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2024 · Supersport · Buyer's Guide
Beauty With Race-Grade Bite
The Panigale V4 in DA-3 form puts a 1103 cc Desmosedici Stradale V4 at the center of everything, 216 hp arriving at 12,500 rpm with 91 lb-ft underneath it. The aluminum monocoque frame keeps the mass tight and central, and the MotoGP-bred electronics (cornering ABS, traction, wheelie and slide control, all reading a six-axis IMU) turn that output into something a skilled rider can actually reach for. This is the V4 that finally makes its own ceiling usable. It sits at the sharp, expensive end of the supersport class, and it looks every dollar of it.
On the road it rewards commitment. The chassis turns in cleanly, the front end keeps talking to you deep into a corner, and the lean clearance is effectively endless for street use. At 437 lb wet with a 32.7 in seat it wants a fit, willing rider. This is not a machine that forgives a lazy day or a long traffic crawl. Buy it if you ride hard on weekends and care how a bike looks and feels as much as how it goes. One note for 2025 and 2026 bikes: a rear brake hose recall covers heat damage near the exhaust, so confirm the fix is done before you sign.
Spec sheets don't ride bikes, but they set the baseline.
| Power | 216 hp (159 kW) @ 12,500 rpm |
|---|---|
| Torque | 91 lb-ft (123 Nm) @ 11,000 rpm |
| Displacement | 1103 cc |
| Engine | V4 |
| Bore × stroke | 81 × 53.5 mm |
| Compression | 14:1 |
| Cooling | Liquid-cooled |
| Fuel system | Fuel injection |
| Gearbox | 6-speed |
| Final drive | Chain |
| Frame | Aluminum monocoque |
| Fork | Upside-down (USD) |
| Front brake | 330 mm |
| Rear brake | 245 mm |
| Front tire | 120/70 ZR17 |
| Rear tire | 200/60 ZR17 |
| Wheelbase | 57.8 in (1469 mm) |
| Seat height | 32.7 in (830 mm) |
| Wet weight | 437 lb (198 kg) |
| Fuel capacity | 4.5 gal (17 L) |
Equipment check
Chassis
Connectivity
Drivetrain
Lighting
Safety
Thumb the starter and the V4 settles into a hard, metallic idle you feel in the tank and the pegs before you move an inch. The riding triangle is pure sportbike: high pegs, a long reach to low bars, real weight on your wrists at a standstill that lifts once the airflow arrives. Heat builds around your legs in slow going, the price of all that engine packed in tight. Get it rolling and the bike feels compact and eager underneath you, light at the bars and more planted the faster it goes. The sound hardens into a flat mechanical howl as the revs climb. Knee-down lean comes easily and it stays composed once it's there. Everything your hands and feet touch feels expensive and deliberate, which is exactly what this machine is built to deliver.
Across years of YouTube comments, forum threads, paddock talk, and the messages riders send him directly, NastyNils has watched one pattern settle around the DA-3 Panigale V4: owners trust what it does when they ride hard, and grumble about what it asks of them when they don't.
The praise riders return to most is the electronics and chassis working together. Owners describe the rider aids as something they lean on rather than fight: cornering ABS, traction, wheelie, slide and launch control that let them reach for the bike's pace without feeling exposed, on road and on track. The other steady refrain is feedback, a front end and frame that report back clearly and let riders place the bike precisely and with confidence. Lighter wet weight comes up too, owners finding it flicks into turns more readily than the bike before it.
The gripes cluster around comfort. The most common by a wide margin is heat, with riders reporting serious warmth around the right leg and seat that makes stop-and-go traffic and city miles unpleasant. Close behind is the riding position: owners describe real weight on the wrists and fatigue on longer rides, even with the improved seat padding. A quieter complaint is the absence of cruise control on the base bike, offered only as an option, which riders feel on highway stretches.
Rear brake hose heat damage recall
On certain 2025–2026 Panigale V4 models, the rear brake hose can degrade from exhaust manifold heat, potentially causing brake fluid loss and rear brake failure. Dealers will replace the thermal shield with an extended version (NHTSA 26V050).
Where this Ducati Panigale V4 pulls ahead of — or falls behind — its rivals on the numbers, and the typical bike in its class on character.
Power
Torque
Displacement
Wet weight
Seat height
Forget spec-sheet bragging. Here's who the Panigale V4 is actually built for.
If your weekends mean Angeles Crest and tight canyon pavement, this fits you well. The front-end feedback and bottomless lean reward precise, committed riding. Just accept the firm ergonomics between the good roads.
Made for Angeles Crest Highway · Coronado Trail / US 191 · Highway 1 / Big Sur
Built for exactly this. On a closed circuit the chassis, electronics and high-speed stability let you chase brake points and apexes with confidence, and there is plenty of room to grow into it as your pace climbs.
Made for Barber Motorsports Park · WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca · Circuit of the Americas
On the tight East-Coast twisties it shines for skill work, with a talkative front end and easy lean. The aggressive seating gets old on the slab miles in, so plan the day around the corners.
Made for Back of the Dragon · Blue Ridge Parkway · Cherohala Skyway
The Ducati Panigale V4 also comes in these variants, models and special editions. Each has its own page covering only what differs from the standard Panigale V4 — equipment, electronics, specs and used price.
If this one isn't quite the fit, these are the bikes worth riding back-to-back against it.
Any price note compares both bikes at the same age — the youngest age both have on the used market — against this Ducati Panigale V4. “cheaper/pricier” is what that bike costs second-hand, not how worn it is.
