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FastestThings

Motorcycles

Ducati Panigale V4 S

MCN's GPS test of the 2018–2019 Panigale V4 S recorded 191.3 mph at Bruntingthorpe. The later brochure does not print a top speed.

Also known as Panigale V4 S
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Top speed

Published as 191.3 mphPublished as 191.3 mphPublished as 191.3 mph

MCN's 2018–2019 Panigale V4 S test at Bruntingthorpe. Bruce Dunn's 2D datalogger recorded a GPS 191.3 mph when the bike hit the limiter in top gear. The specification table rounds that run to 191 mph. The later brochure does not print a top speed, so this entry is the 2018–2019 test.

VerifiedMotorcycle News (opens source in a new tab)

In context

  • 2.9× a cheetah's timed top speedSourced · Cheetah, 29 m/s. Sharp 1997, mean of three timed runs over 201.2 m
  • A football field in 1.1 sConstant · American football field, 100 yd (91.44 m)
  • London to New York in 18 h 6 minConstant · London to New York, 5,570 km great-circle

Worked out from the sourced figure above, which stays the ranked number.

This list

Why it's so fast

A motorcycle is fast because the air only has to get around a rider and a fairing, not a cabin. The engine still has to stay in its power band, and many of the big numbers are factory limiters.

  1. A small hole in the air

    Less frontal area means less drag for a given speed. The rider's tuck is part of the shape. A sitting-up test is a different motorcycle.

  2. Limiters are common

    A published top speed on a modern sport bike is often an electronic cap the makers agreed to, not the speed the engine would reach with the cap removed.

The capped one people mean is the Suzuki Hayabusa.

This is how the category works. A note written for this entry appears here once it is in the database.

Provenance

Every measurement

Claimed, measured and official figures side by side, each with its source. The ranked figure is marked.

  1. 308km/h191.3mph85.5m/s166knRanked figure

    MCN's 2018–2019 Panigale V4 S test at Bruntingthorpe. Bruce Dunn's 2D datalogger recorded a GPS 191.3 mph when the bike hit the limiter in top gear. The specification table rounds that run to 191 mph. The later brochure does not print a top speed, so this entry is the 2018–2019 test.

    Verified
    Motorcycle News (opens source in a new tab)

Reference

Specs

Model
2018–2019 Panigale V4 S
Test
MCN GPS, 191.3 mph
Not ranked
A later brochure with no vmax

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