 speciale and the 2022 V4S. It’s a fun experience and I’m glad I get to track her. I don’t ride her on the street much, I like the more up right stance of my street fighter for everyday use.

Somefun said:

I’ve had a blast on mine! Have over 400 track miles on her and she’s night and day from my 2019 speciale and the 2022 V4S. It’s a fun experience and I’m glad I get to track her. I don’t ride her on the street much, I like the more up right stance of my street fighter for everyday use.
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I can only imagine! I get it and wholeheartedly support Ducati for doing the V4R. It’s the pinnacle of production homologation specials. This one could even be up there with the 998R, 999R, or 1098R in how special it is.

Like @roadracerx and Neevesy were saying, these things are track weapons bar none. They’re there to attack the corners and tear space and time down the straights. One must possess the proper skills, talent, and fitness to ride one of these things in anger. And that wouldn’t be a good fit for me since I possess pretty much none of those attributes… I bought the S bc I ride it to work as therapy, so I don’t have to be stuck in a cage, and for it’s simplicity. Literally set it and forget it. Lets me focus on the fundamentals.

And if @roadracerx ever does any coaching at Laguna I’d gladly pay good money for it.

bp_SFV4 said:

TL;DW

They;re all roughly the same. 197 WHP for the V4R. The two BMWs were down roughly 10 WHP from the Italian bikes.

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I get that the absolute numbers are down because of the conditions etc. but the relative numbers of the new V4R with the new ultra expensive exhaust vs the V4S with the previous ultra expensive exhaust is a surprise, based on Ducati's claims.
I realise that the previous V4R was close to the 1103 bikes, but might have expected a little more peak power for all the hype on the new version.
It's all highly academic of course in the real world.

the worse bit for me is an American trying to say DEWCARTEE.....

andyb said:

the worse bit for me is an American trying to say DEWCARTEE.....

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And the suspect chain maintenance

Several weeks ago my brother was in town and he rides a bit, so we bonded over taking my K5 GSXR 1000 (that’s not even a street legal bike, track only) and my V4S out, granted the Ducati is highly modified, but it’s still technically sorta street legal, whereas the GIXXER is a pure racing bike.

We took took turns riding both, the 2005 Gixxer race bike was WAY funner to ride around like a hooligan on public roads, it’s more comfortable, less tiring, and easier to ride fast-ish on roads and highways, if I was a canyon carver I’d be on a Gixxer…the following weekend I took both bikes to the track and road them in back to back sessions, road the Gixxer 1st, was a surprisingly capable bike that was fun, but once I got on the Ducati at the track I didn’t go back to the Gixxer…the same exact things that make the Ducati less fun on the road made it much funner at the track. the riding position, the nutso throttle response, and just how incredibly well the Ducati dives into a corner. What on the street is a flighty twitchy tiring beast is a precision instrument with a mean punch on the track. Whereas the Gixxer you just feel like you are ‘flowing’ in complete command at speed on the street, it feels less of everything on the track, especially on turn in, that bike feels very stable at every speed and lean angle, but ‘turns in’ with way less agility than my Ducati.

Bottom line, the newish Ducati felt WAY more track specific than the nearly 20 year old ‘track bike’ “.

Great shot! I’ll be at Pitt Race with mine in a few weeks and really looking forward to riding her there. I actually dropped a second off my time going from my 2019 Speciale to my new V4R. The V4R doesn’t feel like it’s as fast as the 2019 but I did have -1F +2R on the 2019. The gearing is much different but it feels way better on the track IMO.

andyb said:

whoops...

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nothing this guy posts on YouTube is worth watching

@KarlKani AMEN brother, a-frickin-men, lol.

KarlKani said:

nothing this guy posts on YouTube is worth watching

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