A whole lot of lovely
Still Gorgeous After All These Years
I need to get something straight from the beginning of this piece. While the V4 range from Ducati is nothing short of spectacular, my mate Mick has one and he swears by his, the thing is that all Ducati machinery should be powered by V2 engines. It’s gods law and all that. Anyway the whole Ducati thing has all been going to hell in a handcart since riders could marry their phones to their bikes. Sacrilege.
Down With That Sort Of Thing!
Now that I’ve got what I don’t like out of my system, what I do like is the Panigale V2 with its 955cc engine and it’s 155bhp. I like it a lot. That’s because I find it so much more fun to ride hard on a race track. I can’t do that on the original Panigale because it’s way too powerful. The last time I rode one I slowed down to 120 kph and it felt like I was hurting its feelings by riding it at such a pitiful pace.
But back to the V2. One of the things that I find very interesting about it is that it’s got a bigger engine than the original 916, yet it’s still todays answer to the 748. I’ve just re-read that last line and now I feel really old. I bet Nicole Lynch will gleefully tell me that she has no idea what I’m talking about since she wasn’t even born then.
With a usable drive and classic Ducati good looks, it’s as easy to post an excellent lap time on it as it is to sit and stare at. The staring at it part has just got even easier. It’s available in a Bayliss replica paint scheme.
For those of you who don’t know, Troy Bayliss is an Australian rider who made winning on Ducati machinery look like child’s play. With 52 wins, 94 podiums and 3 World Superbike Championships he helped make the brand what it is today. Also he is, as are most Aussies that I know are, a whole lot of fun to be around.
Well Sprung
Also this all new Panigale V2 Bayliss is manufactured in a numbered series. As well as the special paint job it also differentiates itself from the standard bike by being sprung on a full set of Öhlins including the steering damper. I do love a set of gold forks.
The other stuff that comes as standard are corning ABS, traction control, a quick shifter, engine brake control and wheelie control. As well as a full Termi exhaust system. Bayliss won all those races with none of these. I, meanwhile, find them very helpful indeed. They all work as well on the road as they do on a track.
Declan in Ducati Rosso has one in the showroom. While I’m not too sure that he appreciates how brilliant a rider Troy is, he does seem to be aware of how utterly wonderful that V2 is and how much better the Bayliss specced special is than the standard one. Even then the basic one is one hell of a good place to start.
The Bayliss special will run you €25,755 while the standard V2 costs €22,500. It’s a bit of a no brainer really. Just for the craic ask him for a test ride. It’s worth doing so for just to see the look on his face…
