RideFast Dec 2019

PANIGALE
ESSENCE
Following in the footsteps of it’s bigger, more illustrious brothers, the 959
Panigale get’s a fresh new upgrade to be “More Panigale” and is now so much
more than just the baby Panigale. Jensen Beeler from Asphalt & Rubber went
along to the world launch test of the new Ducati Panigale V2...
It has been four years since the Ducati
959 Panigale replaced the 899 as
the Italian brand’s “middleweight”
superbike, and 26 years since the
Ducati 748 Superbike first hit the
streets, and started this smaller Italian
v-twin adventure.
In that two-decades-plus, we
have seen this middleweight offering
from Ducati outgrow the Supersport
Championship rules, and it now
approaches near liter-bike capacities
– an inch-by-inch search for more
power and performance.
Updated once again for the 2020
model year, it will be the Ducati
Panigale V2 keeping those v-twin
hopes alive for Ducatisti around the
world, as the Italian brand continues to
offer this curious motorcycle.
Of course, better minds will know
that the Ducati Panigale V2 is not
a middleweight, as Ducati so often
calls it (though to be fair, the term
“super-mid” is starting to be used),
but the oddly displaced machine is
an excellent track bike, especially for
those who have grown tired of chasing
absolute horsepower, and instead
want to make their lap times with
actual on-bike talent.
Finding ourselves at the demanding
Jerez circuit in Spain, this tight and
technical track proved not only to be
a good testing ground for the Ducati
Panigale V2, but also a testament into
how much fun a superbike like this
v-twin can be for those who aren’t
swept up in the industry marketing and
who aren’t hand-bound by racing rules.
The Track Weapon Sales Pitch
Here is a secret I will share with you: I
don’t find myself enjoying superbikes
as much as I used to…and that is
an interesting statement from a
“superbike guy” like myself.
The trend is larger than my own
personal preferences though, and in
many ways, the Ducati Panigale V2 is
a reaction to what is happening in the
superbike category.
As the power on these one-liter
machines climbs beyond 200hp,
the segment increasingly relies on
electronics to make the bikes rideable,
which detracts from the experience.
These fire-breathers also demand
more from the riders themselves. Not
only are the physical demands larger
for wrestling around these machines,
but so are the mental demands that
require extracting the total potential of
a 200hp motorcycle.
While there is reward in mastering
the un-masterable, the fun factor drops
when you get too far beyond 150hp, and
the dropoff on that curve is quite steep.
This is where bikes like the Ducati
Panigale V2 come into play, and offer
riders a performance machine that
makes superbikes great again.
Built with a unique v-twin, that
helps play into the long history
that Ducati has with this engine
configuration, and shipped with true
superbike electronics, the Panigale V2
makes for an intriguing offer, and it is
designed to go after a more selecting
type of customer: the average track
day enthusiast.
This has been the pitch from the
Italian brand since the Ducati 899
Panigale first arrived, and while it has
remained the same through time to
where we are now with the Ducati
Panigale V2, the idea is now even
more relevant because of what has
developed in the liter-bike space.
Can We Call It a 959+ ???
In a way, it is the 200hp superbike
category that has carved the Panigale
V2 from the 959 Panigale.
The most important changes that
come with the Ducati Panigale V2 are
those that are tougher to see, and
the highlight of those has to be the
inclusion of a six-axis IMU.
ENGINE POWER
TORQUE WEIGHT
999CC 155 104 176
34 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2019 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2019 3 5
Liquid cooled
4-stroke 16valve
DOHC, Inline 4
HP @ 10,750RPM
NM @ 9,000RPM
DRY WEIGHT