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FEATURE I 2024 BIKES OF THE YEAR
The 2025 Ducati Panigale V4 S has finally deliv-
ered the rideability Ducati so desperately craved
to match that monster of a motor. The Panigale
V4 S came in for a full redesign this year, ditched
the trademark single-sided swingarm, and
installed a double-sided unit matched to a less
rigid front frame. The result is a far easier bike
on which to extract fast lap times.
Whereas the old Panigale would buck and
weave when you fed the 218-odd horsepower to
the rear Pirelli, the new double-sided swingarm
and more compliant Ohlins EC 3.0 electronic
suspension give the rider loads more mechani
-
cal grip, which reduces intervention from the
traction, slide- and wheelie-control electronics.
This, in turn, allows you to accelerate harder
and faster, and stops the bike from trying to eat
its rear tire as the speeds go up. It's so fast, it is
genuinely hard for your brain to keep up.
The Panigale is so smart that it now feeds
in a little rear brake regardless of whether you
touched the lever or not. This is more a benefit for
going faster than it is for going slower, because
the electronics—via the rear brake—now damp the
rear suspension's bounciness when you feed the
power in, just like the MotoGP boys do with that
magic right foot of theirs. What an age we live in.
I also love the revised looks from the slightly
less obnoxious front winglets. It's a more cohe
-
sive aesthetic front-to-back and doesn't look like a
bunch of appendages bolted onto the bodywork.
The 2025 Panigale V4 S is expensive. Very
expensive. Don't expect much change out of
$35,000 ($33,895 MSRP) once you've dealt with
dealer fees, taxes and whatnot, but you get a
remarkable motorcycle for the money. For that,
it's my Bike of The Year.
2025 Ducati Panigale V4 S story:
https://www.cyclenews.com/2024/09/
article/2025-ducati-panigale-v4-s-review/
R E N N I E S C A Y S B R O O K
FAVO R I T E : 20 25 D U CAT I PA N I G A L E V4 S
