Menus
- A queen who treats you
- CAD structure
- In the saddle
- Contact
- City
- Departmental
- National
- Highway
- Motor
- Braking
- Practical aspects
- Conclusion
A queen who treats you
By their personality, their characteristics and their performances, the Ducati have always been motorcycles apart. La Panigale is no exception to the rule, on the contrary, it transcends it. However, in the Ducati universe, it is still a model apart !
Ducati Desmo. These two words are inseparable, a reference to the springless valve return mechanism, dear to the brand. However, until today, this was not the only iconic technology of the Italian manufacturer. There was also the tubular trellis frame that is found on absolutely all models … All except the Panigale !!! Crime of lese majesty. Would we have, like at BMW, renounced its dogmas to make a "classic" sports car with a pure double aluminum frame? No, rest assured, Ducati did not fall into the trap, if there is a trap, because BMW could not have come out of it better. No, ignoring this too conventional technology, Ducati has quite simply eliminated the frame! Raised in the Contrexevile, the Panigale got down to speed and skipped the frame as such, to replace it with a hull acting as an air filter box. Weighing only 4.2 kg, this foundry piece, connects the steering column to the cylinder heads of the engine. Motor on which are anchored the swinging arm and the rear shock absorber. NO FRAMEWORK WE TELL YOU !
The result was not long in coming: with its 195 kg fully loaded, the Panigale S is the lightest of all sports cars. It sticks to them all 10 kg (approximately the weight of their frame!) Except to the Kawa which only attacks 8. For the R1, on the other hand it is the coup de grace: downright 19 kg in the view !!!
CAD structure
This is for the technique, but we will come back to it over and over again, because the technological content of this machine is enormous. Aesthetically speaking, the Panigale is beautiful, compact and very well finished. Recognize that at 23,990 €, in its S version equipped with electronic suspensions, we are also entitled to expect the best.
In the saddle
825 mm high, the single-seater saddle is very accessible, even for those who are less than 1.70 m tall. The size of the motorcycle is tiny. Rather than a 1200 cc twin, it looks like a 600, or an Aprilia RSV4, another queen of compactness. Its finesse at the knees is incredible. The rear shock absorber in the lateral position does not interfere with much, especially once the feet are on the footrests. You can feel his presence against the boot, but that’s it. The very open strap handlebars don’t break the wrists too much, the controls are super soft. A real treat. And then indeed, it is light and you can feel it! Before your eyes, the incredible dashboard that allows you to configure the entire motorcycle, from the engine to the suspensions, including the brakes or traction control. A whole universe that you will have to learn to tame, so subtle are the fine tuning. When you switch to "adjustment" mode, the dashboard propels you into the fourth dimension. Here no more screwdriver or wrench to soften the “settings”. It is by moving around and selecting the desired value that you will obtain the desired efficiency. Magic !!!
Contact
The magic continues when you press the starter. A deafening din envelops you and you immediately have the impression of being on the starting grid of a Superbike event. "Is it a Termignoni racing line?" You ask yourself. No it’s standard. Well, the neighbors will have an interest in being music lovers. It must be said that the exhausts under the engine, it is beautiful and compact, but with 1200 cm3 it is not ideal in terms of volume. Consolation, not so thin as that, the clutch in oil bath is now more discreet than the dry one of the old Ducatis. The box, reinforced, is soft. Go we take off !
City
Clearly favoring performance, the twin is not the most flexible. It knocks readily below 2,500 rpm and in town, you will often have to spin the clutch, because the first, long, reminds you that you are not on the ideal playground of this type of machine. However, its thinness and reduced weight make your life easier. Well, that’s not all, it’s getting hot. How do you turn off the heat? Ah, can’t we? Winter is good, but summer in a leather suit in the sun is a lot less fun. The pots under the engine are good for centering the masses, but it gives off heat! One would have thought that it heated less the buttocks than the pots under the saddle, but in fact, to make the good acoustic length, it was necessary to cram a long elbow in the air at the back of the engine. It is not the most aesthetic and despite the insulating cover, it heats the posterior enormously. Again, in winter, it’s nice to have a heated saddle, but here there is no “off” button. Either way, we don’t buy a Ferrari to shop, but to shop…
Departmental
Here it changes history! Here again, the featherweight is a recipe! We begin to discover the Panigale in a different light. One could imagine this large displacement clumsy on small roads, but not at all! Short, agile, light, it can be handled with the finger and the eye. It is much less physical than an R1 to handle for example, because in addition to the difference in weight, there is also the place where it is placed. Very centered on the Ducati, and on the contrary very distant on the Yam with its big pots under the saddle. In short, we are enjoying ourselves. Better than that, it drives you crazy, it’s so enjoyable! Here the clamping is not too much felt. 100 hp on a winding road is enough, even if the low availability at the bottom is a bit surprising for a twin. ABS is completely transparent. The suspension comfort is amazing. It must be said that we can really adjust them on demand. Small bumpy roads are therefore not much of an ordeal, at least not as much as one might suppose, except for your buttocks, which quickly suffer from the hardness of the saddle. A real piece of wood, cut from a good log … placed right on the fireplace. Because even while driving, it heats your buttocks.
National
Casually, seen like that sends, even in 100 hp, a little space is not bad. There we begin to gauge the machine and its incredible potential. Certainly it’s light, but "it’s heavy"! Rarely has a motorcycle given you the feeling that you could have entered much stronger and that what limits you is not the radius of the turn or the grip of the asphalt, but your own skills as a pilot. At each exit of a turn, we tell ourselves that we have gone too slowly. it doesn’t do that on another motorcycle when you attack on the road; we enter hard in a bend, we put the angle, it passes and "it was beautiful" … Well then we always say to ourselves, "you dragged yourself", had to come in harder, release the brake more later, open earlier … Amazing stuff.
The front is very precise. it goes where we look. Just think about it and it does. Really very very strong !!! You are very quickly bewitched, difficult to keep your cool. It is incitement to debauchery. The cars seem like so many motionless baffles. We have the impression of evolving in a video game with tiny obstacles lying around to make it harder for you and prevent you from thinking only of trajectories … the speed differences quickly become important. Fortunately the brakes are there … devilish … Like the Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa tires in the dry…
Highway
Against all expectations, the protection offered by the tiny fairing isn’t all that minimal. If the shoulders are forgotten, the head and the helmet are protected from drafts and it is good for the neck. The vibrations are present, but not annoying. You can see relatively well in the mirrors, it is rare enough on a sports car to be noticed. Taking advantage of a trip across the Rhine, I was able to take 235 meters, but it’s frustrating to cross the border with a Panigale one hundred (without) horses…
Motor
It deserves our attention, this twin "superquadro" (hyper square). With its enormous pistons of 112 mm in diameter and its 60.8 mm of stroke, only, it can take 11,500 rpm and output 195 hp! It is really extraordinary, but also surprisingly hollow and sharp when we knew the previous generation, the 1198. Wasn’t this extraordinary power obtained at the expense of torque and feel? Because indeed, the Panigale has to face a huge hole in its torque curve, from 4/5000 to 7500/8000 rpm, just where we usually expect a twin, to then face a peak, what am I saying, a cape, a peninsula! .. A lack of progressiveness which makes it tiring and difficult to tame on the track as the surge of cavalry is brutal. The pilots complain about it so much they are forced to whip their Twin, worse than if it was a four-legged. In 100 hp, it is less sensitive, since the cavalry gradually declines from 8000 rpm. So missed the big Ducati twin? Not really, not at all even, but undoubtedly penalized by its exhaust. At least that’s what Zard suggested to us at the Milan show. The Italian manufacturer has developed an exhaust line that comes out under the saddle. Said saddle then becomes self-supporting, because the original structure does not lend itself to it. Aesthetically the whole is very successful. Sold € 4,500 it is certainly not cheap, but know that it is already necessary to count € 1,800 of non-approved racing line to unleash a Panigale. So it only makes "only 2700 €" of difference to gain 5 horses and cross the bar of 200 cannons, but above all you gain 23 at 6500 rpm, as shown by the attached curve !
For the pilots it is not even the price of a sophisticated preparation which will probably not give such good results. It is also the assurance of getting out of curves like a bullet and having a full engine like a real twin which will be much more relaxing to drive. A ‘good tip’ so to speak !
Braking
Here too we touch the great art. It’s incredibly powerful and feeling. You touch the lever, and it pops your eyes out of your head. Mind-blowing. As for the configurable ABS, it is discreet and efficient, like all the electronic assistance present on this "S" version.
Moreover. Beautiful, good (Dubonnet).
Practical aspects
How to say … Good the saddle is single place. You can’t slip a lock in there. There is no gauge. We quickly consume 10 liters per hundred km, it’s huge, which is not the case with autonomy on the other hand! There are no heated grips (just the saddle …). The S version is equipped with LED headlight, but not having driven at night, we could not say if they illuminate well. On the other hand, you can easily change the modes on the handlebars. The dashboard is complete and no need to take out any tool to adjust the suspensions, just a little experience! Anti slip (DTC) adjustable engine brake (EBC). Shifter, configurable ABS, and three maps to choose from. What to take care of at the edge of the track … without getting your hands dirty. Awesome ! Two small practical details are annoying all the same: the headlight call control which interferes with the operation of the indicators and the oil level window which is almost invisible. Last somewhat disturbing practical aspect: the invoice of 23,990 € that you will have to pay to leave the concession with your wonder. For 5,000 € less, you can have the basic version, without electronic support, but no stamp. True to form, the firm offers its favorite model in multiple versions … to make you spend your money. Here is an overview of the rates:
a price which does not include the RS only intended for SBK homologation. Count around 100,000 €…
Conclusion
Devoid of practicalities, hitting below 2500 rpm, forcing to juggle the box, heating the buttocks and the rest, the Ducati is a talented Diva to whom we willingly pass a few whims. Because its surgical front axle, its technology, its braking, its lightness, are really above the rest. Its clamping is certainly very frustrating, but it makes its use easier and avoids the overflows of the 195 horses. In full it’s another story, but for us it will be necessary to wait until 2016…
Strong points
- technology
- the style
- lightness
- the incredible front end
- efficient electronic assistance
Weak points
- Lack of torque at mid-range
- the saddle that heats up
- engine heat releases
- The exceptional price
Ducati Panigale technical sheet
Reviews in the Ducati Panigale biker test
Competitors:
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