2025-on Ducati Panigale V2 S Review: New Panigale V2 heralds a new supersport dawn

Ducati reckons the Panigale V2 S can lap a track just as fast as the older Ducati Panigale V2, despite being a whopping 35bhp down. It’s easy to see why. The old was always a sweet handler, but the new V2 takes things to a different level. It’s 17kg lighter and more agile with friendlier power and a racy chassis that digs in the harder you push it. Riding it fast is easy and the antidote to the fire-breathing, modern day superbike that wants to take you for a ride…and punch you in the ribs along the way.

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Riding on Pirelli racing slicks, rather than the standard Diablo Rosso IV tyres, at its launch on the Sevilla Circuit, we’re blessed with more grip than power and the traction control is never called into play. But the electronics still prove their worth with a silky anti-wheelie system and foolproof cornering ABS. The quickshifter and autoblipper work superbly (we changed the gear pattern to race shift), although there were a few missed gears if we tried to change up too quickly. We also set the new colour dash to Track mode, which highlights revs, gear position, lap times and rider aid tabs that flash when being called into action.

It’s every inch a track bike, from the accuracy of the steering, the quality of its suspension and insatiable hunger for corner speed. Braking performance and stability are impressive and is the only part of the V2’s make-up that moves away from being soft and cuddly. You’ll need all your strength and a little bit more to use them to the full.

In terms of sheer enjoyment, the new Panigale V2 hits the spot. It won’t lap a track as fast as a superbike and you’ll still have to beware of their closing speed on long straights at a track day, but the reward comes from being able to ride the Ducati close to its limit.

We breeze through six sessions at its launch on the Sevilla circuit in southern Spain and barely break a sweat. Compare that to the Panigale V4 we rode at its Vallelunga launch in 2024: by the end it felt like we’d done 12 rounds with Tyson…both Mike and Fury.

Unlike an old-school supersport race rep, you won’t need to double yourself in half to squeeze on the new Panigale V2. The riding position is sporty and the pegs never graze the tarmac, even on slicks, but legroom is generous, even for tall riders. Raised, widely spaced clip-ons (60mm higher than the old V2’s) give you plenty of room to move around and are kinder to your wrists. In fact, Ducati says its MotoGP bike’s bars are much higher than you’d expect, just so the riders can brace themselves against the huge braking forces. And when some of them use Panigale V4s as training bikes they complain the bars are too low…

We didn’t get the chance to test the V2 on the road, but it promises to be even more impressive and perhaps the Supersport 950 Ducati should’ve built in the first place. It mixes easy performance with fun, a not-too-brutal riding position and Ducati say there’s far less engine heat spilling out onto the rider than the old machine, too.

Tech spotlight: racy new chassis

Similar to before, the Panigale V2 uses a cast aluminium monocoque airbox frame, with cut-outs for flex, weighing just 4kg. The engine is a stressed member. It's out with the old V2’s single-sided swingarm and in with a delicate V4 Panigale-style hollow ali double sider for less weight and more lateral flex. Braking is taken care of with Brembo M50 four-piston radial calipers that are brutally effective with huge amounts of feel and power.

ABS settings let you disable the rear ABS or slide the rear into corners. New cast ali 17in wheels with a Y-shaped spoke design shod with Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV tyres. Rear size has gone up from the old V2’s 180/60 to a 190/55.

Ducati’s new V-twin makes 118bhp, which might not get the hardened sportsbike fan fizzing, especially in a world where superbikes broke the magic 200bhp mark years ago, but 118bhp shouldn’t be sniffed at. It’s precisely because it doesn’t have insane amounts of power the Panigale V2 is so friendly. It might have more in common with the old 113bhp Supersport 950 on paper, but it’s a genuine modern day supersport bike, from the way it carves through corners, darts to apexes and to the speed the new engine spins up.

Designed as a new-from-the-ground up machine, rather than just sleeving down an existing superbike, Ducati have been able to make the Panigale V2 light and compact, to get the best out of its relatively modest power delivery. It does that beautifully. Acceleration in the first three gears on a bike weighing just 176kg wet (no fuel) isn’t what you’d call sluggish and with its wheelie control turned off it’ll loft a front wheel in the first three gears off the throttle.

The V-twin loves to yell its brains out, but it oozes grunt, too. Ducati says it produces 70% of its torque at 3000rpm and 80% from 4000rpm all the way to 11,000rpm. The new motor has lost some of its traditional Ducati-ness and doesn’t growl and clatter like it used to.

As we discovered with the new Multistrada V2, it has a more modern, refined and almost clinical feel and sound to it. The V-twin still roars through its airbox and race-inspired underseat cans, though, but it’s more subtle…which you can blame Euro 5+ for. On the flip side, the power delivery is friendly and controllable, thanks to the way the V-twin is mapped and the superbike-derived electronic rider aids that lurk within.

Tech Spotlight: A clean sheet

Ducati’s new 118bhp, 890cc motor is their lightest and most compact V-twin. It weighs 54.4kg, which is 9.5kg less than the old V2’s 153bhp ‘Superquadro’ lump. It’s far less powerful, but Ducati says it’s been designed more for street than track use and fits in nicely with new generation supersport rules.

The new engine is rotated 20 degrees back in the chassis for optimal weight distribution, has variable intake valve timing and hollow-stemmed valves for reduced inertia. Spring actuated valves replace the traditional Desmo set-up, as seen on the current Multistrada V4. Ducati says that with the modest revs the V2 runs at it, it doesn’t need the complex system, unlike the Panigale V4. Neat underseat exhaust cans are reminiscent of their factory superbike’s and the Panigale 1299 Final Edition.

Its 96mm x 61.5mm bore and stroke sits in somewhere between the old short-stroke Superquadro V2 and longer-stroke 937cc, 113bhp Testastretta that powered everything from the Monster to the Supersport 950 and Desert X. Ducati claims 53mpg (and a 175-mile range), but we’ll put that to the test when it arrives in the UK soon. The new engine will also power the ‘25 Streetfighter V2 and Multistrada V2 (retuned to make 114bhp), but expect it to roll out to the wider range next year.

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It’s too early to say how durable Ducati’s new V-twin engine is going to be, but its chassis parts and electronics are tried, tested and reliable.

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The Panigale V2 is beautifully built with fastidious attention to detail, deep paint finishes and top-notch chassis parts and electronics…as well it should be for seventeen grand. You may think that’s a lot for a 118bhp sportsbike, but Ducati argue you’re paying for the performance and build quality, more than outright power. With the exception if the MV Agusta F3 800 it’s more expensive than its traditional supersport rivals, including the new £12,250 Yamaha R9.

The high spec V2 S costs £2000 more than the standard model and comes with Öhlins, forks, shock, lightweight battery and single seat. IMU-controlled electronic rider aids include lean sensitive traction, wheelie and engine brake and control, an up/down quick shifter, three-stage ABS and four riding modes: Race, Sport, Road, Wet. A pitlane speed limiter and launch control are available as accessories. A new 5in colour TFT dash has a 16:9 aspect ratio and three display modes: Road, Road Pro and Track, highlighting the relevant information you need.

Road-friendly accessories including cruise control, turn-by-turn navigation, tyre pressure monitors and a USB charging port. There’s also a Time Attack accessory pack that increases power to 124bhp and reduces weight to 169kg wet, no fuel.

It costs £5005.80 and includes a full Termignoni race exhaust, Öhlins steering damper, adjustable billet aluminium rearsets, lower clip-ons, blanking plates for the mirrors and numberplate and engine cover protectors. Ducati’s MotoGP royalty Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez are about to take delivery of their Panigale V2s, which they’ll use to train on in 2025, adorned with these goodies.