Ducati Drag Race: Panigale V4 R Takes On A Streetfighter V4 S At The Strip

The alphabet isn't the only place where R comes before S.

Jul 27, 2020 at 7:00pm ET

2 min read

Let’s say you have as much money as you’d need to buy yourself either a shiny new Ducati Panigale V4 R or a Streetfighter V4 S. How would you choose? Granted, there’s a US $16,000 difference between the two (Panigale V4 R MSRP is $40,000, while the Streetfighter can be had for the comparative bargain price of $23,995), which is certainly not an insignificant amount.

Still, it’s the difference between a claimed 234 horsepower, 83 lb.-ft of torque, and a dry weight of 379 pounds on the Panigale V4 R vs. the 208 horsepower, 90.4 lb.-ft of torque, and a dry weight of 392 pounds on the Streetfighter V4 S. Side note: Who gains weight when they get naked? Apparently, Ducati’s V4.

Anyway, you probably have a good idea of what’s going to happen in this drag race video, and I’m not here to tell you that it ends differently than you’re expecting. There’s no surprise upset; the Streetfighter V4 S doesn’t suddenly upend all expectations and thoroughly trounce the Panigale V4 R in its quarter-mile performance. Even on multiple runs, it’s pretty clear that the Panigale V4 R is significantly faster.

Bennetts Bikesocial moto journo Michael Mann recruited BSB racer Tommy Bridewell to help him thoroughly pit the two V4s against one another at the strip. Mann says he’s an average-paced rider on track days in the fast group, so for anyone concerned about the gap between their two respective abilities, the two do switch bikes between speed runs.

On the first run, Mann is aboard the Panigale V4 R, while Bridewell tests the mettle of the Streetfighter V4 S. While there’s a fairly close gap between the two at the end, the V4 R still wins the day. After watching Race Two, you can easily explain away how close that Race One gap was by the simple fact of Bridewell’s racing experience.

In Race Two, it’s Bridewell on the V4 R and Mann on the V4 S, and it’s there that those speed and performance cracks are incredibly pronounced. Bridewell pulls a 10.050-second quarter mile time on the V4 R, while Mann brings the Streetfighter in at a time of 11.236 seconds. Contrast that with Race One, where Mann did a 10.233-second quarter mile on the Panigale and Bridewell pulled a much closer 10.516-second time on the Streetfighter.

There are plenty of other factors to consider when you’re bike-shopping, but if you were wondering just how much faster the Panigale V4 R is, now you have a pretty good idea.

Source: YouTube