2023 V4R info to keep in mind

roadracerx said:

Not really info to keep in mind but MOST of the reviews I am seeing on YouTube are basically useless, here is a video of someone riding a lap at the RedBull Ring.



I asked him about what he noticed and he replied...

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I agree with those comments.

I’ve posted before that the new V4R electronics and nimble nature of the chassis and ergos make a big upgrade to me over the V4SP v1 that I have.

Makes my 1199SL seem just so violent (which it can be!) and confirms the technology leap of a decade of R&D…

roadracerx said:

I remember one time at Buttonwillow I was riding my BMW HP4 Race for the FIRST TIME and I was at the line ready to go for my session, no one else had made it there yet....(early bird) Anyway this guy comes rolling up on a R1 blipping his throttle aggressively and they waive him out in front of me. This guy is really swoopy in his lines so I decide to just wait back a bit....the fool yardsales is bike at the Bus Stop on the FIRST lap! I split him and his bike, ugh. I went on with my session, after which, this same rider came up to me and said, "Awe man, I had something for ya! I wanted to see if I could take that HP4!" So yes, sometimes, having a nice bike can put a target on your back.

My crashes have been at track days and racing but to date, never been my fault. I don't ride like that. I want to have a good time and always improve upon myself. Falling into the trap of being the fast guy will only last so long.

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Watch out for guys joining the session late at Big Willow…you enter the track right before turn 1, which is also at the end of 170 mph straight, and there’s a 100 meters from where they stage you to where you enter the track as they flag you on.

I see so many near crashes there, and I’ve had so many near crashes there.

It’s nearly impossible for the track workers to judge the timing right of when they waive somebody onto the track, because you can have a group of riders all the way back at turn 9 when they waive a rider onto track, but because that straight is so fast you have riders coming on track at 50 mph hugging the inside line while riders on track are closing in on the same apex at turn 1 descending from 170 mph to 90 mph….not fun when two guys meet at an apex with a 40 mph difference in speed, then to make it more dangerous sometimes the guys coming on track will cross your line going 40 mph slower because they go from tight to wide as the come on track at turn 1.

Also, you think you have a bead on your back, trying being a 250 pound 52 year old rider that’s on a very loud $120k Ducati with a livery that looks like the F1 Ferrari livery and bright red leathers that’s rolling around the track at just slightly above squid speeds

Bright red Ducatis seem to invite dive bombing for sure.

roadracerx said:

I remember one time at Buttonwillow I was riding my BMW HP4 Race for the FIRST TIME and I was at the line ready to go for my session, no one else had made it there yet....(early bird) Anyway this guy comes rolling up on a R1 blipping his throttle aggressively and they waive him out in front of me. This guy is really swoopy in his lines so I decide to just wait back a bit....the fool yardsales is bike at the Bus Stop on the FIRST lap! I split him and his bike, ugh. I went on with my session, after which, this same rider came up to me and said, "Awe man, I had something for ya! I wanted to see if I could take that HP4!" So yes, sometimes, having a nice bike can put a target on your back.

My crashes have been at track days and racing but to date, never been my fault. I don't ride like that. I want to have a good time and always improve upon myself. Falling into the trap of being the fast guy will only last so long.

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Some guys can’t leave their ego at the gate.

The bit of your post I have put in bold is exactly what I’m enjoying about being on track. I love working on specific aspects of technique and seeing the results as a consequence rather than chasing the results. It’s the same in a lot of, if not all, sports. I was a golfer when I was young and the same principle applied - concentrate on technique, focus on each shot and the score takes care of itself.

At a recent track day there was a guy who was going as fast as possible on the straights, trying to outbreak people into bends but then almost stopping on the apex, causing all sorts of problems. He ended up having a serious crash on the straight, 150m before the bend.

As soon as I get close to a RACE track, I start getting focused. Everything is now a race. The queue to get in. The queue to sign on. Be the first to line up in pit lane.

Anyone with a nice looking bike becomes my main focus, and my target. Once they're dispatched, I choose another victim.
After the session, I seek them out, and let them KNOW, that I destroyed them.

I've only knocked three or four people off, and I've never crashed, so all good. Race track, right!

At the end of the day, I go home, feeling REALLY good about myself. And, as I'm sipping on my latte, I laugh at all the losers I vanquished.

Can't wait for my next trackday!

Never, ever underestimate the power of the latte Rick.....

Steven31371 said:

This is how and why Brittish Colonialism ruined the world.

Imagine if the Brittish had Latte’s during the American revolution.

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Tbf, I think the Italians probably already had lattes by then...

cl955 said:

Because American Foreign Affairs have been soooooo successful....

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My comment was simply correcting the spelling…

My favourite is when the Ducati forum becomes political ️

Since when does that ever happen? Drinking second latte right now...

RickD996 said:

Tbf, I think the Italians probably already had lattes by then...

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That’s how they ended up with Pasta

Nice

roadracerx said:

So......I just rode a 2023 V4R with full Akrapovic exhaust back-to-back-to-back with my 2019 V4R. I have to say I can't tell much difference in the handling, no difference in the tank or the seat and the new bike is runs hotter due to the exhaust running up the side!

My V4R soaks up the bumps better (tweaked stock suspension) but I set it up so....

The quick shifter on the new bike is a tiny bit better and I mean tiny.

The clutch makes WAY less noise and mine has new plates so apples-to-apples here.

The new "fan strategy" just means it comes on sooner.

I felt a small change in the smoothness of the traction control and the dash has a better info-graphic although I am barely looking at it when I ride quickly.

I am having trouble rationalizing the purchase of a new V4R that will cost me the better part of 60K which of course means I sell my V4R, which only has a thousand miles on it for 37K meaning it will cost me around 23K and about 40 hours of my time to prep the new and old bikes.

I am torn.

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I get it 100% but for me it takes at least two or three days minimum to ride the new bike to set it up how I like the ride. So to go from one buddies bike to another is never going to work for me. For my 19 to the 23 is definitely a better ride but that’s just my opinion, very happy with the new V4R

To say you like a bike you own versus one you don’t may just be confirmation bias. I’m a little annoyed at the neutering the US V4R bikes have vs the EU ones.

@bp_SFV4 is the neutering still there after the full Akra and associated mapping in the US models? I have both the 2019 and 2023 V4R but my 23 is still mostly stock.

Good question. I’d have to defer to a tuner. Ducati only advertises a percentage increase for the exhaust and not an exact number.

The Akra map might remove the US specific restrictions as I doubt that map is different according to region.

However, as identified by @DeussenEngines there are some restrictions applied even on non US 22+ models with DP3 Akrapovic maps which he's able to remove.

I’m sure Daniel will pop in to clarify everything, but the 2021 bikes’ Akra/Ducati tunes don’t have the restrictions like the 22+ bikes.

Both regular Pani V4 and V4R models are castrated a bit with the US OEM calibrations. With the Ducati Performance maps for slipon and full exhaust systems these restrictions are removed.