Who is excited about the Ducati V4?

Macattack said:

1409 v4 P/W = 0.55440414507772
1299 L2 P/W @ 205hp =0.55858310626703
1299 L2 corrected P/W @197 hp = 0.53678474114441

all things being equal the power to weight of the v4 is better . kinda makes you skeptical of the validity of said numbers though .

btw I think the video of the bike around the track makes it look much better this adds to Jarel's point of looking at it in person before judging IMO

again could someone explain why the V4 is called a 1409 my ocd is asking

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Its just a project code number as was "1704" for the Superleggera 1299.

topolino said:

Might be tempted by V4S and full Akra system with SL style paintwork. Quick and dirty mock up I made this morning

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That looks really good!

DCPanni said:

If it's 1409 cc then it's not WSB legal to race. I thought four cylinder engines are capped at 1000 cc.

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Nothing revealed yesterday is going to be raced, plus it's 1103cc and not 1409cc. The homologation R version is a year away and won't be campaigned until 2019.

HiSpeed48 said:

That looks really good!

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If I decide to go for the V4, then it might well turn out like this, as I am not a lover of the plain red bodywork and I think the SL design will work, despite the complex shapes and lines of the new bodywork

I really want to like it and put a deposit down a few weeks ago in the hopes that it would blow me away, but it just hasn't. I'm sure the performance makes up for the looks, but I'm not trading a beautiful 1299S for - what I consider to be - a somewhat ugly V4S.

The exhaust looks enormous now, it could be mitigated slightly by making it black, but just flat steel makes it look really clunky under the bike. On the 1299 you barely realize that it has an exhaust, your focus is completely on the beauty of the bike.

The tail looks stubby, which could also have been helped if they had extended the paint under the seat further to visually elongate it.

Using the 1299S wheels for the V4S is unforgivably lazy.

The painted panel directly underneath the seat is just weird.

And the silver brace or whatever it is that extends out from the side fairing is too prominent and should have been black at least.

The worst part by far though is whatever is going on with a fairing covering the front half of the gas tank. If there were just a blade going back from the side fairing that solved the problem of "where the hell am I meant to hook my knee on this thing", I would be happy, but now the bike looks like a mess.

Don't get me wrong, the headlights and taillights are cool and I'm sure the engine is next level. But Ducati really dropped the ball on designing this thing. The elegance of the 1299 was thrown out the window completely.

topolino said:

"Road mode shows Ducati Multimedia System (DMS) information". Oddly little if any mention has been made of this. Wonder if it is similar to what is I believe on the Multistroodle already, which would explain the Bluetooth capability that has been mentioned or hinted at. Perhaps JarelJ can elaborate on this?

Here is the full description:

"The Panigale V4 gets a new 5" full-TFT, high-res and high-brightness colour display, completely redesigned in terms of layout and graphics, including a new virtual circular rev-counter located on the right side.

Two different layouts are available: Track mode focuses attention on the lap time indicator, while Road mode shows Ducati Multimedia System (DMS) information, and highlights engine rpm values typical of road riding. Top speed, selected riding mode, and selected gear do not change position when the layout mode is changed."

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This sounds like a nice upgrade, but probably not enough to make me buy. Each bike I've owned with the exception of the RSV4, was a technological upgrade of the previous bike, mostly in the form of safety.

Triple To CBR - ABS
CBR to S1000RR - Traction and Wheelie Control
S1000RR to RSV4 - No upgrade
RSV4 to Panigale - Cornering ABS, eSuspension, AutoBlipper

Panigale to ....- next bike has to have all of that Panigale has plus hopefully Cruise and I'd really like to have Tire Temp

But over all, I'm liking what the V4 Panigale offers, it's just not much of an upgrade over my 1299S.

I also think they don't get class leading power out of a V4 1000. I'm baffled over Twin Pulse Firing Order

200/60 rear tire!!!!! Please dont bash me but i love the look of a fat rear tire. The red does nothing for me but the Speciale looks pretty dang nice

in terms of aesthetics, this bike is terrible. the visible part of the frame sticks out and doesn't integrate into the lines of bike. the tank portion integrating into fairing is jarring and splits the tank line.

not sure how D could release such a design.

solution: fairing covers frame, tank single piece & remove fairing indentations (simplify a la 1299).

VAST said:

in terms of aesthetics, this bike is terrible. the visible part of the frame sticks out and doesn't integrate into the lines of bike. the tank portion integrating into fairing is jarring and splits the tank line.

not sure how D could release such a design.

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It explaines the choice to extend the fairing into the tank. It would look worse had they not done that. Although I think it still looks good overall, and I did not say that when the spy shots came out. Perhaps it was the angle.

This bike is just not going to look as good in a single color as L-Twins.

AmpForE said:

It explaines the choice to extend the fairing into the tank. It would look worse had they not done that. Although I think it still looks good overall, and so did not say that when the spy shots came out. Perhaps it was the angle.

This bike is just not going to look as good in a single color as L-Twins.

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all depends on "how" they would cover that ugly frame; ie execution. another solution would be to work on design of actual frame -- right now it looks like a giant overlong tab. perhaps integrating it more into the engine and exposing said engine. anyhow. poor design.

or maybe integrate the tank into the frame -- a partially brushed aluminum tank echoing the frame. anyhow, no more free ideas for D. heh

VAST said:

all depends on "how" they would cover that ugly frame; ie execution. another solution would be to work on design of actual frame -- right now it looks like a giant overlong tab. perhaps integrating it more into the engine and exposing said engine. anyhow. poor design.

or maybe integrate the tank into the frame -- a partially brushed aluminum tank echoing the frame. anyhow, no more free ideas for D. heh

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I'd say it's an intentional design element. They've always tended to "show some leg" in revealing the hard parts they're proud of under the bodywork, and now they're wanting to emphasize their new frame design, and further differentiate the bike from the monocoque V-Twin. Peek a boo!

I agree it does't look as good as the 1299 but compare it to the competition and it's still a looker!

BMW - ugly
GSXR - ugly
R1 - ugly
ZX10R - Bland
Aprilia - Bland
CBR - looks decent
Panigale V4 - Sexy

IMO ofcourse!

Steve B said:

I'd say it's an intentional design element. They've always tended to "show some leg" in revealing the hard parts they're proud of under the bodywork, and now they're wanting to emphasize their new frame design, and further differentiate the bike from the monocoque V-Twin. Peek a boo!

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I agree with you about the "exposure" element. I'll have to reserve judgement on the fairing extensions until I see the bike in person in a couple of weeks but they are quite a lot different from the prototype images we saw a few weeks back. For example, the extensions are scalloped at the point where they pass over the frame and are narrower in width and more form hugging. The whole front end is also much slimmer/lighter in overall appearance compared to those leaked images. The dealer told me today that Ducati had gone to some effort to re-inforce the fact that those pictures were not representative of the finished bike in terms of dimensions and form. Hard to see a tangible difference but they are better than the hideous ones we saw pre-launch. Ultimately in the flesh is how I want to judge it and not from photos alone.

I'll hang onto my 1299 for now.

Meh, I thought the 1199 was ugly up until I saw one in person. Now I love the way it looks. Pretty is as pretty does. I'm not gonna nitpick small details on a new model. I'll end up liking it. I'll like it even more in race trim.

The big bang firing order is what Ducati does in GP, correct? Isn't Yamaha's crossplane crank supposed to do the same?

ghostdog6 said:

Meh, I thought the 1199 was ugly up until I saw one in person. Now I love the way it looks. Pretty is as pretty does. I'm not gonna nitpick small details on a new model. I'll end up liking it. I'll like it even more in race trim.

The big bang firing order is what Ducati does in GP, correct? Isn't Yamaha's crossplane crank supposed to do the same?

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Yeah the feelings on looks is typically always the same. Shock and resistance evolves over time and eventually you wonder how you ever lived without it.

Will look great in WSBK and the performance is probably mind mending. Either way, you can only win by waiting for future V4 models. Just like the 1299, things only get better with time. The sooner you buy one the sooner you'll wish you waited for the next special!

3min photoshop:

nw1299 said:

i'll hang onto my 1299 for now.

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agreed!!!

VAST said:

3min photoshop:

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Thanks for removing the supersport look [emoji3]

ghostdog6 said:

The big bang firing order is what Ducati does in GP, correct? Isn't Yamaha's crossplane crank supposed to do the same?

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Yep, same firing order as they've been running in MotoGP for a while now. Same as the D16RR had nearly ten years ago, in fact. And yes re: the R1's use of a crossplane crank; the idea is to improve mechanical drive grip through manipulating how the torque is delivered, thus requiring less TC intervention and letting the bike accelerate off corners better.

In a way, this engine's been on the test bed for a loooong time. While it's "new", the basic architecture's been getting pounded on in various forms for a decade. And considering the power it can produce in GP trim, it ought to be very reliable in street dress; kind of like Honda's old RC51 motors.