DUCATI 959 PANIGALE (2018 - 2020) Review

Depending what type of biker you are, this bike could be heaven or hell. For those that like hyper touring (high avg speed, carve corners) it's spot on! If you use it as a commuter vehicle and often sit in heavy traffic it's the wrong one. At low speed you get a high load on your wrists. Low speed is choppy and just feel awkward, especially if you haven't corrected the excessive throttle play. Get the suspension dialed in, adjust controls to suit you and it's the easiest bike to ride. Ever. For real, like an old school CBR600.The high rev characteristics of the motor, not unlike your average inline four, requires somewhat of an attitude change from those familiar with big V-twins. Admittedly, it's largely a consequence of the ever tightening emission rules.Conclusion: it's a liter twin that feels like an I4 600 to drive. Easy to drive fast, just doesn't feel fast.

The engine delivers everything you need for the street. If you're in for the bragging rights - go for the 1299 or the V4. Truth is that 150-160 horses at the crank is all you can use at the street, unless for straight line acceleration/top speed. That's not how you use sports bikes anyway.

So far I've only done 650 km on mine. Build quality is top notch - assembly not as good. You need to go over the bike from time to time and make sure screws and nuts are secure. It's a good idea to add some blue Loctite here and there. Unheard of for a japanese bike.

Not done any service on it yet, but from what I hear it's expensive. I've had a great number of different bikes during 40 years of riding/racing, and I usually service them myself, apart from work that requires special tools and/or expertise. The dreaded bi-annual desmo service seems to be the most expensive. I also hear a lot of stories of shops over charging simple maintenance work.

The 959 Panigale, including the Corse, has all the electronic gadgets you would want. Some of those gadgets sometimes get in the way of, say, rear wheel antics, which I find pretty fun. Without disabling at least the ABS, the front wheel will never lift more than an inch. It has an up only quick shifter which works really good. Selectable engine braking characteristics makes sense for track use only. Side note - off throttle engine braking makes the most awesome sound! Later revisions (the V2) got lean angle aware ABS, which would've made this one better. I don't mind the monochrome dash, as the color TFT is smaller. Old eyes prefer larger writing. OEM mirrors are a joke. Blurry at any speed/RPM. The up side is that you'll be fast enough to not need them. Euro4 side mounted silencers. Why are they there? I removed them and started the bike. No difference in sound levels. The under engine collector kills the beautiful song of the Ducati twin. Will install an under-belly, no cat free breathing exhaust. On a side note, this is my first Ducati, and I'm surprised on how the Ducati crowd seems obsessed with upgrades, performance enhancing or not. A full exhaust system could set you back $6000 - I kid you not! The same system would cost less than half for any other bike, except for Triumphs and those American two-wheeled agricultural vehicles.

Why I bought the bike (aside from the paint scheme), you'll need to get the suspension custom tuned otherwise it feels like you are getting punched in the kidneys, but I came from a monster 1200 and FZ09 prior to this, and this thing feels awesome in comparison. Easy to turn, brakes are a a little soft getting at first, but the ABS works well. If you grab them hard it will stop real quick without you getting acquainted with the pavement.

Not super impressive and kicking in the low end like my 1200 monster was, but absolutely screams when you hit 8-9K. Been refined for 7+ years so I'm hoping there won't be any reliability issues outside of the radiator cap mentioned above which is an easy fix.

Had a few issues in first 5K miles. Radiator cap went bad while in Yosemite, radiator is impossible to get to without taking off the side + front fairing plus headlight. Rode it back didn't have any issues since the radiator is massive and even spitting fluid when parked a few times it was fine. Dealer fixed it right up and ran a heat check. Chain was loose after about 500 miles, just assuming it wasn't setup right. Also easy fix, still was a bummer to pay for the tow bill as the Ducati service would've taken weeks. Aside from those issues it runs like a dream and it has never left me stranded. Fit and finish are what you'd expect from a $20K bike after tax and other fees.

*In U.S. dollars. Also to note, depends on how much you ride I'm basing this on riding ~7.5K a year standard services costing ~$1.5K with tires every other year, and $3K every other year for the 15K desmo service + tires. You have to maintain a Duc and good luck doing it yourself. Additionally I couldn't shift with the standard foot equipment, nearly impossible to move the shifter lever without stripping their stupid custom adjustment rod. So sprung for rearsets which were pricey as well as getting them put on. Can finally use the quick shifter though. Also if you live in a city and are under 40 get ready to give your first born to the insurance company. I have a clean driving record, no tickets, but maxed out coverage with a low deductible and am paying just under $2.5K a year.

Few things here, they don't have separate wheelie and traction control and it is super invasive, "Ducati fun police." So if you want to save your front tire, you'll have to go low ABS only in race mode. Be nice to have a gas gauge but its not like they work on other bikes I've had either. Also knocking a point since the foot pegs combined with the shifter lever are virtually unusable if you are 6 ft +. Nice add-ons with the corse is the steering dampener and ohlins.