C
urrent-generation superbikes
are beasts. They all are. One
thousand cc four-cylinder
machines are by definition quick, but
they've never been this quick. With
this speed comes brute force, and
thus control is at an extreme para
-
mount. When a superbike gets away
from you, it does so quickly, and the
result can be very painful indeed.
The Ducati Panigale's reputation
as one of the most on-edge super-
bikes is well deserved. You need
only look at footage from WorldSBK
to see Alvaro Bautista strangling
his V4 R to get the most out of it,
the single-sided swingarm machine
bucking and weaving in protest.
But that's the past. In creating the
$33,895 2025 Panigale V4 S, Ducati
has changed its superbike philoso
-
phy to make a bike that flatters the
rider like never before.
Ducati calls the '25 V4 S a "skill-
boosting motorcycle," one that, in an
almost Japanese fashion, takes you
by the hand and guides you to the
limit rather than grabbing you by the
collar and dragging you there.
P96
RIDE REVIEW I 2025 DUCATI PANIGALE V4 S
FLATTERY WILL
GET YOU
EVERYWHERE
DUCATI DROPS THE
MIC BY DEBUTING THE
INCREDIBLE PANIGALE
V S. WE WERE ONE OF
ONLY PUBLICATIONS
WORLDWIDE TO SWING A
LEG OVER IT AT THE WORLD
LAUNCH AROUND THE
SPECTACULAR VALLELUNGA
RACETRACK IN ROME
BY RENNIE SCAYSBROOK
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALEX PHOTO
