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THIS VIDEO HAS BEEN MADE BY LUCA
BEFORE HIS INCIDENT.
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HIS FAMILY DECIDED TO PUBLISH IT,
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CONVINCED HE WOULD ALSO BE HAPPY ABOUT IT
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AS WOULD HIS YOUTUBE FRIENDS.
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You don't always get
to ride around Mugello
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completely on your own,
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riding the fastest new
production bike Ducati has ever created.
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Or rather, they back there,
the engineers, call it that.
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Will it be true?
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To test it, we will arm ourseòves
with a stopwatch,
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for a direct comparison on the same track
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between the old V4S
and the new amazing V4S.
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The crazy thing is that you can see
the differences just by looking at them.
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Oh, and more importantly,
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it will not only be the same track,
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but also the same tires
and the same conditions.
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They have included the much-discussed
double-sided swingarm.
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Will it have been of any use?
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Today, I'm at Mugello to find out.
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Let's go.
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So, here are my first feelings
while riding.
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It's weird, it's not like
the other evolutions it had.
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It feels like getting on another bike,
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it takes a little bit to...
get a feel for it, to understand it.
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The first thing I can tell you
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is the awesome step forward
of the electronics.
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It's no longer an electronic
that you feel working,
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that you feel sometimes,
when you overdo it.
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Let's play a game now.
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In two turns,
I will open in second gear,
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full speed, leaning.
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Here you see my brake,
throttle and lean angle.
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I show you how you can open
the throttle with DTC1 smoothly
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and at what angle.
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It's impressive.
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Second gear, inside the turn.
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55 degrees, more or less.
Full throttle.
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Impressive!
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Second hairpin.
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Angle.
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Fifty degrees.
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Full gas.
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Do you understand what it's like?
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I use the throttle like a button
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and the bike just follows it.
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I don't really know how or what to say.
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I try to show you things
in a practical way,
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not just talking.
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I already know the old guard will say,
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"Now electronics do everything.”
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Guys, to go fast you have to drive anyway,
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electronics gives you a hand
in terms of safety
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and in terms of enjoyment of the ride,
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without the risk
of throwing yourself in the air.
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But I, as a rider, I can tell you,
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you don't feel it working,
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which was particularly noticeable
on the previous version.
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And I haven't told you about
the other crazy thing.
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In ABS1 there is a system
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that brakes with the rear brake
at our place,
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to help us all the way to the middle
of the corner to hold the apex,
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and you really feel it,
it's unbelievable.
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For those who say,
“Eh I can't use the rear brake,”
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now the bike does that too.
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And you say “It's going to be
for amateurs, right?”
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Like hell!
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We riders need
a little bit of help in insertion,
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to take weight off the front,
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sending the rear end
a bit sideways,
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and this bike does it!
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Check it out.
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Sideways!
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Just enough, just what you need,
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to help you accompany the bike on entry.
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Gas!
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Given the wind and the mess,
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on track I can't make long speeches.
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So, the focal point of the motorcycle
that I think is a huge step forward-
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I want to try to explain it
here in studio
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with all the calm in the world.
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The huge step forward,
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the thing when you get on it
you say,
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“I can feel it right away!”,
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is that with the old V4S, to make it turn,
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you had to go hard with the gas,
to put it simply.
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So at maximum angle you have to be
very aggressive with the gas
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to break the grip and turn the bike.
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With this new V4S it's all much easier,
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because there isn’t any
opening the gas to turn the bike.
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It was critical with the old model,
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since it was struggling to turn
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and when you opened the gas you were
pinned towards the outside of the corner.
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With this it doesn't happen,
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because the bike turns so much better
in the middle of the corner.
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So, we can get the bike up sooner,
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we can open the throttle more safely
because we have less lean angle.
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In short, everything’s easier
and much less tiring.
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And what is the amazing thing?
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If in the past it was rightly said,
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“Yes, but this can be done
by a rider only”,
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“The bike can only be exploited by those
who hit the gas seriously,
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those who ride in 1’51 at Mugello”.
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This is where the substantial
difference lies, instead.
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It is true that the amateur bends less,
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brakes less hard and all these things,
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and the gap with the rider
is very stressed.
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But there’s the addition
of the combined rear brake,
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which of course you can also disengage.
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The amateur usually
can't lean at 62 degrees
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and therefore can't turn the bike
as he should,
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but thanks to the combined rear brake,
even without high lean degrees,
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the bike turns,
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because the rear brake
stays slightly in action
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even when we have let off
the brake after insertion,
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and until we go to pick up the throttle,
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it continues to work
to make us close the corner.
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This thing here is crazy,
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because it will narrow so much the gap
between the riders and the amateurs.
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I tried going slower than my pace
to see how it works,
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and it's insane.
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At that point I disengaged it
to try to do some fast laps.
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The moment you exploit the bike,
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you bend at 62 degrees and all that,
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the bike turns because it's better
in terms of chassis,
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and everything we said.
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In short, the bike helps us,
no matter our level.
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Awesome.
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So, “Why don't you do a bomb ride
with new tires on with the old one,
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and another with the new one?
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That way,
in addition to talking and telling,
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we also have a chronometric match.”
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Of course we will,
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but first I have to explain to you
what was the feeling while riding,
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'cause there is a technical reason
why there has been this evolution.
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Every year, each bike presentation
always seems to be,
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“It's better here, it's better there.”
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No.
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There is a whole story to be told here.
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Let's start with the first biggest step
that I told you about,
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electronics.
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The reasons why there has been
this step are mainly two,
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because the electronic talk derives
directly from the modern MotoGP bikes,
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not like the old bike,
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which showed somehow old concepts
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that you had to update.
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Another important thing,
the change in tires.
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We went from a project that started
with 200/60 Pirellis
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and ended up having to fit 200/65s,
the so-called big tires,
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which obviously were not optimized
for the old V4S.
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Here there was a study here like MotoGP.
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The bike is built and designed
for the use of certain tires.
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And that's also why the step was so huge.
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Now you might say,
“But what the heck changed in the end?"
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Guys, pretty much everything.
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Double-sided swingarm,
already seen.
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Completely revised front frame,
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because when you change the rear area,
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the front also needs an upheaval.
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It is much more flexible
than its predecessor.
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Revised Ohlins suspension, version 3.0,
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so another step forward.
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All electronic calibrations, abs-
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redone all over again,
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and the feeling while riding
is incredible indeed.
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The anti-wheeling leaves you
two inches off the ground,
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the bike floats, it doesn't have
those tugs that we know so well,
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with those malfunctioning electronics.
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I mean, the traction-
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you have seen how it works:
I can pass from 30 to 100,
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like a switch, and nothing happens.
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You can well think
how everything else works.
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Other goodies-
monoshock's link also completely revised.
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New brembo calipers, they are the first
to go on a supersport bike.
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Probably in the future
they will fit other bikes.
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And then also the aesthetics,
the dashboard.
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How cool is that?
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It's a spaceship, basically.
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Another very important point- ergonomics.
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As soon as I got comfortable,
widening the handlebars,
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and got comfortable in the saddle,
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it was amazing.
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At first it feels a bit more comfortable
than the other one,
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because you have more room at the rear,
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you feel a little more relaxed.
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But then you realize that everything
is made to perform at its best.
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The whole thing makes you
tire less on your arms,
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you're able to push more
with your leg on the tank
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to get the bike follow you.
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With this curvature you can really
lock on to the tank when braking,
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taking weight off your arms so much more.
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Anyway, I'm really sick and tired
of standing here talking.
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Let's go for the best lap
with the old bike and the new one.
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Vamos!
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Final thoughts, guys.
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What a lap!
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I was expecting 1'55,
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for sure not 1'54 with an overtake
and also a mistake.
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I had one set of tires only.
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For sure, knowing it a little bit better
and having a second chance
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I could do a little bit better,
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however it is 1'54.6., 1'54.5,
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with a bike with the original exhaust.
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Show it.
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Euro 5 plus.
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I don't know what potential it can have
if you set it right for you,
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and especially if you can work on
the engine, geometry and so on.
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With the old V4S, I want to be honest,
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I could push it a little more,
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however it got a little hot,
as it was half an hour later,
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so maybe let's give it a 3-4 tenths
as benefit of the doubt.
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It still would have been
7-8 tenths of a difference.
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Perception is really
a pronounced difference.
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For a rider, tenths are very important,
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and it's geological eras
between one bike and the other.
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It's not even
the dry lap that's important,
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but the ease with which
you can replicate your performance.
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So, you pick and choose
for yourselves which one's the best.
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The stopwatch, however, said 1.2 seconds.
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Okay, guys!
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I hope you enjoyed this review.
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Let me know in the comments.
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As usual, hit the gas!
See you in the next video.