VOL. 55 ISSUE 4 JANUARY 30, 2018 P77
HUSTLING THE BEAST
Who remembers watching Chaz
Davies pitch the Panigale into
almost every corner on the WorldS-
BK calendar with the chassis totally
bent out of shape? No doubt that
has a lot to do with just how Chaz
likes to go fast, but I can't imagine
he will have quite the same prob-
lem when/if he rides a V4 in 2019.
That's because the V4 is such
a nicer bike under brakes and into
the first part of the corner, giving
the rider far greater confidence to
turn in late and hard without requir-
ing quite the skill Mr. Davies has.
Again, this characteristic of
the bike is a product of all things
electronic (Ohlins, DTC, EBC,
DQS, electronic steering damper
and Slide-By-Brake if you're using
it) combining with a mechanically
brilliant engine and the new Front
Frame chassis platform to aid the
rider rather than hinder him in mak-
ing fast lap times. But it doesn't
disguise the fact the new Brembo
Stylema calipers are another step
forward in braking prowess that
started with the release of the M50
calipers a few years back.
The Stylema/master-cylinder
combination gives incredible brak-
ing and feel and will highlight just
how unfit you really are after 10
good, hard laps. This thing stops
very, very quickly, pretty much as
fast as it accelerates, so you can
get on with the job of setting your-
self up for the corner that is fast
approaching.
That corner is now dealt with
in a much smoother fashion than
before, as everything going on
beneath you syncs up and you
scythe through the bend. Stability
is king here, with the Ohlins Smart
EC 2.0 ECU optimizing the NIX30
fork and TTX36 shock every step
of the way. It's an incredibly smart
system, allowing you to optimize
IT'S ALL IN THE TRAPS
The Ducati Panigale V4S has a number
of style points that differ from the 1299,
but none more so than the "shoulders,"
which is the area at the front of the gas
tank where the top of the fairing meets
it. This area was specifically designed to
accentuate the profile of the headlight
and expose the front frame as much as
possible. It also means the rear cylinder
head is exposed.
The lights are interesting in that
designer Julien Clement wanted to hide
the two high- and low-beam projectors
as much as possible. The result is a front
that looks very much like a race bike
but with still an exceptional amount of
visibility for nighttime riding.
We did a quick chat with Clement
which you can read right here.
Ducati has absolutely
hit this one out of
the park—regardless
of racing rules. This
bike is one you'll
never want to stop
riding.
