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Have you ever asked a leathery old bike fogey about the most impressive motorcycle they’ve ever ridden? The story is often the same.
It was a friend’s two-stroke Kawasaki triple or a nephew’s Japanese sport bike. “Holy smokes I tell ya once you got up to [insert rpm/mph] that sucker’d pull the white off rice!” This disease occurs when a blend of hubris and unsteady confidence leaks into the brain over time. It’s a condition that is largely benign and undiagnosed, though it can be annoying for friends and family, sort of like being an alcoholic or a vegan. Onset can happen earlier and be more prominent in so-called motorcycle journalists, like myself. I think I know better than any of you plebes, y’see, stuck with merely your own garage of bike(s).
Every moto journo out there will end up on the same proverbial park bench, feeding pigeons and telling anyone who will listen about how the best bike they ever rode was the fastest thing that ever happened on two wheels. I’ll probably be there someday. Or maybe I won’t, and maybe this Ducati Streetfighter V2 is part of the reason why.
When I rode the Panigale V2 at the Jerez MotoGP circuit a few years ago my takeaway was that the bike was better for almost everyone very much because it doesn’t have the most horsepower. “Look at me” I said to myself, exiting one of the famous sweepers at *Hereth*, “I’m holding the throttle wide open, like a real performance rider.” It has all the whizbangery of a premium sport bike with much less power, and for that reason it can make anyone feel like a bit of a hero.
In the press presentation for this Streetfighter V2 there’s a quote, from one Michael Ruben Rinaldi, rider for Ducati World Superbike and user of too many first names. It reads “The Streetfighter V2 gives a sensation of high confidence and control. It allows me to be fast and constant during many laps without getting tired.” Did you catch that? A “sensation” of control. Italians love sensations.
But it’s true. There is a feeling that as you push the limits of the bike you have more command over the situation. If you go to any flat-track riding school, where the idea is to learn how to slide and control a machine as it loses traction, the bikes are always small and slow. Texas Tornado Boot Camp, Rich Oliver’s Mystery School, American Supercamp, each of those programs turns students loose on two-thirds-scale Yamaha TT-R125s. Small. Slow. Fun.
Now, this Streetfighter V2 is a far cry from a piddly little dirt bike. It’s premium, and capable, as our contributor Rich Taylor documented when he rode the bike at the global press launch. It’s got loads of power and highly sophisticated electronics. More than enough, in my opinion. Three ride modes? I think two would be just fine.
The adjustability offered in the menu is typical Ducati, meaning it allows the rider to choose whatever level of IMU-informed rider aids to be applied to whatever ride mode. You want Sport mode to have the least power possible? With wonky combinations of engine braking, no-rear-ABS, wheelie control on, and the quick shifter off? Customize to your heart’s content, Ducatisti, and relish in knowing that others cannot.
Plus, the really basic stuff is well done. The brakes are great and the seat is equally great. Maybe most impressive, it does all of this while living in the shadow of its larger sibling, the spot-stealing Streetfighter V4. It’s second fiddle, in plenty of ways. So it’s fast and fancy, but not so much to make you notice.
One nice thing about being outside that spotlight, though, is that this V2 version isn’t saddled with the responsibility of being, or chasing, some ultimate performance. It’s supposed to be dumbed down, easier for those who aren’t ready (either physically or financially) for the highest possible specification that Ducati offers. Simply put, it makes more sense than its big brother.
Being a purebred naked sport bike, it must have asked an awkward question for Ducati’s speed-drunk engineers: Aside from performance, what do people want? Anybody? Yes, exactly, “sensations.” The really keen trick that the Streetfighter V2 is able to pull off is that it feels aggressive. It doesn’t act like a second fiddle, it plays just as passionately, as though it is set squarely in the middle of the spotlight.
Being the only other Ducati twin to share the Superquadro design, the V2 mimics a lot of the Panigale’s bellicose nature. It’s quick to rev and sometimes slow to start. Throttle response is crisp, or a little abrupt if we’re not being polite. The suspension is stiff, even for a 200-pound rider, and initially it fights leaning over a little bit, as though you have to prove how much you want it before it obeys. The clutch engagement zone is narrow. The seat is tall. With the electronics turned off it’ll snap wheelie in first gear.
If you don’t see those things as charming then you won’t appreciate that the dash is largely good but a little too quirky for a motorbike with an MSRP of $17,995. It also doesn’t have a fuel gauge and the mirrors suck. Where does the charm end and the resentment begin? For me, it’s almost all good, even though some of it is bad. I’ve spent plenty of time reaching for words to describe how much I like bikes that are fast but not the fastest, and I always come up a little short, but with the Streetfighter V2, I think I can put my finger on why.
It takes that tiny step toward benevolence, just a whiff of mini-bike-in-the-backyard that makes me feel more comfortable. I am less tired after riding it, because I have a sensation of confidence and control — just like Michael and/or Ruben. And yet, crucially, it doesn’t act timid or even less raucous than any other flagship naked sport bike I’ve ever ridden. There is less complexity and less power, but with the same regal attitude. There is pride, without having all of the acclaim and accolades.
Maybe that’s why I like the Ducati Streetfighter V2, and bikes like it, because they will save me from myself. It might just be the reason that I’m not the same old motorcyclist that we’ve all come to know, telling everyone how it used to be. “It wasn’t the fastest thing around,” I’ll tell the grandkids someday, as they look at their phones and watches, “but it made me feel like I knew what I was doing.” And then their little eyes will twinkle as they ask, “When’s mom coming home?”
| 2023 Ducati Streetfighter V2 | |
|---|---|
| Price (MSRP) | $17,995 Ducati Red, $18,195 Storm Green |
| Engine | 955 cc, eight-valve desmodromic, liquid-cooled L-twin |
|
Transmission, final drive |
Six-speed, chain |
| Claimed horsepower | 153 @ 10,750 rpm |
| Claimed torque | 74.8 foot-pounds @ 9,000 rpm |
| Frame | Aluminum monocoque |
| Front suspension | Showa BPF 43 mm fork, adjustable for preload, compression, and rebound; 4.72 inches of travel |
| Rear suspension | Sachs monoshock, adjustable for preload, compression, and rebound; 5.12 inches of travel |
| Front brake | Dual Brembo Monobloc M4.32 four-piston calipers, 320 mm discs, with Bosch cornering ABS |
| Rear brake | Two-piston caliper, 245 mm disc, with Bosch cornering ABS |
| Rake, trail | 24.0 degrees, 3.7 inches |
| Wheelbase | 57.7 inches |
| Seat height | 33.3 inches |
| Fuel capacity | 4.5 gallons |
| Tires | Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV, 120/70R17 front, 180/60ZR17 rear |
| Measured weight | 449 pounds wet |
| Available | Now |
| Warranty | 24 months, unlimited mileage |
| More info | ducati.com |
