This is a Ducati Panigale V4 Speciale, one of a limited run of 1500 worldwide. The Speciale is the very top of the Ducati superbike range, with tech developed from their learning in MotoGP racing. Brimming with technology, achingly beautiful, and with 226bhp, it is more powerful than MotoGP bikes of just a few years ago. The Panigale is the first mass produced 4 cylinder Ducati motorcycle, based on their racing Desmosedici engine. (For fact fans, desmosedici essentially translates as ’16 valves working together’).
At Auto Curators, we are used to having the rare and unusual in our Studios. However, even for us, this stunning motorcycle was a treat. We love motorcycle detailing, having owned bikes ourselves, and always welcome the opportunity to work on one. When it happens to be an Italian superbike coming to us for Xpel Ultimate Plus PPF, we couldn\’t be happier.
The brief
Before transporting the bike to us, our client hadn\’t ridden the bike at all, but has plans to enjoy this machine to the full. In addition, he purchased a spare set of lower fairings to fit for track use. Above all he wants to enjoy using his Ducati Panigale, whilst keeping it looking like it does here. Therefore, we recommended PPF installation using Xpel Ultimate Plus film, together with our Signature ceramic coating as a perfect solution.
Preparation
As it was un-ridden (apart from the dealer PDI process), the bike was clean except for a sprinkling of road grime picked up from being on an open trailer. We placed the Ducati Panigale on paddock stands as they are the best way to hold the bike securely upright. It was given a rinseless wash using Auto Curators Rapid Cleanse, before bring dried with an air blower. All surfaces were than carefully wiped with a degreaser to ensure perfect cleanliness.
Carrying out paint correction on a bike can be tricky, thanks to small and complicated panel shapes. Thankfully, our Rupes iBrid Nano polisher is perfectly made for this sort of thing.
The paint was in reasonable condition upon close inspection, with only minor marring defects were present. We made sure the issues were all gone before continuing, knowing the potential this paint has to look utterly amazing. The little Rupes machine makes light work of defects with a good safety margin, so makes it invaluable for this sort of work.
Installing PPF
Xpel UK are planning to vastly expand their excellent PPF pattern database to include more bikes. Thankfully the Ducati Panigale V4 Speciale had already been in their hands. The patterns they provide are wonderfully comprehensive, offering excellent protection for the most vulnerable areas. We used Xpel Ultimate Plus film, except the satin carbon fibre mudguard, where we used Xpel Stealth satin PPF.
The beautifully patterned film is cut in house, using our state of the art Graphtec plotter. The plotter scores through the film allowing us to easily remove each part for installation.
We use a special solution called ‘slip’ as the film is removed from the backing sheet, to prevent it sticking to the panel until it’s in the perfect position. The fluid is then gradually forced out from under the PPF using a rubber squeegee.
The panels above are the spare belly pan fairings for track use, therefore are a slightly different shape to accommodate a race exhaust system. Consequently we found it\’s a lot easier to apply PPF to panels that are not a moving target!
The result
With the Xpel Ultimate Plus PPF installation complete, we coated any uncovered surfaces with our ceramic Auto Curators Signature Coating. Although this Ducati Panigale will lead a pampered life, not exposed to bad weather and salty roads, for example, we made sure it has the best protection available, everywhere possible.
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