The Panigale V4 is back for 2025 with a new answer to the question: “How many sides should a swingarm have?”. For years, the Duc superbike has run with a single-sided swingarm, but for 2025, it’s back to a two-sided setup, which is (no surprise here) lighter than its predecessor, no matter what the single-sided swingarm cultists might believe.
What else is new for ’25? Of course the bodywork is redesigned to go with that new swingarm. It’s supposed to be more flowy or swoopy or whatever. Some will like it, some won’t. Thus is ever the case with vehicle redesigns, but particularly when they come from Italy.
And of course we have mechanical changes, which is where we get to upgrades that actually matter. The engine gets some mix-and-match parts from other bikes, which is possible since Ducati builds so many machines off this V4 platform (including a new gearbox drum from the Superleggera V4, the same alternator and oil pumps as the Panigale V4 R). The cams have a new profile with more lift, the intake horns are new, and the Euro 5 version of the bike is now rated for 216 hp at 13,500 as a result of the changes. The U.S.-market bike will only make 209 hp at 12,750 rpm, but roughly the same 90ish lb-ft of torque. We’ve seen no word on which spec Canada will get! Ducati says that if you install an Akrapovic exhaust (for track use only, nudge-nudge, wink-wink) you can get 228 hp from the Euro-spec engine.
The chassis itself is derived from lessons learned in MotoGP, as Ducati always tells us. Huzzah! That means the engineers have increased stiffness in some areas, to provide more rideability, and reduced it elsewhere. Such is the constant game of the chassis engineer.
A fully-adjustable Showa Big Piston Fork is standard, with Sachs monoshock. As with previous generations of the Panigale V4, there’s also a V4 S which offers an Ohlins NPX-30 fork and TTX36 shock, both managed by Ohlins’ Smart EC 3.0 electro-brain. There’s also an Ohlins steering damper on this model.
Brembo’s new Hypure front brake calipers are standard, cutting a bit of weight and supposedly shedding heat better.
Add in all the tweaks and updates, and you have a bike with a claimed wet weight of 187 kg. MSRP for the standard Panigale V4 is $29,999 in Canada; the V4 S is $38,295. Find more details at Ducati’s website.
