This Accessorized Ducati Streetfighter V4 S Will Make You Deaf, Broke and Very Happy
This kitted-out Streetfighter is an expensive and awesome exercise in two-wheeled excess.
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The Ducati Streetfighter V4 S is a ridiculous machine. Then again, with a 208-horsepower V4 and more electronics than a space shuttle, how could it not be? But thankfully, this is also one of the easiest hypernaked bikes to ride, with most of its space-time-warping acceleration happening near its sky-high 14,500-rpm redline.
That easy-to-ride nature is something I've only experienced with a stock V4 S. What happens if you have an unlimited budget for Ducati factory performance parts and accessories? Does it change the character of one of the coolest bikes on sale today? In short, hell yes.
Ducati recently sent me a fully kitted-out Streetfighter V4 S. When I fired it up for the first time outside my peaceful Pasadena home, the noise set off my neighbors' car alarms. I'm not that popular on my block anymore. (That's fine.)
This exhaust is ridiculous. You were warned.
For this Streetfighter, Ducati fitted its questionably legal Termignoni racing exhaust system, which handily made this the loudest motorcycle I've ever ridden. Seriously, I skipped ear plugs one time and I'm still regretting that decision. On a drive up to our favorite photo shoot location, Managing Editor Steven Ewing said he could clearly hear the Ducati humming along behind him, even though he had the windows up and stereo playing in a Ford Explorer . This was at 35 mph in third gear, by the way. It's really, really loud.
That loud, exotic exhaust -- which costs $5,622 -- is good for a claimed 6% increase in horsepower and torque. This Streetfighter had a few other performance parts, such as a race-ready dry clutch ($3,930) that makes it a little harder to ride in traffic, but more importantly, makes the bike sound like a classic Ducati sport bike. This sound could be described as Satan's own tambourine or a washing machine full of car accidents -- and it's incredible.
The stock wheels on the V4 S are gorgeous forged aluminum units that offer plenty of strength and are reasonably lightweight. But Ducati offers factory accessory magnesium wheels from Marchesini, which is what's found on this bike. How much are they? Hold onto your butt: $5,437. They're also 33% lighter than the stock wheels, which on a motorcycle is a substantial difference.
There are a ton of carbon-fiber modifications, like the winglets that save a little bit of weight for $1,492. Add in carbon-fiber frame covers, mud guards, heel guards and instrument binnacle covers, and that's another $3,309.
These magnesium wheels are 33% lighter than the stock ones.
If you're going hog wild on accessories, why stop at carbon? Ducati gets our friend aluminum in on the party with a racing-look fuel filler cap from Rizoma for $245, or a pair of aluminum rearview mirrors, also from Rizoma, for $359. Aluminum brake and clutch reservoirs? Also from Rizoma and $211.
That's a lot of mods already, and yet, the list goes on. A base Streetfighter V4 S is already an expensive motorcycle with a starting price of $25,495. But by the time you finish kitting one out with all the accessories -- as Ducati did here -- you have a bike that costs an eye-watering $44,626. For context, Ducati's own lightweight special V4 S includes things like carbon-fiber wheels and many of the same accessories listed above, but it retails for $35,500.
The riding experience offered by this full-send love letter to Ducati's accessory catalog is in some ways worse than a stock bike. It's unconscionably loud, the clutch is noisy and a little snatchy and you're liable to attract every cop for miles. But it's also unique, and when you're on a canyon road, that roar bouncing off hillsides, it makes you feel like the coolest motorcyclist on the planet. That definitely counts for something.
