2022 Ducati Streetfighter V4 SP First Ride Review - Video

Troy Siahaan
by Troy Siahaan

See and hear Ducati's most track-focused Streetfighter yet, complete with a dry clutch!

When a manufacturer stumbles upon a winning formula, it tends to milk it for all it’s worth. A perfect example can be found under the Ducati umbrella. The Panigale V4S has been one of the company’s best-selling models, and when Ducati decided to give it the SP treatment and fit it with carbon fiber wheels, a dry clutch, and some other premium parts, all of them sold out within a week.

Understandably, seeing that kind of success, the decision was made to apply the same SP touches to the Streetfighter V4S, another hit for Ducati. The same carbon wheels, dry clutch, and visual package on the Panigale transferred over to the Streetfighter, but the Streetfighter V4 SP also received stiffer springs and revised valving at both ends for a more track-focused ride. Of course, if you’ve already read my written review of the 2022 Ducati Streetfighter V4 SP, you’d know that. And more.

Considering the instant success of the Panigale V4 SP, it should come as no surprise that when the Streetfighter V4 SP was announced it, too, sold out super fast. Despite all the bikes being spoken for, Ducati still felt the need for a select group of motorcycle journos to try the bike and tell the rest of the world what it’s like. I, my friends, was the only North American invited for this task.

It’s a high honor indeed, especially since the entire Motorcycle.com staff have loved the Streetfighter V4S so much, rating it at or near the top of every test we’ve put it in. So to experience what a heightened version could pull off would be something special.

The venue? The Cremona Circuit in Northern Italy. While it may not have the cache of so many other Italian racetracks, it’s still a great and challenging layout, with smooth pavement and a nice flow that’s easy to learn but incredibly hard to master. It’s probably why Ducati uses it for their own internal testing.

Curious to see and hear the Streetfighter V4 SP in action? Of course you are. Go click on the video link above and enjoy.

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Troy Siahaan
Troy Siahaan

Troy's been riding motorcycles and writing about them since 2006, getting his start at Rider Magazine. From there, he moved to Sport Rider Magazine before finally landing at Motorcycle.com in 2011. A lifelong gearhead who didn't fully immerse himself in motorcycles until his teenage years, Troy's interests have always been in technology, performance, and going fast. Naturally, racing was the perfect avenue to combine all three. Troy has been racing nearly as long as he's been riding and has competed at the AMA national level. He's also won multiple club races throughout the country, culminating in a Utah Sport Bike Association championship in 2011. He has been invited as a guest instructor for the Yamaha Champions Riding School, and when he's not out riding, he's either wrenching on bikes or watching MotoGP.

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 5 comments
  • Craig Hoffman Craig Hoffman on Jun 18, 2022

    Great report, and riding. That V4 rips through the revs.

    Picked a great time to watch one of these videos on the 4K TV through my rather nice audio system! About as close as I will get to riding one of these.

    • TroySiahaan TroySiahaan on Jun 21, 2022

      Hmm. If you liked that, then maybe it's time we publish some videos in 4K, huh?

  • Mad4TheCrest Mad4TheCrest on Jun 18, 2022

    Enjoyed the review, although I think maybe you could have emphasized just how much this bike is a toy for well-financed Ducatisti, and not so much for the rest of us. That aspect aside, with the exception of the dry clutch, some of the other advantages of the SP might be things you can duplicate or approximate if you already own an 'S'. I'd skip the carbon wheels.

    • See 1 previous
    • Mad4TheCrest Mad4TheCrest on Jun 21, 2022

      "...I don't know if the math checks out in your favor though..."

      I think it might given you then have the choice of which options to include. As I mentioned, I'd skip the carbon wheels and that dry clutch too if you are insisting that as a readily available option. Having owned an SP model (1198SP), there are usually some features you can duplicate in the aftermarket and some you can't, at least not easily. In my old SP's case the hard part to cost-effectively duplicate was the aluminum tank. I am not seeing anything similar on this SP.

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