The 2020 Ducati Streetfighter V4 S brings MotoGP technology and performance without a fairing. Cycle World gets its first ride aboard the all-new naked model.
A combination of simplicity and ruthlessness is what makes super-naked motorcycles so tempting. They blend the lines of edgy and utilitarian, usually in the form of a bare-bones open-class supersport machine with a meaty powerband and top-tier electronics, but with a (more) comfortable riding position. It’s a category where manufacturers can express their true potential on platforms attractive to mortals. And not to mention, super nakeds are just wickedly entertaining.
So it's no surprise then that Ducati stripped most of the bodywork off its premium superbike offering, the Panigale V4, adjusted the ergonomics package, and cut it loose as the 2020 Ducati Streetfighter V4 and V4 S.
Like the Panigale on which it is based, the Streetfighter is powered by the 1,103cc Desmosedici Stradale 90-degree V-4 engine, but tuned with dedicated engine mapping and given shorter final drive gearing (via subtraction of one tooth on the countershaft sprocket and addition of one tooth on the rear). The result of the revisions is a powerplant that Ducati says is worthy of 208 hp at 12,750 rpm and 90.4 pound-feet of torque at 11,500 rpm-just shy of the 214 hp claimed for the Panigale. But considering the last Panigale V4 we had on our in-house dyno belted out 186 hp, presume the Streetfighter to rip high 170s to low 180s at the rear wheel. Heck, Ducati’s World Superbike homologation-special Panigale V4 R ripped 203 hp on our dyno. It’s proof of how remarkable the Streetfighter’s powerplant is in stock form, and that there is serious potential.
It's a delightful engine to ride at any pace, but a monster if you want it to be. Ducati struck gold in balancing its power characteristics, finding an impressive medium between rowdy performance and rideability-even more so than the Panigale. At first touch of the throttle, the Streetfighter offers a crisp and tractable power delivery as it comfortably transfers weight rearward for supreme confidence at corner exit. But hit the 7,000 rpm mark, and you’ll witness the V4 in all its glory as it lofts the front end skyward and sends your glutes into the rear cowling under hard acceleration.
The engine is so tractable that I preferred deactivating a number of the Streetfighter’s rider aids, including the Ducati Traction Control (DTC) EVO 2 system-interestingly derived from Ducati’s Desmosedici GP18 MotoGP racer and employed on the superbike homologation-special Panigale V4 R-and Ducati Wheelie Control (DWC) EVO to experience the bike’s raw capability and maximum fun factor. And while I enjoyed riding it raw, so to speak, the rider aids are superb. Toggling to level 3 of DTC and level 2 of DWC was my preferred means of electronic assistance for heavy-fisted riding, offering impressive corner exit speed and steadfast control, while allowing epic low-trajectory wheelie action. Radness. And heck, the Streetfighter even has a Ducati Power Launch (DPL) system for race starts and a lap timer function, which will rightfully prove their worth at the racetrack.
It has a chassis that will handle the racetrack too. Our testbike is the $23,995 V4 S model, with semi-active Öhlins NIX 30 fork and TTX 36 rear shock, Öhlins steering damper, and forged-aluminum Marchesini wheels, versus the fully adjustable, non-active 43mm Showa Big Piston Fork (BPF) and Sachs monoshock and cast-aluminum five-spoke wheels on the $19,995 standard model. The chassis is impeccably planted from midcorner onward, ridding itself of any sort of uneasiness and rear-end chassis pump that was familiar on the last Panigale I tested, while confidently ripping side-to-side transitions.
Each of the Streetfighter’s Street, Sport, and Race ride modes has unique semi-active Öhlins Smart EC 2.0 parameters aimed at different riding habits and conditions. After systematically sampling each, I found Sport mode revealed the best compromise of support for aggressive riding and comfort on less-than-ideal road conditions, while quickly and unnoticeably compensating for changing tarmac. Race mode created a more visceral, harsh feeling in the suspension’s damping, and I see its place at a trackday, but as a current racer looking for lap-to-lap consistency and no surprises, I’d likely enter the fixed setting, in which damping characteristics are non-active.
Read the full review on the new 2020 Ducati Streetfighter V4 S on Cycle World: www.cycleworld.com/story/moto...
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24 июл 2024
