To V4 or not to V4, that is the question

Greetings from Veneto ya'll. It's time for a new bike. I've been drooling over the Panigale for a long while and as I study up a bit I'm starting to notice some alarming details. There are 3, 2020 V4's for sale near me with less than 2k miles on them. One has had 2 owners already! I would appreciate the opinions of V4 owners as to how it's going. Heat issues? I read people are getting burned by the heat. Has anyone resolved that? One girl told me she doesn't ride more than an hour it's too hot she says. Another rider told me forget riding in the summer. I'm kind of blown away. For real? I found a thread on this forum with people shooting their opinions off, the V4 is a shitshow. A dealer told me, "it's a track bike, not as fun as the V2 on the street. Don't get the V4 unless you're almost pro." I'd love to hear opinions of riders who actually own a V4. Thanks!

I have a 2020, does it get hot, yes, but it’s not a traffic bike, it like to keep moving as it should, lambo’s, z06’s, Porsche, and Ferarri do the same thing. They are meant to be driven fast and hard then put away till next time. The people who say there to hot are, well.... .......!!! Period, get a set of balls and deal with it, I rode 187 miles and never took a break, got stuck in some traffic and it heated up quick, I thought my thigh was on fire but then once moving it was fine again. But look at where the exhaust is, it’s right there on your thigh, then the rear cylinder is on the left side. Is what it is for me, I don’t ride when it’s 100 outside, I’ll go in the morning when the idiots are in bed and not on the road. Hope this helps.

I commuted through the rain and snow 365 days a year for 2 and a half years in the PNW on my 2018 V4. Plenty of track days and tons of spirited riding in twisties sprinkled in between the commuting. Enjoyed every moment of it. Not the most comfortable machine in the world, the few times I banged out the 1.5 hour ride to the track instead of hitching a ride there were not the most fun, legs cramp up a big after an hour or so. However, that's with aftermarket rearsets that are significantly higher than OEM.

Heat was rarely an issue. Bone stock, it dumps most of its heat at the ground. I could be at max temp and not notice much beside some butt warmth, then go to put my foot down and feel like my calf was on fire. I took off the engine covers and now I get fairly uniform heat along my legs and butt instead of everything jetting right where your foot will be at a stop. Aftermarket exhaust and T800 tune massively improved the heat issue.

Not trying to be a tough guy, maybe my bike just runs differently, but even in the CA heat stopped at a light, I never had a major issue on the V4. I normally commute in jeans or my work pants (very thin Navy NWU pants) and have had nowhere near the seating heat some people have talked about. My old 696 Monster cooked my ... more than the V4, and riding a 959 for 30 minutes produced more heat than my V4 ever did. So I'm not really sure what I'm doing differently or what is different about my bike when I read these guys talking about wearing fire retardant underwear and .... to avoid ... burns.

Vbreeze said:

A dealer told me, "it's a track bike, not as fun as the V2 on the street...

Don’t get the V4 unless you're almost pro."

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Could not agree more with the first part of that! Twin has more torque and is more fun to ride period. But it’s harder to ride so slower lap times and it scares some people

Could not disagree more with the second part. I am not a big track guy but if I was I would be going there in search of quicker lap times just like everyone else there is. V4 is way easier to ride fast so I think he’s got that part backwards. Want a challenge? Try to keep up on a twin. If you can you are almost pro whatever that means

What will you be doing with the bike?

Definitely V4, but not someone else’s lemon

V4 and ride the balls off it. V4 is not a commuting bike, as long as you are moving there are no heat issues. You want to commute or blast up and down the highway in a straight line get a throwaway Jap bike.

I've had a fair few issues, all resolved under warranty:

2x clutch slave cylinder
1x quickshifter
2x gear position sensor
1x throttle tube assembly

900 miles on my bike.

So, I can see why some people might sell it early and move on to something else.

Also, the stock suspension settings are woeful. Adjusting ride height, damping and springs really transforms the bike.

It's also extremely fast, with extremely good brakes, compared with my 2016 S1000RR.

It's not for everyone, but once you get through the niggly component failures and get a good setup, it's a good bike.

On track, I never notice the heat from the bike, but it is a lot hotter than my BMW.

If the used ones still have warranty and have been inspected by the dealer, go for one, but with your eyes open.

Hey Vbreeze, I wouldn't worry about heat on the V4, I've had a jap bike that got hotter.
I have toured, done spirited rides and track days and loved every single bit of it.
I will be fitting an exhaust, filter and tune soon, I can't wait. I'm really excited, the v4 excites me.
To add, I've had no problems at all.

6x to dealer and you haven’t rode it 1000 miles?

Yer a good man

I woulda poured a bunch of gas on that thing and threw a match at it

6 visits already, what a nightmare...

Don14R said:

...
What will you be doing with the bike?

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THANKS!
Everything. I just moved to Italy so it will be my only bike for a while. I want to do the Alps like I want to [Warning: personal moment approaching] **lick Kate Moss from top to bottom. I'm within 2 hours of: Mugello, San Marino, and Imola, so those tracks I will be spending Spring and Autumn as much as I can. But maybe only 3-6 times a year honestly. I work too much. I rode my 848 SF to LA, and back in one 7.5 hour stretch up Hwy1. Rode in the Sierras a bunch, got snowed on one June day, rode in 6" of snow. Rode Laguna Seca, Sears, and THill a bunch. Mostly I rode HWY 1 for 10 years up and down on weekends, otherwise miserable SF traffic, got hit by cars twice. Here traffic is nothing like the Bay area. There's roundabouts, you don't have to stop very often. It looks like an effing dream to me, but people still complain. The roads are not in as good condition as Cali however, damn, the curves are f'ing amazing. See **Kate Moss metaphor.

DucatiKev said:

Definitely V4, but not someone else’s lemon

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I can see what you are talking about. Hrmm. Maybe they are not al the same.
My 848 had a bunch of warranty stuff, but once settled in has been golden, really totally awesome. Love it.

RickD996 said:

I've had a fair few issues, all resolved under warranty:

2x clutch slave cylinder
1x quickshifter
2x gear position sensor
1x throttle tube assembly

900 miles on my bike.

So, I can see why some people might sell it early and move on to something else.
...

On track, I never notice the heat from the bike, but it is a lot hotter than my BMW.

If the used ones still have warranty and have been inspected by the dealer, go for one, but with your eyes open.

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Good luck RickD996. That's a drag. Maybe it'll be done and rocking now. Hope so.

These are typical roads around here I've been bicycling.
Some can get a little goaty-trail, others are the shining essence of perfection. French Italian Boarder is the stuff dreams are made from. Dolomites, same deal. Austrian Italian boarder - jaw dropping.

I rode a 2019 959 Corse for most of this year on the street and absolutely loved it. I started riding the track this year (COTA) and it was awesome, however, being a new track rider, I think anything would've been awesome! I only started looking at the V4 because I'm 6'3" and the 959 felt small for me. I made the mistake of sitting on a V4s. I think it is the same geometry, but it is definitely wider, and it "felt" like more of my size.

Then made the mistake of riding it. The V4s suspension is unbelievable and I knew within 5 minutes that I would be trading in the 959 for the V4s. I like riding this on the street way more than the 959 simply because of the suspension and the "fit." The power and the floating sensation is an experience I've become spoiled to.

The 959 sounds better than a V4 in my opinion, and it has more torque. You get to use all of the gears on street/highway riding. I could see how someone would say that it is more "fun" to ride the street with a V2 (or 959), but the actual performance/experience that I get with a V4s is what I like.

Vbreeze said:

These are typical roads around here I've been bicycling. View attachment 35021
Some can get a little goaty-trail, others are the shining essence of perfection. French Italian Boarder is the stuff dreams are made from. Dolomites, same deal. Austrian Italian boarder - jaw dropping.
View attachment 35022

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I live in Texas and definitely do not have roads like that! I think I would go for the V2 for this!!

Have had Duc v-twins and would never go back. Only drawback to V4 in my mind is it's so overpowered for street riding... if that's even a drawback.

CSV4 said:

Have had Duc v-twins and would never go back. Only drawback to V4 in my mind is it's so overpowered for street riding... if that's even a drawback.

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Ya I've heard that like 13 times, "oh no, it's so fast, it's like a Ferrari, so to ride on the street is like a crime." I see Ferraris on the street all the time. It's not like they cross every intersection sideways and drift into the restaurant parking lots.
So that brings us to the next question:
"What happens when you ride slower?"
"How is it in tight twisties?" Does it kick and buck and throw flames at your ... like an out of control steed in the starting gates?
Does it require staying in 1st gear all day until you get to the track?
Even my 848 in the tight twisties rarely sees 3rd. I took me a couple of years to get to its full potential. I'm not breaking records, but I have my fun.

V4 is fine for the street. If you are in stop and go traffic for 30 minutes or so it gets painfully hot, otherwise it’s great.

stock suspension settings were pretty bad for me, spend an afternoon setting it up and it’s fantastic. To be clear, this isn’t an issue with the hardware, just the factory settings.

Vbreeze said:

Ya I've heard that like 13 times, "oh no, it's so fast, it's like a Ferrari, so to ride on the street is like a crime." I see Ferraris on the street all the time. It's not like they cross every intersection sideways and drift into the restaurant parking lots.
So that brings us to the next question:
"What happens when you ride slower?"
"How is it in tight twisties?" Does it kick and buck and throw flames at your ... like an out of control steed in the starting gates?
Does it require staying in 1st gear all day until you get to the track?
Even my 848 in the tight twisties rarely sees 3rd. I took me a couple of years to get to its full potential. I'm not breaking records, but I have my fun.

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It's totally fine at slow speeds. Only issue is you have to pay attention to clutch below 10 mph, but I think you're asking about 20-30 mph. It's great in tight twisties. 1100 has plenty of torque (I have a gen3 SDR too and in the past have have had Panigale V-twin and Multistrada - V4 and SDR throttle control beats anything else out there).

Totally fine doing 90 mph in 5th... can also do it in 2nd.

CSV4 said:

Only drawback to V4 in my mind is it's so overpowered for street riding

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it sure is, the 1103 engine is a blessing for street riding