#StreetfighterV4

Allow me to say it before you do: this is cheating. I know. The Ducati Streetfighter V4 SP is bonkers. And while it technically meets our rules of being available for purchase by the time of posting, it also kinda doesn’t because each of these were spoken for within a week of its release. Sorry.

Did we really need the Ducati Streetfighter V4 to be even trickier and more refined than the one that won last year’s Open Nakeds Shootout with ease? The one that out-horsepowered even the mighty Kawasaki Z H2 – 177 rear-wheel horses to 163? Actually there was room for improvement, as the mighty V4 S finished third in the Track portion of that seven-bike slugfest. But hey, if it’s a track bike you want, maybe you should just go ahead and get the Panigale. Nay, the Streetfighter is the stripped-down street version, and as such we were all bowled over by not just its scintillating performance, but maybe even more by its unexpected boulevard civility. Like having your cake and riding it too.

As we expected earlier this week, Ducati kicked off its 2023 World Première series with a limited edition Streetfighter V4 Lamborghini model. This marks the second tie-in between the two Volkswagen Group brands, following the Diavel Lamborghini model in 2021.

Ducati released a teaser image ahead of its first World Première 2023 episode, with all signs pointing to a new Lamborghini tie-in model based on the Streetfighter V4.

Admit it. You’ve shopped for a motorcycle before and have probably thought to yourself, “what if I checked every option off the list and put it on this bike?” It would be something, wouldn’t it? To have the ultimate version of a motorcycle is the kind of thing dreams are made of. Imagine a world where you spared no expense on your bike and slapped on only the best parts money could buy. Some of us are lucky enough to see that dream become reality. Others, meanwhile, think more modestly and are just happy with the bike we have.

The Ducati Streetfighter V4 lineup is about to add a new, higher-spec SP model. The confirmation comes to us via the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency which listed the Streetfighter V4 SP alongside the Streetfighter V4 and V4S as models certified for 2022.

Perhaps it’s time to change the category’s name since both bikes mentioned here surely classify as hyper-nakeds. With both of these bikes, you get big, burly engines mounted to aggressively styled chassis. For riders who believe that too much of everything is just enough, 2020 is the year for you in naked motorcycles. To our eyes, the Kawasaki Z H2 embodies the best of this category and achieves it through a unique powerplant, making it worthy of the Best Naked Motorcycle MOBO. When we have one in the MO Garage Complex, the boys are always fighting over it. Here’s why:

Ducati announced small updates to its Streetfighter V4 models, making it Euro 5 compliant, and added a new “Dark Stealth” matt black color option for the V4 S. All told, the changes for the 2021 model are pretty subtle, which makes sense for a model introduced just a year ago.

I couldn’t take it anymore. My surroundings were whizzing past my eyeballs quicker than my brain could process. Instead of relenting and slowing down, I thought maybe an upshift would bring the engine speed lower and give me a moment to recalibrate. But before clicking up a gear I had to glance down at the tach to see how fast the engine was spinning. It was somewhere around 10-11,000 rpm. That’s pretty fast for most motorcycles, especially those displacing 1103 cc – but the Desmosedici Stradale inside the 2020 Ducati Streetfighter V4S I’m piloting shows an (indicated) redline of 14,500 rpm. I still had over 4,000 rpm left to melt my brain! Incredible.

Poor Ducati. It seems as though the mystical powers that be simply have something against its new model, the Streetfighter V4. After all the hype surrounding a naked version of the mighty Panigale V4, nothing has gone to plan. First was the death of Carlin Dunne while en route to a commanding victory at the Pikes Peak hill climb, then came the cancellation of the international press intro for the SF V4 at the Ascari Circuit in Spain due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

On Wednesday, March 25 at 10:30 am PST (1:30 pm EST), Ducati will be live-streaming a presentation about the new Streetfighter V4, straight from the designers, engineers, technicians, test riders, and everybody else involved with making it come to life.

Carlin Dunne has died after crashing just before the finish line of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The racer, actor and stuntman was attempting to set a new record in the Hill Climb on a prototype Ducati Streetfighter V4. Through the first three sections of the course, Dunne was well on his way towards setting the record, but a big bump in the road near the finish line caused the front wheel of the Streetfighter V4 prototype to wash out from under him, ending in the disastrous result.

Ducati confirmed a naked version of the Panigale V4 is on the way for 2020, announcing a prototype of the Streetfighter V4 will be entered in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb later this month. Carlin Dunne, who previously won the PPIHC motorcycle class on a Multistrada, will be riding the Ducati Streetfighter V4 prototype in the June 30 race.