Ducati's New Panigale V2 S Isn't the Same BeastMark VaughnDuacti is like the Ferrari of the motorcycle world. Maybe better. It has won over 40 world championships across MotoGP and World Superbike, combining both Riders' and Manufacturers' titles. Its dominance spans premier Grand Prix motorcycle racing and production-based superbike racing—and, with a few gaps here and there, it's always been like that."Guided by legendary engineer Fabio Taglioni, the brand grew from 1950s 'Marianna' single-cylinder road racers into an iconic powerhouse defined by L-twin desmodromic engines, dominant World Superbike championships, and premier MotoGP world titles," the company says.You'll find a lot of that history in the Panigale V2 S, the subject of our ride today.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Ducati Panigale V2 S is classified as a lightweight supersport, with an 890cc 90-degree V2 that makes 120 hp and 69 lb-ft of torque. That in a bike that Ducati says weighs just 388 lbs (wet but without fuel; add four gallons of gas at 24 pounds and the weight is 412 pounds ). It rides on a premium Öhlins suspension, stopped by Brembo monoblock brakes, held in an aluminum monocoque frame, and kept off its sides by lean-sensitive electronics.Up at Newcomb's.Mark VaughnIt sounds good on paper, but it's changed. Five years ago, when I rode the previous model, that bike felt better. That's not just a subjective call. Displacement in the new Panigale V2 went from 955 ccs to 890, while power output dropped from 155 to the aforementioned 120, the least-powerful Panigale sport bike Ducati has ever made. That's because of changes brought by ever-more-strict emissions requirements in Europe.The riding position segued from pure sport in the previous model to a more comfortable, slightly more upright posture—on the old bike you were slathered over the tank like mayonnaise on an Italian submarine sandwich; on the new one you're more like floppy lettuce.The new bike is 33 pounds lighter. The compact aluminum monocoque frame that replaces the trellis of yore utilizes the engine as a stressed structural member of the chassis, which helps save weight. The frame itself weighs just 8.8 pounds, the engine 120 pounds (9.4 fewer).Mark VaughnThe bike looks lovely, of course, all shiny red bodywork and glowing red cowlings with black mirrors and wheel fenders, contrasted by those bright gold Ohlins shocks.AdvertisementAdvertisementAnd yet, riding the new 2026 Panigale V2 S, the experience was wholly different. Five years ago I was in love. I even titled that review, "How I Fell in Love with a Ducati Panigale." I spent every day of the week I had it riding up and down Angeles Crest Highway, up to and including the last day I had with it, when I planned to the minute bike delivery specialist Cameron Neff was coming with his flatbed to tow it away.At first I thought it had to be some anomaly. When a fellow rider who had the exact same press bike said that the tire pressures in the Pirelli Diablo Rosso IVs had been too low and the ride experience changed as soon as he pumped them up, I asked for it back, set the pressures exactly to factory spec, and rode off again. It was better, my pressures had, indeed, been low (why didn't I check them???), but the overall experience still wasn't as rapturous as the first time I rode one five years ago.That was not from lack of trying. You can adjust the new Panigale V2 eight ways from Sunday. You can set your own ride mode—wet, sport, race—you can adjust engine power, wheelie control, ABS, and you can set the fully adjustable rear monoshock exactly to your liking and load.Yet it was too comfortable, too civilized. Not enough to be a touring bike, but not the same extreme sportbike it was. As miserable as you were riding the old bike around in the city, once you got it onto a real mountain road it was perfect. It beckoned you to lean into corners, farther and farther, till you were almost thwapping the wooden tops of the Armco stanchions. The new bike is good, just not the same religious experience its predecessor offered.Ducati press shot showing it off on the track.DucatiIs there something better out there? In terms of similar displacement bikes, there's the Yamaha YZF-R9, with an 890cc liquid-cooled, DOHC, 12-valve inline-triple making 119 hp at 10,000 rpm and 69 lb-ft of torque at 7,000 revs with a weight of 441 pounds; the Kawasaki Z900 RS has a 948cc inline-four making 115 hp at 9,300 and 73 lb-ft at 7,700 with a weight of 476 pounds; and the BMW F 900 XR offers an 895cc twin making 105 hp at a lower 8,500 rpm and 68 lb-ft at just 6,500.AdvertisementAdvertisementAll good bikes that you would not be disappointed to ride. And the Ducati outperforms them on the spec sheet and maybe even on the road, depending on what you're looking for. Those competitors are made to be more comfortable, even daily riders.But if what you're looking for is the old Panigale V2, you won't find it. You'll find instead a very competent, beautiful bike that you can even enjoy riding every day and have fun with it in the canyons, but if you remember the old one, it's possible you might be disappointed.Blame emissions regulations.