2018 Ducati Panigale V4 S review

“Holey sheet. What am I riding, here?” I had just yanked the chain of Ducati’s masterful new V4 S, but all the perusing of marketing brochures simply couldn’t prepare me for the aural and physical assault this motorcycle smacks you with when given its head. It’s astounding.

It starts with what the engine noises do to you. Yep, it’s a V-four that sounds like a V-twin, but only most of the time. When it starts from cold, it explodes into life, louder than any other production bike I know and drawing comment from a long-suffering neighbour who nearly slipped over in her shower when the 1103cc Italian barked. She is used to being woken up by a variety of machinery, but this one got a special mention.

At idle, yeah, it sounds like a V-twin, but it makes a greater spectrum of noise than the “old” 1299 – or any V-twin preceding it – ever did. The firing order creates the V-twin-like rumble, but it’s a V-four that can rev to 14,000rpm, and has its note effected by electrickery, too. At idle, the bike can disable the rear cylinder bank depending on how long it’s sitting there, in an attempt to stifle the heat ballooning up into the rider’s legs, as well as to reduce consumption (more on the heat later….). The end result is a bike that feels and sounds alive.

It doesn’t affect the throttle response, but the engine note sounds akin to a pit lane speed limiter at times. When you hold the throttle open – be sure to be looking well ahead, into the future when you do – and that V-four hits five digits on the tacho the howl is indescribably good. In any long moment, the bike can switch from a V-twin rumble to a V-four howl and an incredible mix of the two the rest of the time.

Then there’s the auto-blip on the downshift which is simply sex, then the “pop, crack” on a hard upshift, the gutteral blip when you pull in the clutch, it goes on and on. I could listen to it all day. The best bit is, though, that it’s not all bark – no bite.

Honestly, on the road, I didn’t use full throttle much. The thing is a rocketship, but a really well-behaved, well managed rocketship. If it’s too much “rocket”, you can switch to one of the two lesser engine maps, which tames it to mere mortal levels of power, but if you spent around $38k on the fastest sportsbike around, then you’d want to be visiting full power pretty regularly, just for the value.

Happily, the engine is a versatile powerhouse in any mode – I’m so glad Ducati went the V4 route… Bottom end, a strong mid-range and a top end the space shuttle would be proud of, you can ride it any way you want.

The claimed 211hp certainly feels to be there, pumping the claimed 195kg (wet) machine to levels of frenzy the average rider simply couldn’t manage without all the electronic cleverness. I was expecting madness-level power, I wasn’t expecting the Italian company to produce such effective real-world electronics in an amazingly easy to use package. If ever there was a bike I was happy for electronics on, it’s this one.

If there’s fault, it’s that there are so many acronyms in the menu system, you could own the bike for three years and still be finding new stuff you can adjust. That could also be seen as a good thing! In contrast to that, the way the suspension adjustments are presented delivers real-world practicality to the minefield that is suspension adjustment.

The Ohlins are semi-active, meaning they adjust themselves according the section of the corner you are in, offering feel and potentially grip that would otherwise be difficult to find. You can play with those parameters, though, and Ducati helps you do that by renaming the traditional compression and rebound monikers with language non-GP mechanics understand.

‘Brake Support’ is an actual adjustment you can make. It’s just damping adjustment of the fork, of course, but it makes more sense to call it what it affects, rather than the tech name. “Comfort” and “stability” are at either end of the adjustment scale, rather than slower or faster, too – make sure you watch the video to see how it works, because I believe it will encourage riders to get in there and actually discover how much difference proper suspension adjustment can make to your ride.

You can set each of the riding modes to your preference, too, meaning you can set up the wildest combination of engine, suspension, traction and wheelie control on the planet in Race mode and hit the track, then thumb into Street mode and ride home in comfort. Brilliant. The “comfort” factor is relative, of course, particularly when it comes to that heat factor mentioned earlier.

Cranking up a 1103cc V4 to produce that claimed 211hp means there’s a lot of heat created and it has to go somewhere. In this case, riding the Ducati in Kevlar jeans on a six--degree winter’s morning left me feeling very, very hot under my legs. At one set of lights in heavy traffic, I got off the thing until I could move again to cool down. That hot. In summer, well, it will be unbearable.

Wearing leathers, the heat was less noticeable, but still there. Small price to pay for the hottest sportsbike on the planet? It depends who you ask. But if you were to own a high-level Supercar owner if their machine had any practicality compromises, I know what answer you will get. Same goes for the V4 S. Leaving said supercar in your dust makes it totally worth it.

As if the mental engine, multi-layered yet user-friendly electronics suite, supremely adjustable suspension and killer looks weren’t enough, there are then the brakes. Oh. My. God.

I love brakes, because the feeling of nailing the things hard is a rush of g-forced adrenalin, front tyre squirm and commitment. I simply couldn’t commit anywhere near what these Brembo Stylema calipers do to the Marchesini forged wheels up front on the road. They are a magical, time-stopping machine, with the support of an excellent fork, quality ABS and of course that Pirelli Supercorsa SP up front.

They are unfaultable. They are superb anchors and, combined with the electronics that help keep everything straight, create a stopping force you are unlikely to have felt before on two wheels. If you need it to stop quicker, get to the gym more. The bike will outpoint you.

None of this stopping power, or engine power, comes to anything if a bike doesn’t handle, of course. The V4 S feels light and nimble, steers up there with the best of them and can handle crappy, bumpy roads as well as smooth ones. Even the ride position is good for a sportsbike, meaning a day on the road isn’t going to hobble you for months afterwards.

The V4 S also holds a line like no Ducati before it. It’s simply easier to ride, asking less of the rider to do the same job and rewarding experience with a machine that is so much better than most riders. You want to get faster? This bike will let you.

The Ducati V4 S wants for nothing in performance terms. Yes, its $37,490 retail price is up there, but it’s also utterly justified. Fit and finish is exemplary, the looks alone turn you on, but then you start it...

It is an incredible sportsbike, with few detracting features. Doing full lock u-turns, my thumbs would get caught between the bar and tank, the aforementioned heat and the sheer amount of interaction you get from anyone you park near are small downsides to pay for such an incredible machine.

Ducati has done an amazing job shifting from a V-twin company to a V-four one, not an easy feat and almost as huge as what Harley-Davidson is trying to do now with its intended push into new markets.

Ducati is playing in the same sandpit, but doing it with a new (albeit MotoGP tested) heart – that is a marketing team’s nightmare, but the sheer ability of this bike and the fact is has seemingly more character than the models before it, impresses the hell out of me.

To also incorporate its real-world naming of the electronics – the new Multistrada has that too – packaged around a superb new engine platform that out-muscles, out-sings and just plain trumps the previous engine architecture, means my mind is blown. I would love to have been a fly on the wall when the replacement of the V-twin was first suggested – there must have been some serious angst – but the Bologna legends have done it.

A near-flawless sportsbike with the very first generation of engine is not a feat to be sneezed at, and I can’t wait to sample that engine in a nakedbike, adventure bike, Multistrada, etc.

Until then, the memory of pushing that bike through a rock-lined road will live with me forever. Holey sheet alright.

ENGINE
Type: Liquid-cooled 1103cc 16-valve DOHC Desmo V4
Capacity: 1103cc
Bore x stroke: 81.0mm x 53.5mm
Compression ratio: 14.0:1
Engine management: Electronic fuel injection

PERFORMANCE
Claimed power: 211hp (157.3Kw) at 13,000rpm
Claimed torque: 124Nm at 10,000rpm

TRANSMISSION
Type: Six speed, quickshifter
Final drive: Chain
Clutch: Wet multi-plate slipper

CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR
Frame: Aluminium steering head, engine stressed member, aluminium swingarm
Front suspension: 43mm Ohlins NIX30 forks, 120mm travel, Smart EC Semi-active adjustment
Rear suspension: Ohlins Monoshock, 130mm travel, Smart EC semi-active adjustment
Front brake: 330mm Brembo discs, Brembo four-piston monobloc Stylema calipers, ABS
Rear brake: 245mm disc, twin-piston caliper
Wheels: Forged alloy Marchesini – 120/70-17 front, 200/60-17 rear
Tyres: Pirelli Supercorsa SP – 3.50 x 17 front, 5.5 x 17 rear

DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES
Trail: 100mm
Rake: 24.5 degrees
Claimed wet weight: 195kg
Seat height: 830mm
Wheelbase: 1469mm
Fuel capacity: 16 litres

OTHER STUFF
Price: $37,490 plus on-road costs (standard model $28,900 plus on-road costs)
Colour: Red
Test bike supplied by: Ducati Australia
Warranty: 24 months, unlimited kilometres