Panigale V4S test ride
Posted: 09 Jul 2018, 19:30
Been wanting to have a ride on this for a while. Opportunity arose today so off i went.
First things this is a V4S with the fancy suspension and rider aids. You can even adjust the steering damper electronically.
Three modes - Race - 214bhp QA throttle, Sport - 214bhp softer throttle, Ghey mode (Street) limp throttle 120bhp!!!
So a quick resume of what's what and off i go down the road..... into first and....and .......and....wont move out of first gear..... So i try slipping the lever down and whoopeee.... 2nd gear.......its in race shift mode. It was only when i got back i was told that its was changed Saturday afternoon as a Supersport racer ( no names) had been in to test it. Apparently it doesn't need a new mechanism, it can be change from road shift to race shift relatively easily with no additional parts required. So i though how hard can it be to use race shift?? and carried on down the road.
Anyway race shift is actually nicer to use when giving it some and i got used to it pretty quickly...it only caught me out a few times when rolling up to a junction and i kept slipping it down the gears only to find i was in 6th when pulling up at a junction.
Get a little down the road and thought i would overtake a van and car with a little bit of space.....................and whoooahhhhhhh.........it doesn't half accelerate quickly. The anti wheelie and counter rotating crank keeps the bike flat but it honestly felt like the bike was about to disappear under me and leave me sat on the road on my arse. I have never ever felt acceleration like it.
Anyway got to the twistier roads and the bike is just beautiful. It handles are perfectly as any bike i have ever ridden. So smooth round corners, turns so easily but doesn't fall into corners nor does it fight your input. As i got more confident, i tried cornering harder and faster but i have to confess it felt like the bike was laughing at me. It just feels like it could corner at almost any speed. Each time i felt i could have gone a lot quicker.
I have heard riders talk about 'mechanical grip. well i think i know what they are talking about now. It just felt like it was glued to the floor. At any lean angle.
Started upping the pace a bit. It is insanely, almost frighteningly quick. It accelerates hard in any gear at any rpm but when it gets to circa 9000rpm it suddenly feels like the afterburners have been lit, it takes off again. You have to use your knees to grip the tank or the bike will disappear without you.
And then there is the brakes. You know how when you brake hard on bikes and it feels like it will stand the bike on its front wheel? Not this one. You can feel the front dig in but the bike doesn't start to tip right onto its nose. It stays flat. And it stops so hard and in a completely controlled manner. I had to do it in an emergency one time when some **** decided to slow, start turning and then indicate in front of me. ( a long way in front of me).
And you know when i said it felt like the bike would disappear without me under acceleration? Well braking is the same except you feel like the bike would stop and you would just carry on without it. Not A over T, just flat like in some Tom and Jerry cartoon. Bike stops dead- you carry on in the same riding position.
I found some nice roads in the area, A decent selection of fast roads, twisty roads, smooth roads and bumpy roads and it handled them all with ease.
Even around town, it doesn't get hot and bothered like the 1299 does. No thigh burning sensations. i was warned beforehand that in traffic, it might drop down to two cylinders if the engine got hot, and it did do it at one point, but apparently its a feature to help reduce the heat and prevent overheating. The engine is turbine like in its delivery but still has a slightly rough Ducati-esque edge to it. At tickover it sounds like it got a loose bolt rumbling around in the engine.
It doesn't sip fuel. Not sure what it was doing but i was told there should be enough for me but the fuel light came on well before the end of the ride.
Anyway its a lovely beautiful bike. Easily the best bike i have ever ridden. It feels, goes, sounds and stops like a race bike.
But i have to confess, its way to much for the road. It needs to be on a racetrack. Or the Isle of Man Mountain. I would have to have a lot more money in my pocket so i could own it outright and use it at racetracks around the world. Imagine it on the straight at Mugello? Or even Silverstone. No wonder they left me behind so easily as Silverstone a few weeks ago.
[video]https://youtu.be/_qlfNWIF0rI[/video]
First things this is a V4S with the fancy suspension and rider aids. You can even adjust the steering damper electronically.
Three modes - Race - 214bhp QA throttle, Sport - 214bhp softer throttle, Ghey mode (Street) limp throttle 120bhp!!!
So a quick resume of what's what and off i go down the road..... into first and....and .......and....wont move out of first gear..... So i try slipping the lever down and whoopeee.... 2nd gear.......its in race shift mode. It was only when i got back i was told that its was changed Saturday afternoon as a Supersport racer ( no names) had been in to test it. Apparently it doesn't need a new mechanism, it can be change from road shift to race shift relatively easily with no additional parts required. So i though how hard can it be to use race shift?? and carried on down the road.
Anyway race shift is actually nicer to use when giving it some and i got used to it pretty quickly...it only caught me out a few times when rolling up to a junction and i kept slipping it down the gears only to find i was in 6th when pulling up at a junction.
Get a little down the road and thought i would overtake a van and car with a little bit of space.....................and whoooahhhhhhh.........it doesn't half accelerate quickly. The anti wheelie and counter rotating crank keeps the bike flat but it honestly felt like the bike was about to disappear under me and leave me sat on the road on my arse. I have never ever felt acceleration like it.
Anyway got to the twistier roads and the bike is just beautiful. It handles are perfectly as any bike i have ever ridden. So smooth round corners, turns so easily but doesn't fall into corners nor does it fight your input. As i got more confident, i tried cornering harder and faster but i have to confess it felt like the bike was laughing at me. It just feels like it could corner at almost any speed. Each time i felt i could have gone a lot quicker.
I have heard riders talk about 'mechanical grip. well i think i know what they are talking about now. It just felt like it was glued to the floor. At any lean angle.
Started upping the pace a bit. It is insanely, almost frighteningly quick. It accelerates hard in any gear at any rpm but when it gets to circa 9000rpm it suddenly feels like the afterburners have been lit, it takes off again. You have to use your knees to grip the tank or the bike will disappear without you.
And then there is the brakes. You know how when you brake hard on bikes and it feels like it will stand the bike on its front wheel? Not this one. You can feel the front dig in but the bike doesn't start to tip right onto its nose. It stays flat. And it stops so hard and in a completely controlled manner. I had to do it in an emergency one time when some **** decided to slow, start turning and then indicate in front of me. ( a long way in front of me).
And you know when i said it felt like the bike would disappear without me under acceleration? Well braking is the same except you feel like the bike would stop and you would just carry on without it. Not A over T, just flat like in some Tom and Jerry cartoon. Bike stops dead- you carry on in the same riding position.
I found some nice roads in the area, A decent selection of fast roads, twisty roads, smooth roads and bumpy roads and it handled them all with ease.
Even around town, it doesn't get hot and bothered like the 1299 does. No thigh burning sensations. i was warned beforehand that in traffic, it might drop down to two cylinders if the engine got hot, and it did do it at one point, but apparently its a feature to help reduce the heat and prevent overheating. The engine is turbine like in its delivery but still has a slightly rough Ducati-esque edge to it. At tickover it sounds like it got a loose bolt rumbling around in the engine.
It doesn't sip fuel. Not sure what it was doing but i was told there should be enough for me but the fuel light came on well before the end of the ride.
Anyway its a lovely beautiful bike. Easily the best bike i have ever ridden. It feels, goes, sounds and stops like a race bike.
But i have to confess, its way to much for the road. It needs to be on a racetrack. Or the Isle of Man Mountain. I would have to have a lot more money in my pocket so i could own it outright and use it at racetracks around the world. Imagine it on the straight at Mugello? Or even Silverstone. No wonder they left me behind so easily as Silverstone a few weeks ago.
[video]https://youtu.be/_qlfNWIF0rI[/video]