2025 Ducati Panigale V4 S Review | Motorcycle Test

2025 Ducati Panigale V4 S Review

Stereotypes exist usually because they are true. The same goes for reputations. Take the Ducati Panigale V4 range, for example. Often the fastest bike in a straight line in whatever race it lines up in, it is also true that the Panigale has historically been one of the biggest handfuls on the grid.

With brute power comes brute force, and that often isn’t the fastest way around a racetrack. The Ducati has always been an animal of a bike; anyone can ride, but only a few can ride at the limit. Thus, ever since the 2022 Panigale V4 S hit the road, the development focus has been on making the Panigale smoother and easier to manage for all the riders who are not Pecco Bagnaia.

Ducati is calling the $49,300 2025 Panigale V4 S a “skill-boosting motorcycle”, a bike that takes you by the hand and guides you to the limit, rather than dragging you there by the collar.

There are two main areas of improvement in the ’25 Panigale — a drastic reduction in lateral stiffness to increase tyre feel at lean via a new front frame and controversial double-sided swingarm, along with a myriad of new electronics that include race-spec combined ABS and predictive algorithms for traction, wheelie and slide control.

Perhaps the stereotype of the Panigale being a monster only the top echelon can ride fast is a thing of the past…

Before we delve into those facts, let’s briefly check out what hasn’t been changed.

The V4 S retains the 1103 cc, twin-pulse, counter-rotating crank, Desmosedici Stradale V4 engine that was introduced back in 2018, and was refined in 2022. This engine has been a cornerstone of Ducati’s recent line-up, forming the basis for power for everything from touring and maxi-ADV bikes to nakedbikes and cruisers, and while it remains largely the same as it was for 2025, there have been a few important updates.

The svelte new bodywork and intake design have necessitated changes to the camshafts, which now feature higher lift, along with a revised cooling system. The variable-length intake trumpets have also been adjusted—10 mm shorter in the lower configuration and 5mm taller when fully extended. Though they seem minor, these tweaks contribute to an overall refinement in the engine’s performance.

Ducati is claiming 216 hp (161 kW) from the Desmo — up only a single horsepower from 2024 — in a package weighing a claimed 187 kg wet (no fuel). That figure then jumps to a stout 228 hp when you fit the stunningly loud and pretty Akrapovic titanium race exhaust system.

The engine’s performance is metered by the riding modes Race A, Race B, Sport, Road, and Wet, each offering differing access to the engine’s full potential. However, even in Road mode, the 1103 cc V4’s performance is monstrous. There are four different power modes in Full, High, Medium, and Low, the latter offering only 160 hp and a much softer throttle response.

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Crank up the engine to full power, and the slightly dulled initial throttle response becomes iron fist hard, necessitating the rider to be fully and completely present.

Full power mode ensures there’s no torque metering in the first three gears, allowing the motor to deliver its full force in all six gears. Ripping through the gearbox with the engine’s rpm north of 10,000 is a brain-melting experience. There’s so much forward force propelling you into your near future it’s genuinely hard for your senses to keep up. There’s no dip in performance, no lulling of power. It’s full fat all the time, but, again, it’s never been easier to get there.

The ride is made even more manageable by Ducati’s new electronics suite. From the moment you roll out of pit-lane, the Panigale’s various systems are working in unison to ensure everything runs smoothly.

The Panigale still runs the usual six-axis Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), but it now has an ally in the new Ducati Vehicle Observer (DVO) system. The DVO uses inputs from the IMU based on how you are riding to predict the bike’s behaviour based on the rider’s inputs and the forces acting on the machine. The DVO uses over 70 sensors and allows the traction, slide, and wheelie control programs to effectively become adaptive systems, not with fixed parameters as before.

Almost like a dog pulling on a leash, the ECU is constantly calculating how much of a certain system to give to keep you in that sweet spot.

This electronic wizardry makes a huge difference at the handlebars. Unlike the previous generation Panigale, which would tie itself in knots under hard acceleration, the 2025 V4 S is smooth and composed, a factor that becomes more apparent when the grip level starts to deteriorate.

The V4 S’s acceleration is now more linear, allowing the rider to feed power in faster while still maximizing available grip. The flipside of this is, because you’re going that much faster, the forces acting on your body are that much more intense. The Panigale is still a beast of a machine, it’s just now you can reach the limit easier.

The Panigale runs the new Ohlins Smart EC 3.0 event-based suspension, the successor to the first Panigale V4 that ran the EC 2.0 system way back in 2018. This system is now so good I’d have zero issues racing with it on a traditional track (perhaps not road racing like the Isle of Man, as the bike spends too much time in the air).

Nothing much has changed in terms of adjustment — it’s all based on where you are in the corner, so braking, mid-corner and acceleration support, as opposed to compression and rebound damping. Pre-load is still changed in the traditional way.

Another standout electronic feature of the 2025 V4 S is the new Race eCBS braking system, which integrates the rear brake into the front brake’s operation. Unlike more basic systems that simply add rear brake when the front is applied, the Ducati’s system uses information from the IMU, lean angle, and front brake pressure from the astounding Brembo HypureTM front brake calipers to apply the correct amount of rear brake for each corner, unlocking a vital piece of the fast lap time puzzle. Using the rear brake as a means of turning, not just stopping, allows you to tighten corner lines much easier, but it’s a skill only the top riders truly master.

There are three levels to the system, but in its proper race setting, you can feel the back of the bike squat as you get on the front brake and begin to turn in, effectively locking out the rear suspension and helping you pull the chassis into the apex. It’s a fantastic system if you, like me, struggle to use the rear brake while on track.

The good news is the system doesn’t mind if you are an adept rear brake user. If you ask for 15 bar of pressure via standing on the rear brake pedal and the system would only electronically give you 10 bar, you’ll get your 15 bar. Overall, the system allows for up to 15.5 per cent of braking force to be applied on the rear of the bike.

Levels one to five are designed for track riding, with combined braking active on levels one and three, in the two different Track Plus and Track modes. Levels six and seven are dedicated to road riding.

This feature, above all the other claims Ducati has made with the 2025 Panigale, really does make it a “skill-boosting” motorcycle.

But that’s only one side of the 2025 equation. The second is the chassis package (I say package because it’s more than one thing here). Ducati has learned a lot from its time in MotoGP, where they transformed the red bike from the most hated on the grid to the most coveted through a gradual reduction in stiffness from its chassis. Yes, the MotoGP bike uses a traditional twin-spar aluminium design, but lessons are lessons, and they have filtered their way to the production superbike for you and me.

The 2025 V4 S’s Front Frame (where the front of the engine bolts to), enjoys a 40 per cent reduction in lateral stiffness, while the new and very controversial double-sided swingarm is 37 per cent less stiff.

This increased flex gives the rider more feedback and a better sense of what the tyres are doing, especially during the final stages of cornering. When combined with the DVO electronics, it’s easier to feed the power in and get most of it to the tarmac without the chassis pumping and bucking its way down the next straight.

It’s a significant departure from Ducati’s previous philosophy, which favoured extreme stiffness that only the top echelon of riders could properly use. Now, the chassis filters out some of those forces, which, I say, like a broken record, makes you go faster.

The new hollow swing-arm is the result of three years of back-and-forth development with it and various single-sided versions. Remember, Ducati hasn’t fitted a double-sided swing-arm to its lead superbike since the infamous 999 of 2003-2007, so for them to break with this tradition means the double-sided unit is clearly superior.

Having the extra stability of the double arm allowed for that reduction in lateral stiffness and a slight increase in wheelbase. The Panigale now enjoys the same feeling at the rear of the bike as many of its Japanese counterparts.

So, has the stereotype of the Panigale being a brute only the best can get the most out of starting to fade with the 2025 edition? For my money, absolutely.

The difference between this and the 2024 version, when you’re pushing to the max for a lap time, is massive — you can ride harder and faster for longer, and the bike looks after its tyres better.

If you want to sum the ’25 Pani up in one sentence, you have it. (Sorry it took this long.) It’s an astounding motorcycle, and I wish I could give some more critical analysis and say it’s got more problems than it does. Ducati’s created a real gem here.

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Images Alex Photo