2025 Ducati Panigale V4S

The Street-Legal Race Bike

Most manufacturers are too polite to sell you a race bike and call it a road bike. Ducati has no such restraint. The 2025 Panigale V4S is a 1,103cc V4, 209 horses, 421 lb wet, with a 15,000-rpm redline and ergonomics that pretend the Daytona International Speedway is an acceptable commute. Chase's honest line, 10 minutes into the ride: "I even dare to even call this a super sport. This is almost a street-legal race bike."

It took Chase months to get his hands on one. Demand on the V4S is high enough that Mountain Motorsports couldn't pull a loaner off the floor for weeks. When it finally arrived, the first ride delivered exactly what the spec sheet promised. And exactly what the spec sheet warns about. This is the most capable motorcycle in the Good Tier, and simultaneously the one with the most asterisks.

Performance highlights

1,103cc V4, 209 horsepower, 89 lb-ft of torque, 421 lb wet, 33.5" seat height. Throttle response scores the perfect 10 and Chase gave it without hesitation. "It's instant. It's precise, and that makes the bike feel hardwired to your hand." Three modes (Wet, Road, Sport) plus two customizable Race modes, and the jump from Road to Sport is polarizing enough that Chase's reaction on switching was not printable. The ride-by-wire calibration is Ducati at its best: no lag, no lurch, just a direct line from wrist to rear wheel.

Acceleration earns 9. The 40–80 roll-on in first gear looked sluggish to Chase at first, "I feel like slower bikes have made better times than that", because a V4 with 89 lb-ft doesn't hit hard down low. But once you give it revs, "it has an unlimited amount of power." The thing will pull to 15,000 rpm and still make more.

Agility is a 9 and it's the thing that makes the V4S special on a twisty road. "The bike is just extraordinarily precise with doing exactly what I want." Chase compared it directly to the Moto2-edition Street Triple, which he's on record calling one of the best-handling motorcycles he's ever ridden, and the V4S is in that conversation. Despite looking like a 450-lb commitment on paper, it flicks like a middleweight.

Brakes rate 9. Brembo Stylemas front and rear, strong bite, light lever pull. Chase's only note: they're race-calibrated, which means a new owner with a heavy right hand is going to scare themselves in the first week. That's not a flaw, that's a setup choice. And it's the correct one for this bike.

Suspension is 9 and is where the V4S unlocks its secret. Electronic adjustment tied to ride mode. On city streets it feels stiff and pointless. Get it leaned over, and "my god, that suspension might as well be like Elmer's glue. This bike feels locked on." That's the quote. That's the bike. Every dollar of the $33,895 sticker is in that moment.

Rider experience & tech

Comfort is the brutal 1 and the reason this bike doesn't crack 75. The seat is firm (Chase admitted it was less bad than expected), the pegs are tucked race-high, the clip-ons are low. The Panigale is one of the few production bikes more aggressive than a CBR1000RR-R. But the real killer is heat. "There's a reason when other bikes get warm, I judge them on how hot a Panigale is." The thing cooks your thighs on the highway. On a summer day in traffic it's almost disqualifying.

Tech is the flat 10 and the feature set is absurd. Electronically-adjustable Öhlins suspension. Cornering ABS. Multi-level traction control. Wheelie control. Slide control. Engine brake control. A quick-shifter Chase called "absolutely gorgeous. You get a little bit of feedback, but it does not upset the motorcycle at all." The TFT dash is, in Chase's opinion, the best in the business: "Ducati's UI team, probably the top in the business if you're asking me personally. I don't think another company does a better UI and button controls than Ducati, Circa 2025." The left-bar controls use shape-coded icons that match the shapes on screen. You find the button you want by feel. On a bike this complicated, that's not a nice-to-have; it's the whole difference between usable and unusable.

Ease of use is 7. And 7 is generous for a race-ergo V4 super sport, but Ducati earns it because the electronics are approachable. A first-time V4 owner can put it in Road mode, leave Wet mode in reserve for rain, and ride this bike without accidentally high-siding themselves. The control density is real; the learning curve isn't as steep as the spec sheet suggests.

Versatility is 3. "It's phenomenal at one thing, but nearly useless for anything else." City: no (the heat). Highway: yes, but you're tucked and windblown. Touring: absolutely not. Track: of course. Canyon: yes, if the canyon is long enough to justify the body position. This is a specialist tool.

Fun-for-the-money is 3 and this is the one that sinks the overall score. $33,895 is base MSRP before options. Compare it to a BMW M 1000 R at $21,695, a Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RX at $19,945, even a Ducati Streetfighter V4. And the Panigale's price premium is a track-only tax. If you ride track days, the tax is worth it. If you ride streets, it's hard to defend.

The Chase Score & final thoughts

With a Chase Score of 70/100, Good Tier, the Panigale V4S is the definition of a polarizing machine. 46 ride points (one of the highest totals on the leaderboard) + 24 usability points = a bike that dominates half the scorecard and flunks the other half. Average those and you land right at the bottom of Good, and that's the honest read.

Buy it if you track-day seriously, if you're a confirmed Ducati loyalist who already owns the leathers, or if you've already got a sport-tourer in the garage and this is bike #2 for canyon-only days. Skip it if this is going to be your daily, if you live in a hot climate, or if $33k needs to do more than one thing. Chase's closing read: "This motorcycle is far more capable of anything that I would ever be able to be capable of. I just don't know if I'm the right rider." The bike isn't the problem. The bike is a masterpiece. The question is whether you're the rider for it.