Panigale V4

[B1ade]

Hey all, new Panigale V4 officially released, one of the first decent release videos below.

 

Do any of you reckon this will be produced in Thailand or import only? Ducati Phuket seem to think import only and not here until 2019, but they have been wrong before on a few new models. Historically anything released since the Thai factory has been produced here and sold at a decent price (except some of the "S" models), so heres hoping the V4 will follow that pattern as this looks awesome

 

 

[JonnyF]

As this is a brand new model and a new engine configuration I'm pretty sure it will be made in Italy. I reckon they'll import them, but demand will be high so it might not be until 2019. Might be better to wait for the 2019 model anyway as it's a brand new bike so there might be some kinks to work out. 

 

Given that the 1299S is 1.8 million here, I don't see the V4 being great value in Thailand. Lovely bike though. Shame that Aprilia don't have a presence here, the RSV4 is a great bike and has been refined over a number of years and would probably be my choice out of the 2 bikes despite being a fan of Ducati.

 

Looking forward to some reviews and comparisons to the Aprilia. Good to see the European brands continuing to release new bikes/engines. 

 

[JonnyF]

Prices announced. V4 base model is 949,000 and V4 S is 1,149,000.

 

949k is pretty good for the base model, I was expecting a lot more than that given the 1299 prices. Look forward to reading/watching some reviews. Might go to the motor expo at Impact Arena this weekend and have a look.

[eisfeld]

950k THB for the base model is about 10% more than in Europe where it costs 22.6k EUR. I think that means it will be built here? Would be too cheap for an import.

 

Maybe they'll even have test rides? Would love to try one out.

 

Not too interested in buying one as it's a bit overkill for my needs and I don't do track days (no track nearby). Plus an all-new Ducati in its first year... :)

 

A 959-like V4 though...

[JonnyF]

15 minutes ago, eisfeld said:

950k THB for the base model is about 10% more than in Europe where it costs 22.6k EUR. I think that means it will be built here? Would be too cheap for an import.

 

Maybe they'll even have test rides? Would love to try one out.

 

Not too interested in buying one as it's a bit overkill for my needs and I don't do track days (no track nearby). Plus an all-new Ducati in its first year... :)

 

A 959-like V4 though...

I can't imagine they'd allow a brand new flagship model which is also a brand new engine configuration to be built in Thailand. I guess they could assemble it here (maybe crate a complete engine over) but I think even then they'd need a certain percentage of the parts to be manufactured here as well to get the tax break, can't remember the exact details.

 

I think a lot of Ducati sports bikes are "only" 10% more than Europe. Remember, European prices are already inflated compared to the US prices so with the strong Baht I reckon they could sell an Italian made Ducati for 10% more than a Euro price. My 899 was pretty much the same price here as the UK when I bought it (before the pound tanked) and that wasn't manufactured here. 

 

I'm not super serious about buying one either, partly because it's a first year brand new design but also because in my experience Ducati's only really "work" properly when you're riding them reasonably hard (maybe the V4 will be different in that regard to the L twins but I doubt it). I can't imagine being able to ride an 1100cc V4 very hard much of the time in Thailand. Be fun to have a look though :)

 

 

[eisfeld]

If it's anything like the Aprilia Tuono V4, then it's quite a bit happier at low speeds. At least that was my impression when I tried it a few months ago. It was really pretty good around town considering it's a bike that's ment to be ridden fast. But yea you can still feel that it's happier once you open the throttle a bit more :)

 

Regarding the import question: I think you might be right but it wont be a full import, that would make it close to double the price. I'd guess it will be a CKD import. It's roughly 38% over the US price and that matches what I had to pay in import taxes when ordering motorcycle parts (30% import duty, 7% vat).

[JonnyF]

15 hours ago, eisfeld said:

If it's anything like the Aprilia Tuono V4, then it's quite a bit happier at low speeds. At least that was my impression when I tried it a few months ago. It was really pretty good around town considering it's a bike that's ment to be ridden fast. But yea you can still feel that it's happier once you open the throttle a bit more :)

 

Regarding the import question: I think you might be right but it wont be a full import, that would make it close to double the price. I'd guess it will be a CKD import. It's roughly 38% over the US price and that matches what I had to pay in import taxes when ordering motorcycle parts (30% import duty, 7% vat).

I think you're right about the CKD, makes sense and the prices add up. Yeah the V4 is a bit smoother down low than the L twin from what I read although whether this V4 Panigale is as refined in it's first year as an Aprilia is after years of incremental improvements remains to be seen.

 

I'll probably wait for the 2019 S1000RR anyway. I've got a feeling that might be the bike that moves things up another notch (like the first gen did when it was released) and I quite fancy a move back to an inline 4.

[B1ade]

950k! Thats awesome, thats bang on what I was hoping for although I was expecting 1299 price so it must be being assembled here - which I believe is the case for all their recent models, ie not manufactured, but CKD import like you guys say above. This one is on the shopping list!

[JonnyF]

On 12/5/2017 at 12:40 PM, B1ade said:

950k! Thats awesome, thats bang on what I was hoping for although I was expecting 1299 price so it must be being assembled here - which I believe is the case for all their recent models, ie not manufactured, but CKD import like you guys say above. This one is on the shopping list!

Be sure to give us a detailed review when you get it!

 

Hope Ducati Phuket have sorted out their service issues now though...

[eisfeld]

6 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Hope Ducati Phuket have sorted out their service issues now though...

 

I haven't had the chance to test this so far (yay) but they now have a completely new (nice) showroom and a lot of new staff. I believe the owner is now putting a lot of effort into improvements. Hope dies last :)

[Rhys]

nice...

 

[eisfeld]

 

No idea what the italians are saying but I love those comments :)

 

 

[naboo]

I have comment to make regarding this, but will not be providing Thaivisa with free content until they turn off their adblocking detection popup.

[B1ade]

On 12/7/2017 at 9:06 AM, JonnyF said:

Be sure to give us a detailed review when you get it!

 

Hope Ducati Phuket have sorted out their service issues now though...

They have a senior mechanic in there now who knows his stuff, I request him for any work always now. I had full service including timing belt done by a junior last year before a trip to Kuala Lumpur, was a nightmare, bike ran horribly but they never told me they had no seniors... I had to get it sorted out by Ducati in Kuala Lumpur (what a setup that is... if you are there its worth a visit), so for now, all is ok in Phuket and the new showroom / workshop is far better than before

[B1ade]

Quick update. Ordered the v4, but the price had gone up... 949k was only available during the Bangkok motor show, offer expired on the 11th December... i ordered on the 13th and they wouldn't budge on the price, now the price is 969k for the base model, they also said the price will go up again in January but not sure if that was a sales tactic!

 

[JonnyF]

12 hours ago, B1ade said:

Quick update. Ordered the v4, but the price had gone up... 949k was only available during the Bangkok motor show, offer expired on the 11th December... i ordered on the 13th and they wouldn't budge on the price, now the price is 969k for the base model, they also said the price will go up again in January but not sure if that was a sales tactic!

 

Awesome. What’s the estimated delivery date?

[B1ade]

On 12/16/2017 at 12:33 PM, JonnyF said:

Awesome. What’s the estimated delivery date?

They have estimated July, long way away, they expect them to start arriving in May, I am a bit down the queue, still that gives me time to save for an overpriced exhaust system!

[eisfeld]

B1ade: did you get your bike yet? I saw they have a V4 in the showroom now.

[B1ade]

On 7/27/2018 at 10:21 PM, eisfeld said:

B1ade: did you get your bike yet? I saw they have a V4 in the showroom now.

Hey sorry for delay in replying, just seen it. That one there is mine! I have been trying to sell my 848 for about 2 months, i need to sell that first, on the brink of dropping the price as I need to go pick it up asap!

[eisfeld]

Hehe good luck! Hope you can take posession of your new baby soon. BTW I wouldn't want my bike to be used as the showroom model with people test-sitting on it etc. Or do you get a discount for that?

 

Oh and I wonder if they offer test rides for the V4, my guess is no.

[Damrongsak]

Here's a look "under the hood".  The seat heater isn't of much use in Thailand. 

 

 

[eisfeld]

So I took the Panigale V4S for a spin today. Major takeaways for me:

 

1. Holy fsck dat POWER! On a top secret test track went a steady 200kph, opened the trottle and that thing goes like a stink... speedo jumping up in 10 increments it feels. But the key is that the throttle is very easy to control. No herky jerky or sudden surges in power. There's more power than anyone could need on the road but it's important that you actively have to ask the bike for it instead of it delivering it to you in unexpected ways. And on the track I'm sure it'll make people really happy.

2. It gets hot. I didn't have my riding boots with me today so there was a bit of space where heat hit my ankles and wasn't the most pleasant thing. Also the frame heats up a lot and one touches it on the left side near the seat with the inner thigh. There's a little heatshield but it can only do so much. It was noticeably hotter than my Scrambler which is already annoying. I didn't feel too much heat under my ass as some people said there would be due to the exhaust routing. Wouldn't want to be stuck in stop-n-go traffic on this fire spitting dragon ????

3. The sound! It's the most amazing sound I've heard from a stock exhaust in this day and age. How that complies with regulations? No idea. My Africa Twin already hits the limit and this thing is a lot louder. I would have zero desire to change the exhaust. But there's also some noticeable high pitch sound when riding which I found slightly unpleasant. Not sure where that comes from.

4. It behaves a lot better than the V-Twins I have tried from Ducati, especially in the lower RPMs. For such a powerful sport bike made for the track, it's remarkably easy to ride slow as well. At least in terms of engine. The ergonomics are not so much fun when going slow. The electronics work really well, traction control for example doesn't kick in abruptly.

5. It's just too much of a sporty riding position for me. Even after just 30 minutes on the bike one can feel the strain on the arms when riding in town. It's not fun to go slow around corners either, just doesn't feel right as too much weight to the front. Of course that's the same for pretty much all supersport type bikes.

6. It looks great and I couldn't spot a single bit that looked cheap unlike for example the Ducati Supersport. Nothing felt loose or made from cheap material. One would expect so from a top Ducati bike I guess.

7. The electronics are quite comprehensive (I wont list the specs here). Changing stuff to your tastes is easy enough and one can configure all 3 riding modes to your liking.

8. The suspension (electronic Ohlins) really worked well. I have no way to compare to the one in the standard model but compared to some other non-active suspensions that I tried in the past on sportbikes, this one provided actually OK comfort on city roads. Then when pushing the bike, it provided nice stability.

9. Stopping power was superb. The rear felt a bit weak but with all the weight to the front I guess it's ok. I could feel it engaging the ABS so that means it's powerful enough.

10. The kickstand is super annoying to grab with your shoes. Fiddly. Why does that have to be a thin ???? Not a dealbreaker.

11. Disappointed by the quickshifter. It works kinda OK when really high in the RPMs and under full throttle but in the mid range RPMs there's a pretty noticeable cut in power that moves through the bike. I can shift smoother myself. At low RPMs without wide open throttle it can shift up very smoothly though. It's a bit counterintuitive, one would think it was made only for top speed and work crap down low like some others that I tried. These points don't apply to the downshift blipper though, that one worked a lot better and was a joy to use. I have noticed this pattern with other Ducati quickshifters but I hoped they would have improved the system for the V4.

12. The screen was great to read. Bright, clear and didn't suffer from reflections. The menu system is easy to comprehend and use. A lot of settings can be changed on the fly while riding.

 

Overall I was pretty impressed. The bike does some things really really well. The engine is a blast. The design is awesome. But I think I can't justify buying one. Not for the kind of riding I do, the ergos are just too aggressive for that. The heat also makes me hesitate. It is a remarkable bike though. For someone used to literbike ergonomics, check it out - it's something special.

[soihok]

Nice one.

Thanks for that.

[eisfeld]

There have been 5 recalls so far in roughly one year. 2 for oil leaks, 2 for fuel leaks/splashes (search on Youtube for 650ib and you will see how it looks when the tank starts spitting fuel in your face while riding at speed on the highway) and one for the rear brake pad coming loose. https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2018/DUCATI/PANIGALE%2520V4#recalls

 

Kinda reinforces my feeling that Ducati while building amazing machines, seems to rush products to market. A lot of similar recalls for other Ducati models over the years.

 

Oh and the V4 has no fuel gauge for what it's worth.