mjrydsfast
Well-known member
Has anyone seen and/or ridden the new V4 Panigale up there on Skyline yet? I'm curious as to how they feel compared to an R1 or other Jap or even Euro super bike. :ride Bautista sure made it look good as has Dovi.
Panigale V4
- Thread starter mjrydsfast
- Start date
EvilCrayon
winner
Dynamic Suspension + Steering Damper are a pretty magical combo unlike any other bike I've ridden. The bike always feels planted and compliant and never seems fazed by imperfections in the road. The bike feels fairly light in corners and changes directions with little effort. Doesn't "want" to wheelie like some other bikes I've ridden in the sense that the swingarm is so long and the counter rotating crankshaft do a good job of keeping the front end on the ground. 90mph feels like you're putting around and the bike feels happiest around the 140-160mph range.
It does not sound like a RSV4 or any other Honda V4 I've been around. I just heard one(edit: v4s speciale with the full akrapovic pipe) at full tilt on the front straight of Thunderhill East this past weekend and it sounds like a GP bike (way back in 2009 when Laguna Seca still hosted MotoGP). Still cooks your butt in traffic which is fairly "normal" for Ducati Superbikes. I haven't had a chance to ride an S1000RR in quite some time but having ridden the R1M and RSV4 within the past year, I don't know if I'm capable of giving any actual comparative input other than "HOLY SHIT THIS IS FAST". The engine builds quite linearly below 9k but above that, it really becomes a question of "Can I afford the 30 day impound fee I will inevitably get?"
It's suspiciously easy to ride but low speed throttle inputs can be a little bit unnerving until you're used to the bike. The bike will shut off the rear cylinders at a certain engine temperature while concurrently using the electronics to prevent the bike from stalling which makes for a rather odd feeling when leaving from a stoplight. Basically, I feel like I need to slip the clutch more because it will feel like I'm about to stall the engine. Again, I feel that this rather small "hiccup" is easy to ride around once you know what's happening and what to expect.
Also, quickshifter up and down are quite magical. As is slide control although once you find out how much 200 section Supercorsa V3 tires are, you might turn that all the way down.
It does not sound like a RSV4 or any other Honda V4 I've been around. I just heard one(edit: v4s speciale with the full akrapovic pipe) at full tilt on the front straight of Thunderhill East this past weekend and it sounds like a GP bike (way back in 2009 when Laguna Seca still hosted MotoGP). Still cooks your butt in traffic which is fairly "normal" for Ducati Superbikes. I haven't had a chance to ride an S1000RR in quite some time but having ridden the R1M and RSV4 within the past year, I don't know if I'm capable of giving any actual comparative input other than "HOLY SHIT THIS IS FAST". The engine builds quite linearly below 9k but above that, it really becomes a question of "Can I afford the 30 day impound fee I will inevitably get?"
It's suspiciously easy to ride but low speed throttle inputs can be a little bit unnerving until you're used to the bike. The bike will shut off the rear cylinders at a certain engine temperature while concurrently using the electronics to prevent the bike from stalling which makes for a rather odd feeling when leaving from a stoplight. Basically, I feel like I need to slip the clutch more because it will feel like I'm about to stall the engine. Again, I feel that this rather small "hiccup" is easy to ride around once you know what's happening and what to expect.
Also, quickshifter up and down are quite magical. As is slide control although once you find out how much 200 section Supercorsa V3 tires are, you might turn that all the way down.
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Clem Kevin
Nude With Boots
My friend had his lemon-lawed before he could even take it up there.
nakedape
Well-known member
Go on...
When they plop that motor into a Multi that will really be the last bike I own for the street. I heard a tech fire one up for test ride at my dealer and oh god the sound. No audio does it justice, you have to be there.
banshee01
Well-known member
Tell us more..what happened
ddold
Well-known member
EvilCrayon covered a lot of it. The electronic control on the suspension and damper are really well done. It feels like its set up relatively stiff as you're just cruising about, but laid over it just soaks up whatever gross crap the roads throw at it. You put it on it's side and it stays there; add brakes, drop throttle, add throttle, run through whatever tarmac lumps sit mid-corner, it doesn't matter. The last Ducati I rode was a 996, so it's been a while, but I don't remember it feeling anywhere near as planted at all times. The Panigale still shows some of that displeasure at being ridden slowly that the old Duc had, but the V4 is just easier to manage.
Like EvilCrayon mentioned, the throttle response at low speed/starting is a bit odd, especially if I'm around my house where I try to not annoy the crap out of my neighbors by revving it and slipping the clutch. But at high speeds, it's like having someone realign your version of reality with something that's happening 2 seconds into the future. I will think about how I now need to twist the throttle to get from where I am to where I want to be, and I am over in that place before I realize I have left the place I was just in. I've owned liter bikes, I've ridden a turboed 900RR, and there has been nothing that prepared me for the acceleration. The amount of power available is just ridiculous, and I mean that in the old man dealing with new fangled technology kind of way. It is insane. I am still unsure why they gave it 5th and 6th gears. You get on the highway, whack the throttle open until the little yellow happy lights start flashing on the dash and the front wheel comes back down, realize you're doing 140mph, and then upshift to 4th to coast back down to a reasonable freeway speed. At this point, I've exclusively used the top two gears to save fuel.
Which I guess is a bad point about the bike. It get's pretty crappy mileage. I ride until the supercomputer tells me it needs fuel, I stop, and I get gas. I don't keep close track of how often that is, but it seems to be in the 25mpg range at best. Also, things like the turn signal switches aren't very conveniently placed. I do realize that this is again me being an old man and that where the turn signal switch ended up was probably pretty far down the design priority sheet, but I like to signal before I warp some cars perception of space and time. It makes them feel like they're participating in their lives instead of just being used as a slalom cone. The mirrors are also shit. Their only saving grace is that anything in them now won't be in them for long so you don't really need to worry about it. The are small and vibrate so much you can at best make out blurry shapes, and they're also extremely expensive and prone to snapping at the stalk if you bump them funny.
Again, EvilCrayon covered it already, but the sound of the thing is magnificent. I've owned a bunch of Honda V4s but this is nothing like that. That was smooth efficiency, this is a metallic shrieking that is impossible to record so you end up like one of those crazy bastards who chase imaginary ghosts around old houses with a 1990s handycam trying to capture that noise that made you nearly shit your pants. The exhaust is probably the only other negative I've come across on it so far as it singed the hair off my shin when I was warming it up in the driveway. Not because I touched the pipe, no ... because it shot a 6" cone of blue flame out the lower exhaust after a quick little throttle blip.
Sorry, that was a long one. The in-laws were here for dinner and wouldn't leave so I was pretending to work.
Like EvilCrayon mentioned, the throttle response at low speed/starting is a bit odd, especially if I'm around my house where I try to not annoy the crap out of my neighbors by revving it and slipping the clutch. But at high speeds, it's like having someone realign your version of reality with something that's happening 2 seconds into the future. I will think about how I now need to twist the throttle to get from where I am to where I want to be, and I am over in that place before I realize I have left the place I was just in. I've owned liter bikes, I've ridden a turboed 900RR, and there has been nothing that prepared me for the acceleration. The amount of power available is just ridiculous, and I mean that in the old man dealing with new fangled technology kind of way. It is insane. I am still unsure why they gave it 5th and 6th gears. You get on the highway, whack the throttle open until the little yellow happy lights start flashing on the dash and the front wheel comes back down, realize you're doing 140mph, and then upshift to 4th to coast back down to a reasonable freeway speed. At this point, I've exclusively used the top two gears to save fuel.
Which I guess is a bad point about the bike. It get's pretty crappy mileage. I ride until the supercomputer tells me it needs fuel, I stop, and I get gas. I don't keep close track of how often that is, but it seems to be in the 25mpg range at best. Also, things like the turn signal switches aren't very conveniently placed. I do realize that this is again me being an old man and that where the turn signal switch ended up was probably pretty far down the design priority sheet, but I like to signal before I warp some cars perception of space and time. It makes them feel like they're participating in their lives instead of just being used as a slalom cone. The mirrors are also shit. Their only saving grace is that anything in them now won't be in them for long so you don't really need to worry about it. The are small and vibrate so much you can at best make out blurry shapes, and they're also extremely expensive and prone to snapping at the stalk if you bump them funny.
Again, EvilCrayon covered it already, but the sound of the thing is magnificent. I've owned a bunch of Honda V4s but this is nothing like that. That was smooth efficiency, this is a metallic shrieking that is impossible to record so you end up like one of those crazy bastards who chase imaginary ghosts around old houses with a 1990s handycam trying to capture that noise that made you nearly shit your pants. The exhaust is probably the only other negative I've come across on it so far as it singed the hair off my shin when I was warming it up in the driveway. Not because I touched the pipe, no ... because it shot a 6" cone of blue flame out the lower exhaust after a quick little throttle blip.
Sorry, that was a long one. The in-laws were here for dinner and wouldn't leave so I was pretending to work.
Gravisman
Aspiring Racer
I’m quite curious to see how long this will take. Seems like we’re on pace for 4-5 years.
FXCLM5
bombaclaud
i agree, i see dealers listing 13 1199s in fukn orgasmic white for $11499
also these things are getting rarer and rare, i used to see 848 1098 all over the road, i have yet to see many panigales, ive seen more 899 959 but not the plain panigale or panigaleS
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Clem Kevin
Nude With Boots
Some oil seal blew out on the front straight at Thunderhill at full throttle, with only a few hundred miles on the clock. The dealership preceded to bungle the whole deal. I know there were other issues, but that's what I am positive was the first problem.
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Clem Kevin
Nude With Boots
Don't think he's a youtuber.
KooLaid
Hippocritapotamus
That is typical ducati....and aprilia
V-twin problems lol. So you always end up going -1 on the front and it fixes the problem by slightly raising your rpm. I had to do it with my 1098 and my RSV factory. Low speed, low throttle it's like off on, real bucky until you -1 the front sprocket.