Second bike: 2018 V4 or 2021 V2?

After a year and a half of a pseudo-sabbatical, I started working full-time mainly to fund this new "wife" (of a life) - sport riding.

But... loan application(s) rejected. Reality hit me in the face. Could buy one upfront like the V4 2 months ago, but backed off.

Will tame one beast for now. Got an (over)speeding ticket and the bike got towed for a week. Realized how much the second bike would have helped... but there are lessons here. I must learn.

You are ready for it when it is ready for you.

Patience wins at the end.

The journey has just begun.

This is a great thread!

Back story, I used to ride the mountains east of San Diego 20 years ago while in the Navy, loved those mornings. Life happened and I ended up without a sport bike for 15 years and sold my RT a decade ago.

Snap forward to present day and I have a transfer back to SoCal. I make solid money, way more than I ever thought I would. I have an awesome fiancé and one cool afternoon she had no problem stopping by a European bike center in Tampa. Many test rides later and I took home a 2020 RSV4 factory! It may very well be the best bike ever made.

I didn’t buy the bike for Florida, I bought it for SoCal and dreams of returning to my nefarious ways. That being said, the transfer is still a few months out and the RSV4 started to get boring in FL- so I thought I’d get some proper instruction and signed up for a few track days.

Having been in the car world of HPDE for 8 years I am not new to tracks and now the bug has bitten. Will I continue to take the RSV4 and 1299R to the track, maybe a few times a year- why the fk not. I am also in the market for something a whole lot more affordable if not downright disposable to learn the edge. In the car would you could pick your corner and push the limits, it worked or didn’t work. For 8 years if it didn’t work I looped the car 270° and ended up in the inside of the turn. Over time I learned the edge, even with slicks. The bike is an entirely different animal. The fast guys ALL have torn up leathers, almost a right of passage.

My .02, money is tight but you also have to live, otherwise what is the point. The solution? An R6 or GSXR 600/750. You could also finances a V4 and have a professional level tool and just ride within 80% of your ability. As long as you stay away from the limits and run fresh tires each weekend you’ll likely be gtg. Will you ever be “the fast guy”? Idk, maybe. It’ll take you 5x as long.

Lastly, 90-110mi a day for the track, it won’t take long until that V4 has a couple thousand miles at track pace and needs some work. Out of warranty the engine alone is gonna cost you the price of a GSXR 750.


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So I did end up buying a (slightly used - 6k kms) 2020 V2

(Also, after crashing the V4 at the track and not wanting to wait out, basically, the last rideable month here in "Rain"couver, BC.)

What I noticed right off the bat, is the tad more aggressive positioning on the V2,

which I really really really like.

It almost is making me contemplating selling my V4 (then again the V4 is getting a full-system Akro as it is being re-built)

Question I have therefore, before I take it to my buddy Patrik from oppracing.com, is ...

how can I make the positioning on the V4 more like what I have on the V2?

(I am 170 cm and have slightly longer limbs over torso)

You could do a custom seat and lower the front and raise the rear of the bike in small increments.

sam8401 said:

After a year and a half of a pseudo-sabbatical, I started working full-time mainly to fund this new "wife" (of a life) - sport riding.

But... loan application(s) rejected. Reality hit me in the face. Could buy one upfront like the V4 2 months ago, but backed off.

Will tame one beast for now. Got an (over)speeding ticket and the bike got towed for a week. Realized how much the second bike would have helped... but there are lessons here. I must learn.

You are ready for it when it is ready for you.

Patience wins at the end.

The journey has just begun.

Click to expand...

Lol, another Vancouverite here.. Got my bike towed for excessive speeding around the same time as you as well and not having a second bike to ride in the meantime sucked.

Riding position ergos are fairly basic:

1. Adjustable clipons 25mm or 45mm off set seem de regueur.
2. Race seat foam in varying thickness, thicker than the stock seat generally works.
3. Adjustable rearsets. Fairly expensive for the very best, but a good investment.

Should be able to find a more aggressive/suitable seating position. Don't forget to adjust your levers around the bars too, 99% of the time they are set too high from factory.

You'll likely have to deal with that roll pin Ducati uses on their clip-ons. I removed mine with a cut off wheel and now I can position the levers however I want.

I love my V4S version, but in my second bike I want something completely different, like 400 hp H2 or the other direction, an ultra light savage like the Suter MMX500

I personally don’t get the idea of getting two similar bikes

After riding my GF's/ Fiance' V2 this weekend, it would need forged wheels, triples, and a bit more power for me to ever buy one.

The handling of that bike is like a truck or frankly like my base 848 before I put on Dan Kyle Triples.

If I were to buy another Ducati it would be a Multistrada V4 for sure.