Ridefast January 2022

The 2022
Panigale V4
Ducati Fans around the world rejoice!
Ducati has not really shouted about it over the past few years, but they’ve
been making a deliberate effort to make their road bikes easier to ride. Even
as recently as 2018 when they unleashed the Panigale V4 on the world, their
shiny new superbike was all about big power and MotoGP tech, but you
needed much courage to ride it fast and unless you were a Ducati test rider,
or racer you are buggered!
It was tamed in 2020 and its table manners improved again in ’21, but for
’22 Ducati seems to have has taken its biggest, friendliest step.
They tell us that new aero, clever mapping, revised gearbox ratios, refined
rider aids, chassis upgrades and new ergonomics are all designed to make
the new Panigale V4 S friendlier on track. This should mean that not only
the pros can squeeze every ounce of the Ducati, it’s a superbike for normal
people too.
Its chassis remains unchanged, but lighter new slotted wings create
less drag but still produce the same 37kg of downforce at 300KPH. It’s
impossible to say how well they work in isolation, as much of the Ducati’s
superb anti-wheelie character also comes from clever mapping, electronic
wheelie control, the counter rotating crank and its 4mm higher swingarm
pivot (creating more anti squat), but they all combine to keep both wheels on
the ground under hard acceleration.
Suspension remains Öhlins semi active, but with new NPX 25/30 gas forks
with 5mm more travel (125mm) and lighter springs. They tell us that the
Panigale V4 is stabler, has more feel and is easier to place on track.
A new two-tone seat is flatter for more room to move around and the onelitre
bigger fuel tank (up to 17 litres) is more vertical and concave to let you
wedge your knees in for support under the force of hard braking.
The new shape also gives your outside arm more room when you’re hanging
off in a corner. Ducati says you can ride the Panigale V4 S for longer
without getting tired, but when braking, power is like hitting a brick wall and
acceleration just like a proper race bike.
There are now four power maps to choose from within four available riding
modes. ‘Low’ restricts power to 150bhp (like a Panigale V2) for the wet and
for the perfect and most manageable power delivery in the dry, ‘Medium’
and ‘High’ have full power and dedicated mapping in each gear – a first for a
road bike.
They add calmness to the Ducati, but there’s also ‘Full’ power mode for
those banshee moments. New dash graphics feature an easier to read
‘track’ display, derived from the Superleggera V4.
The engine is a MotoGP-inspired 1103cc 90-degree V4 desmo. It has a
counter rotating crank, twin pulse firing order. It gets a new oil pump and its
underslung tail pipes are 18% bigger (up from 35mm to 38mm) to reduce