V4 Vendetta? Ducati kits out UK cops with Panigale V4

Relax, it's just for Bikesafe training. We hope.

BikeSafe Ducati Panigale V4

REAL COP bikes are very specialised machines. They have lots of alternator power and bigger batteries for radios and lights, top boxes to carry doughnuts and extra stiff suspension to deal with the effects of said doughnuts on the brave officers. Plus a special holder in the top box for the Masonic regalia. Bless them.

So, since it seems to have none of those things, we reckon this logo-ed up Panigale V4 is a wee bit of a PR gimmick, in the time-honoured tradition of such things. Italian carabinieri with Lamborghinis, that kinda setup.

To be fair, it's not a front-line speed-catching beastie, rather it's been donated by Ducati UK to the nationwide BikeSafe scheme, which uses traffic police to help assess and identify training needs for 'normal' riders, in a bid to cut accidents. Here's Ducati UK boss Tim Maccabee handing it over to top cop Nick Adderley, boss of BikeSafe

BikeSafe is fairly laudable stuff, so we're giving a conditional thumbs-up for this one. But we'll be rescinding it if we see this thing up our arse on the M40, pulling us for 78 in a 70...

More info on BikeSafe here.