When you think about your perfect dune weapon, what comes to mind?
No matter what your answer is, I'm guessing it probably doesn't contain the words "Ducati" and "Panigale" and "V4," or any combination thereof. And yet, that's exactly why it's the next weapon of choice for Matt "Let's Make All The Bikes Do Things They're Not Supposed To" Spears.
At the tail end of one of previous videos, we had an extremely short glimpse as he picked up a totaled Panigale V4 from his favorite powersports shop, complete with a promise that we'd get to see his plans for it very soon. And now, to send out 2024 in style—at least as we're writing this—we're getting to see just what's become of what's possibly the world's least likely sandrail.
The engine works beautifully, and that's really the most important thing to know about this previously crashed Panigale. Spears and his buddies swapped the front end, stuck a 21-inch spoked front wheel on it, and also added a paddle tire on the rear wheel. You know, as you do when you're prepping your Panigale V4 to go rip some frozen dunes. Which I'm sure you're probably doing right now, right? Right. (Just kidding; don't try this at home, insert standard disclaimer here.)
Were you suffering from a woefully wheelie-free holiday season? No worries; you'll get more than your fill in this video. There's also a special appearance from Piggy, the off-road Gold Wing, toward the end. Spoiler: These conditions, uh, don't go well for that particular heckin chonker of a motorbike, but you'll have to watch the video to see exactly what I mean.
One more thing: If you've ever visited any dunes in (or on) any vehicle, you'll probably know this already. But in case you don't, I'm here to tell you that action cameras tend to flatten out the inclines, declines, and general sense of scale of places like this.
Toward the beginning of the video, Matt and his buddy Kev mention that they're in the baby dunes of the area they went to, and that they're going to head a little way away to get to the big dunes and really test the Panigale to its limits.
But watching it from the warmth and comfort of wherever you are right now, you might not see much of a difference. There most likely is, though; and thinking about hitting big dunes on a bike with this much power is its own special kind of wonder/terror. As Matt says too during the course of this video, he hasn't really ridden this bike much before now, so he's still getting a feel for how it delivers its power in the first place.
If you've ever wanted to see a Ducati Panigale V4 dance (for real) across frozen dunes, this is the video for you.
Happy New Year! Take this energy with you into 2025, please.
