Question of the Day: Single-sided or Double-Sided Swingarms
The classic form versus function debate
A couple of weeks ago, Ducati pulled the covers off its seventh-generation superbike, the 2025 Panigale V4 and V4 S. The new Panigale introduced a number of changes to the engine, chassis and electronics, aimed at pushing the performance envelope even further. There was one particular change that we knew was going to be polarizing: the change from a single-sided swingarm to a double-sided swingarm.
As a commenter said in our first look post: “It's hard to argue with technical progress in superbikes designed as a basis for racing, but I will anyway. It's a mistake to ditch the single-sided swingarm. An extra second a lap may be a big deal, but not so much when your current bike is already at the sharpest end of the competition. Is Ducati willing to trade off hundreds of sales to get that second?”
An SSSA is definitely eye-catching, but also has some practical benefits in being easier for changing tires or chain maintenance. On the other hand, a double-sided swingarm (DSSA) is usually simpler, less expensive to manufacture, offers more balanced rigidity, and in some cases, is lighter despite having a second arm.
In the case of the new Panigale, Ducati says its DSSA (dubbed the Ducati Hollow Symmetrical Swingarm) is both lighter and offers 37% less lateral stiffness than the previous SSSA. Ducati says it developed both a SSSA and a DSSA, and the feedback from test riders prompted the move to a double-sided unit. From a purely aesthetic standpoint, the new swingarm isn’t as elegant as the SSSA, but the cutouts on either side do help it stand out from the competition.
My instinct says the difference won’t be noticeable to the average rider, but we won’t know until we get to ride it for ourselves. Judging from the comments, a lot of people believe any gains are not worth the difference in styling.
So, in a classic case of form vs function, for our Question of the Day we ask: should Ducati have stayed with the stylish single-sided swingarm, or was it the right call to go with the double-sided swingarm and seek every bit of a performance gain?
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Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.
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True for the moment. But Ducati has stated they are staying with desmo for top of the line performance bikes. So the Scrambler and other 939 engine will likely get valve springs for less maintenance and cost.
Who cares about the swingarm when Fireblade side vents and that ugly face are present.