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I’ve been riding for over 55 years, and I get a bit embarrassed when I discover something good that I should have been using for years but haven’t been. This time I am referring to what is called a buff / neck scarf / neck gaiter or neck warmer. Cyndy has been using one for a long time, Noraly of Itchy Boots (we watch her YouTube channel) always wearing one. I have worn neck warmers and scarves, but they were thick and generally not that comfortable unless it was really cold.
 
Then I discovered the thin and stretchy ones that are popular now. WOW! They really are comfortable, easy to use and really protect your chin and neck from the elements. You can even use them when it’s warm, and if you get them wet they actually cool you when it’s real hot.
 
Just goes to show that it is good to keep an open mind, which I didn’t always have, and see things that could make your ride more enjoyable. I find myself using one all the time now on rides.
How Much Better Is the 2022 Ducati Panigale V4 S?
New generation versus old on the track.
The Vallelunga racetrack just outside Rome is basking in sunshine and completely silent. All the garage doors, bar one, are closed. Only a lone Ducati race truck and a handful of engineers in Ducati Corse teamwear give any indication of impending racetrack activity.
I slide into the back of the open garage, where I’m greeted by legendary development rider Alessandro Valia and the ever-friendly Ducati test team. Near the garage door, their noses poking into pit lane, are two bikes under Ducati dust covers. I can just make out that they’re on paddock stands, tire warmers wrapped around their Pirelli slicks, but I have no idea which is the new-for-2022 V4 S and which is the older 2021 Panigale.

It’s the end of October 2021, two months before the official press launch of Ducati’s new Panigale V4 S in Jerez, and such is the secrecy surrounding the new bike that I’m asked to hand over my phone. I’m not given any detailed specifications. I don’t even know if the 2022 V4 S has more power or refreshed electronics or if the chassis is somehow different. What I do know is that my job is to ride the bikes back to back and see what the lap timer and data reveal.
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