2019 DUCATI PANIGALE V4 R
RIDE REVIEW
P78
a nervous, twitchy energy to it.
Compared to a Kawasaki ZX-
10RR, the Ducati is flighty, and
you must stay 200 percent fo-
cused on the job at hand. There's
a reason Chaz Davies and Alvaro
Bautista are constantly moving
and skating around the racetrack
on their V4 R's—they need to be
ridden with force to harness the
brain-bending potential of Duca-
ti's creation. Riding a Kawasaki is
like an energetic Tabata workout.
The Ducati is Crossfit.
The workout continues when
you hit the brakes. Brembo's Sty-
lema four-piston radially mounted
monobloc calipers will haul you up
with stupendous force, but more
than the power on offer is the feel
at the lever. The Brembo radial
master-cylinder allows for minute
changes in brake pressure so you
can gradually dial in the brake you
like. It's a small, but standout fea-
ture of the Panigale V4 R.
As is the Ducati Quick Shift
(DQS) on the gearbox. The shift is
light and direct, but you must be
careful to get your foot out of the
way and not accidentally touch
the lever, which will kill the power
with such force your head will hit
and thus break the windscreen. I
know. It happened to me.
The downshift, when mixed
with the STM EVO-SBK clutch, is
just superb. No other way to say
it. Under extreme speed down
