DUCATI'S PANIGALE V4 JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER

When you think superbikes cannot possibly get any faster, smarter or mind-bogglingly brilliant, along comes a new Panigale. Ducati describe this, their new V4 S, as ‘a true engineering marvel’, a claim that even the Bologna factory’s biggest rivals would find hard to refute. They should all be worried

- Adam Child ‘Chad’

AFTER ALL, THE CURRENT AND NOW outgoing Panigale V4 S is the poster bike of the next generation of sport bike lovers, just as the famous Ducati 916 was for so many of us in the 1990s. It is arguably the most desirable superbike in the market and, in comparative group tests around the world, more times than not comes out on top as the fastest and most rideable too. It is, you might say, not exactly struggling and you could forgive Ducati for letting their highly skilled Ducati Corsa engineers have some time off. But, no, not Ducati, who push on regardless and present us with another breathtaking 216-hp road-going superbike game-changer.

This significantly updated Panigale is lighter, more powerful, and festooned with more technical wizardry than ever before to make it clearly the most advanced road-going Ducati ever. The big talking point for many is the introduction of a double-sided swing-arm, which takes over from the much-loved single-sider and follows instead the design on the MotoGP GP24 bike in a bid to manage ever increasing levels of power and grip. Despite having a double arm, it is lighter (by 2.7 kilograms) and has 37 per cent less lateral rigidity. In the metal it looks pleasingly elegant too.

A re-designed “front frame” has also had its lateral stiffness reduced by a comparable 40 per cent, while suspension features the very latest Smart EC 3.0 electronic TTX36 (rear) and NPX 25/30 (front) units from Öhlins.

The familiar 1,103-cc Desmosedici Stradale V4 with counter-rotating crank gets a little more power to keep the headline writers happy (the older machine was hardly lacking), all-new Brembo Hypure callipers make a first-time appearance, there is more aerodynamic detailing and styling which gives a certain 916-look to the silhouette, and a re-configured riding position that includes more inboard pegs and a longer and wider seat.