VOLUME 57 ISSUE 6 FEBRUARY 11, 2020 P83
in the road and allows the tire and
chassis to soak up any issues you
may encounter while cranked over.
The flip side of this is if you go
too soft, the bike wallows around,
won't hold its line, and runs wide
when you get on the gas, so it's
always a compromise.
As such, Ducati's fitted softer
springs front and rear with more
preload, rather than the other
way around (harder springs, less
preload), which gives the bike a
nicer feel on the side of the tire and
allows the suspension more room
to do its thing, rather than being
tightly wound up like with stiffer
front and rear springs.
Rennie got two sessions
on the hot Panigale,
equipped with the full
titanium Akrapovic exhaust
and mapping that lets the
motorcycle have its full 226
horsepower head. Yes, the
ride is damn fast, but it's
also supremely smooth,
with a nicer connection at
the throttle than the base
model Panigale he rode for
the majority of the test.
