2018 DUCATI PANIGALE V4S
FULL TEST
P68
THE BEATING HEART
Ducati's new 1103cc V4—dubbed
the Desmosedici Stradale—is almost
like two V-twins bolted together, and
if you looked at the motor from the
side, you could almost forgive yourself
for thinking it's the old twin-cylinder
engine. That's because the motor is
still a 90° layout, as Ducati superbike
motors have always been. The fact
that they have a V4 in their ranks
means Ducati doesn't have to use a
counterbalancer, which would increase
weight and sap horsepower.
A structural member of the chassis,
the V4 has several benefits over a
traditional inline four, namely it allows
for a much more compact design,
better mass centralization and it
reduces the bike's frontal section.
Indeed, this new motor is 28mm
shorter top to bottom, 38mm shorter
front to back, but 43mm wider than the
old twin. Not bad considering there's
twice the number of cylinders, conrods
and the fact that the crank needs an
extra gear to reverse its rotation.
The motor sits slightly canted
rearwards at 42°, the same as Dovi's
bike in MotoGP, which allows for
optimized weight distribution, lets
the engineers fit bigger radiators
and means the swingarm pivot can
be moved as far forward as possible.
The engine weighs 143 pounds, 4.8
pounds more than the outgoing
1285cc Superquadro L-twin, and has
a 15,000-mile service interval for valve
adjustments.
The beast: But like a
nightclub bodyguard, the
V4S can be as brutal or as
enjoyable as you like.
And before I go on, I'll address
the elephant in the room in that,
yes, this is not a true superbike
motor by racing definition at
1103cc. It's 103cc more than every
other four-cylinder superbike mo-
tor, save for the ultra-exclusive,
1200cc, Norton V4 RR, and is
therefore ineligible for every form
of competition except for a "run
what ya brung" class.
For racing, a 999cc R-version
will come later in the year and will
be the bike you'll see in WorldSBK
from 2019 onwards.
Therefore, it doesn't matter this
particular V4 is oversize—because
if riding a motorcycle is about
making you laugh like an escaped
asylum patient, the Ducati Pani-
gale V4S is your Jaws of Life.
EXPECT MORE, GET MORE
The numbers thrown up by the
new V4 make for eye-watering
reading. A claimed power output
of 214 horsepower (at the crank)
pushing a claimed curb weight of
430 pounds for the S version we
tested at Valencia, ensure this will
