2020 Ducati Panigale V4 S Review | First Ride

Описание: In the superbike category, no manufacturer builds a more exhilarating liter-plus-sized sportbike than Ducati. And only two years after introducing the devilishly capable Panigale V4 platform, it receives a series of hardware and software updates based off the $39,995 Panigale V4 R homologation racing special. Added control is the name of the game with the 2020 Panigale V4 S ($28,395) wearing wider and more aerodynamically effective body panels with downforce-generating winglets. There’s also an optimized chassis, refined engine, and traction control maps. But are these improvements enough to tame this Pirelli tire-smearing beast?

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2020 Panigale V4 S Chassis And Suspension Updates
Ducati wished to show off the Pangiale’s increased handling prowess by hosting its official press introduction at the Bahrain International Circuit. Located in the middle of the Persian Gulf, this 3.3-mile F1 course is all about ultra-fast top-gear straightaways and fork-collapsing braking zones. This arid region gets less than 3 inches of rain per year—as luck would have it, half of that fell during our test day.

It didn’t matter though, as Ducati wisely imported stacks of Pirelli’s Diablo Rain competition tire which it shoed in lieu of the OE-fitted Diablo Supercorsa V3. Ducati superbikes are always good at making splashes.

Hop into the cockpit, and its wider stance is immediately noticeable. The front end punches a larger hole through the air and does a superior job of shielding the rider from drag. A taller windscreen complements the stretched body panels and makes it accommodating for nearly any sized person, including this 6-foot-tall rider. Shark-like gills flow more exhaust air, reducing water and oil temperature by 6 and 16 percent, respectively.

The seat uses a suede-like material that not only looks premium, with its embossed “V4” logo, but provides extra grip. This along with the knurled aluminum footpegs and widely spaced clip-ons, with thicker and more sticky handgrips (S model), equate to a desirable platform to conduct business. These refined ergos help the rider remain in proper position during elevated braking and acceleration G-loads.

All V4s inherit the R-model’s downforce-generating winglets (plastic instead of carbon fiber) that produce 57.3 pounds of load at 155.3 mph. This helps mitigate front wheel lift at speed by pressing down on the front tire. Even with rain tires, we noticed the bike’s reduced propensity to “float” (condition when the front end gets light at triple-digit speeds). However, due to the deluged surface, we were hard-pressed to notice any handling benefit while tiptoeing through turns.

Despite its wider stance, the 436-pound (claimed fully fueled curb weight) Panigale V4 S, remains agile in motion with pleasant handling manners. Steering is neither too sharp, nor too relaxed making the Panigale easy to get a feel for if you’re coming off other modern sportbikes.

Although vastly more friendly to ride compared to the outgoing L-twin-powered Panigale 1299, the original V4 S chassis remains more hyper than other liter-and-above-sized superbikes.

Ducati attempts to remedy this by milling out sections of the twin-spar front frame to reduce stiffness during high-speed braking and corner-entry maneuvers. The center of gravity has also been tweaked with the front suspension lifted 0.16 inch and an 0.08-inch-longer shock body operating through a 0.2-inch-shorter linkage. Overall the 2020 V4 is 0.2 inch taller. The calibration of the suspension was also tweaked with a reduction in spring rate with added spring preload.

S model Panigales ($6,400 upcharge) are outfitted with semi-active dynamic suspension from Öhlins. The Swedish-made suspenders replace the base model’s manual Showa/Sachs pieces, and automatically adjust damping based on road conditions and rider input, in real time. Damping settings are linked to the Street, Sport, and Race global settings.

Furthermore, the rider can tailor damping in event-based scenarios, i.e., Brake Support, Mid Corner, and Acceleration settings. Suspension damping can also be fixed, if desired.

Lighter forged alloy wheels and sport-style handgrips are also exclusive to the S model.

Find out more: https://www.cycleworld.com/story/moto...

Video: Ducati Motor Holding / ‪@AdamWaheed‬
Edit: Bert Beltran

Photography: Ducati Motor Holding

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