Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but we’re big fans of the Ducati Streetfighter V4 around here. The do-it-all naked bike is fast as hell when you want to get crazy, but as docile as a puppy when you don’t. For years, fans of naked bikes have yelled to the hilltops for a manufacturer to build one that was a sportbike without fairings. No neutering, no “re-tuned for torque” BS, just pure naked power – and a handlebar. Ducati has firmly delivered with the Streetfighter V4 and we’ve sung its praises endlessly. Which begs the question: what on earth could Ducati possibly do to warrant yet another press intro and new model launch?
It seems like Ducati won’t stop refining this bike until it becomes telepathic to ride.
Editor Score: 90%
Engine | 20/20 | Suspension | 14/15 | Transmission | 9.5/10 |
Brakes | 9/10 | Instruments | 4.5/5 | Ergonomics | 7.5/10 |
Appearance | 9/10 | Desirability | 9.5/10 | Value | 7/10 |
+ Highs
| – Sighs
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The answer: make it even easier to ride. Ducati, like nearly all manufacturers of big-engined superbikes, understands the rat race to make big power and impress on the dyno sheet, but they also understand that today’s era of 200-plus horsepower motorcycles are a handful to ride. Making them easier to tame will result in not only being able to go faster, but more people being able to go faster, consistently. And when things are easy, people are happy.
As the old adage goes, power is nothing without control, and Ducati has taken this to heart. Now it employs a different approach to all its models, but especially its high-end superbikes and super nakeds. Chasing power is one thing, but the big push is to make it easier for the rider to get the most out of them. This, of course, comes down to electronics. And, right now, Ducati is the best in the game.
This brings us to the 2023 Ducati Streetfighter V4S.
Constant Revisions
The evolution of the Streetfighter closely follows that of the Panigale V4, and if you’ll remember, that bike got a hefty update in 2022 as detailed in
When you break down what it means to make a motorcycle easier to ride, we’re essentially talking about making the connection between the rider’s right wrist and the back tire as telepathic as possible. As you can imagine, that’s not easy when the path from wrist to tire goes through a fire-breathing V4 engine. Fine-tuning of the ride-by-wire mapping is where a lot of this magic happens.
Ducati used the term “Decrescent torque correlation law” when describing its fine-tuning of the throttle. In plain English, the tuning revolves around not only how much power to deliver, but when to deliver it. It’s relatively easy to tune for wide-open throttle – you just give it all the berries. The challenge is calibrating the throttle everywhere else, especially neutral/constant throttle with lean angle thrown in. Unlike a car, whose tire diameter stays constant, a motorcycle tire’s diameter effectively changes as the contact patch moves toward the edge of the tire during lean, this in turn causes the rpm to pick up. With more revs comes a request for more power from the engine, which you may not necessarily want, especially if your right wrist didn’t ask for it (if you were maintaining steady throttle, for example). This extra spike in power, applied when risk is higher (at lean), could upset the tire and cause any number of problems – problems you, the rider, will have to deal with. That makes for a tricky bike to ride.
Of course, rider aids like traction control can, and do, help recover some of those instances, but it would be better if you didn’t have to rely on TC in the first place for a moment that’s preventable. That was Ducati’s goal. Its latest revision for the throttle settings takes lean angles into account, especially during neutral throttle, to maintain the amount of power asked for even when tire diameter changes.
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We instinctively adjust our throttle hand to decrease revs slightly when we don’t want it, but Ducati’s trying to do that for you.
Further contributing to smoother power delivery is Ducati’s ability to now control torque limits in each individual gear. In the past, High and Medium power modes on the Streetfighter and Panigale would still feature torque limits in the first three gears – partially to make the bike easier to manage, but also because Ducati’s internal software would only allow torque limits in groups of three gears (1-3 and 4-6), not individually.
New breakthroughs in Ducati’s software tuning have allowed them to tune torque values in each gear, further refining how power is applied. For those who’ve been clamoring for all the beans, all the time, Ducati’s heard your plea: New for 2023 is the Full Power Mode. As you can guess, this delivers everything the Desmosedici Stradale V4 has, with only a little power and torque reduction in first gear. Because Full power mode is serious business, it’s not attached to any of the Riding Modes. Instead, you have to manually select it on the menu screen. Actually, there’s another new Power Mode – Low. Sitting at the opposite end of the Full mode, Low restricts the bike to 165 horsepower and is intended for low-grip situations.
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Ready to party? Then Full power mode is where you need to be. Ducati purposely didn’t tie Full power mode to any of the riding modes, forcing you to choose it within the menus. Basically stating that you’ve willingly accepted the responsibility.
More revisions come in the way of Ducati’s Engine Brake Control EVO2, which takes into account the load placed on the rear tire. For example, under hard braking, there’s very little weight on the rear tire. The new Engine Brake Control settings factor that in when applying engine back torque. The Ducati Quickshift system is refined, too, also taking riding conditions into account – especially the slower engine speeds seen on the street. Many times quickshifters, even factory ones, are tuned for the track and fast shifts are crisp only at high rpm. Ducati says this new software makes for smoother shifts at street speeds.
The last electronic change is the introduction of the new Track EVO info mode on the TFT dash. Lifted directly from the Panigale, Track EVO mode features a few key components: First is the large gear indicator that sits front and center on the screen. Second are the individual boxes on the right of the screen corresponding to the different rider aids – traction control, wheelie control, slide control, and engine braking. Whenever any of these aids are activated, the individual box will illuminate. This can help the rider fine-tune the level of intervention if they felt one of the aids kicked in too much (or not enough). Third, the green/red shift light at the top of the dash is easy to see. And finally, the lap timer to the left of the gear indicator is large and operates automatically, without the need for the rider to push a button each time they cross start/finish.
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The Track EVO display is the newest display option available for the Streetfighter and lays out everything you need to know while you’re out on track. Look closely and you’ll see the redline is at 15,000 rpm. Except this only applies in sixth gear. The other gears are capped at 14,500 rpm.
What’s (Mostly) The Same
Mechanically, the Streetfighter V4S doesn’t change much from before. The general shape and silhouette is instantly recognizable, and at the heart of it all is Ducati’s Desmosedici Stradale 1103cc V4 engine, pumping out 208 horsepower (claimed), or 176 horses at the wheel the last time we had one on the dyno. Fine-tuning was done in the form of increased tailpipe diameter for reduced exhaust back pressure. The cooling fan also comes on earlier to help not only keep the engine temps under control but to also push the heat away from the rider sooner. Rear cylinder deactivation is still here, but unlike the version used on the new Diavel, the two cylinders only shut off at idle.
There’s a new fuel tank shape with a slightly flatter profile and streamlined shoulders. This new shape also adds one liter, or 0.26 gallons, of extra fuel capacity. The seat is also a little flatter, and while seat height remains the same at 33.3 inches, Ducati says it’s been able to add some more foam for a cushy ride.