The Twin is dead… Long live the Twin!
Ah, Ducati. Even though I’m not an old git just yet, for me it’s always been a brand synonymous with twins; I mean, when I was a nipper the look and sound of Dad’s old 916 sitting in the garage was one of the reasons I ended up constantly wanting to get out on two wheels. Something about them is just special, and I can’t quite put my finger on what…which is strange, considering I’ve actually owned an 899 Panigale and still have a V2 race bike in my life – both housing glorious Italian twin-cylinder powerplants.
Yet even so, back in ’18, Ducati ditched their V-twin configuration in their Panigales, and now in 2021, it looks to be the final nail in the coffin of their twin-cylinder big-bored beasts, as the Multistrada has headed over to the dark side with anew V4 engine. But the question is, is it really the dark side? I mean, yeah, since the ‘modern’ era of Superbike was sculpted all the way back in’88, twins have been pretty damn dominant in one guise or the other. But tradition can’t stand in the way of progress, and with nine years now since the last World Superbike Championship (which is a mahoosive deal for manufacturers, especially Ducati) something obviously had to change.
And no matter how much of a sucker for twins we are, let’s face it, the V4 configuration is not only a pretty nifty and compact design, but it also means that with a smaller, sharper area it is better at being a stressed member of the chassis – which is a key feature in the Panigale’s handling armoury. I mean, even looking back further, they must be pretty good as even Ducati’s MotoGP monster, the Desmosedici, has been a V4 since it leapt on to the scene back in 2003. So yeah, we can gather that in today’s 220+ horsepower bursting Superbike world, the V-twin has run out of mustard when it comes to the very top flight of racing. But that’s not the question we’re asking today; I don’t care if the engine saves a tenth or two when brutalised in £180k worth of Superbike. I care whether the engine is better for us mere mortals on the roads, which is exactly why we’ve rounded up two of the most glorious, stunning examples of each engine config we could get our greasy mitts on. In the red corner representing the new breed of V4s we have the Panigale V4 25° Anniversario 916, while the V-twin is represented by the one, the only…the Panigale 1299 Final Edition. Let battle commence…
DUCATI 1299 PANIGALE R FINAL EDITION
It seems only fair that we use the very best to represent the glorious days of the ’twin, which is exactly why we picked the Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition; the very last full-throated, range-topping V-twin to make its way off the assembly line in Bologna.
And what a weapon it is; essentially, the FE was derived from the 1299 Superleggera, which means it comes equipped with a load
