Tiny RC Panigale V4 Wheelies Its Way Into Your Heart

Were you into RC vehicles before you got into bikes you can ride on? If so, you might recall that while there are plenty of cool RC cars, trucks, and aircraft, RC bikes have traditionally been a little less impressive. Part of that is because a bike has to balance on two wheels. Unfortunately, most RC motorcycles tend to end up on their sides when they’re not running. You might get used to it, but at the same time, you know that’s never what you want on a real bike. 

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Enter the Spinmaster Upriser Ducati Panigale V4 S RC. While most other RC motorcycles can only self-balance while they’re in motion, Spin Master developed its own tech solution to make the Upriser stand up tall, even when it’s standing still. 

Gallery: Ducati Upriser Panigale V4 S RC

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According to Gizmodo, industrial designer Daryl Tearne got inspired several years ago, while he was watching machines loading cargo onto planes at LAX. These machines used “a series of flush-mounted wheels to spin and reposition heavy containers with ease.” If you look closely at the rear tire of the Upriser, you’ll see that Tearne and his team took that idea and ran with it to make their self-balancing RC bike a reality. Omnidirectional tiny wheels inside the big rear rubber wheel make the magic possible.

This innovation in RC motorcycling not only allows the Upriser to self-balance at standstills. It also means that you, the operator, have a greater degree of fine control over what you can make your tiny bike do. Spin Master boasts in the video above that wheelies, burnouts, and drifts are all fairly easy to accomplish using the included controller. In fact, that controller has a shoulder button on the right side which, depending on the bike’s positioning, can either be used for drifting or for wheelies. 

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At a price tag of $150, it isn’t cheap, but if you get deep into RC vehicles of any kind as a hobby, those prices and mods can quickly add up. Sound familiar? For an RC motorcycle that seems fairly innovative, I can definitely see the appeal of this toy. Maybe you want it for yourself, or maybe you’re a Ducatista who wants to get the child in your life into your club while they’re young—and doesn’t mind spending $150 to do it. What’s wrong with building moto aspirations in future riders? That seems like something we should encourage.

Sources: YouTube, Gizmodo, Spin Master

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