We tested the Ducati Multistrada V4: the trail of the future convinces with 170 hp, MotoGP heritage and double radar with extra safety

One of the great novelties of this year has already passed through our hands. The Ducati Multistrada V4 has completely changed except for the name to become a turning point both within the brand itself and within the segment.

With an unprecedented V4 engine, an exaggerated technological compendium and a house-brand attention to detail, the new Multistrada V4 has become in its own right one of the most complete and surprising motorcycles, but it is also easier to use and more sure never.

Ducati Multistrada V4: everything new except the name

Ducati has always been tubular chassis, V-twins at 90º and desmodromic distribution. Until now. Times change, but Borgo Panigale's philosophy does not, and although it is true that this Ducati Multistrada V4 brings together a series of contradictions that go against the most immobile postulates, this trail bike is as Ducati as any other.

Apart from the tangible elements, Ducati is also innovation, sportsmanship and avant-garde, and this is precisely where the Italian engineers wanted to make a difference. A difference with respect to the competition between the maxitrails, but also towards themselves.

And it is that technology has its limits, so to go even further and create a more capable motorcycle in all aspects, it was necessary to jump over some barriers to achieve a motorcycle that is called to represent a turning point in the market. A maxitrail with a 19-inch front wheel with a sporty cut but without being radical. It is a new generation and a new concept that moves away from the typical postulates and expands its range of action in every way.

The Ducati Multistrada V4 is here and it is a motorcycle that only maintains the name of the model we already knew. It is totally new in all aspects and the first of all is the aesthetics. The new Multistrada V4 is significantly more modern, with a more aggressive visual language and a striking first impression.

In general, there are common features with respect to the outgoing generation. We have the same horizontal lighthouse structure plus a duckbill, but that's the end of the similarities because each and every one of the lines has been changed in favor of a more tense language full of nerves in each corner.

The straight lines have gained presence, the LED daytime running lights themselves are much more angry and the front is much more pointed. Above it we have an extremely easy-to-use manual adjustment screen, complemented by two deflectors. Something totally opposite to the two-hand regulation of the Honda CRF1100L Africa Twin.

Below the central piece of the bike contains some new features. Outwardly, the Multistrada V4 now integrates the indicators in the radiator caps instead of in the handguards as before. A fundamental change for a trail bike in which any slight fall would cause the turn signals to break.

Under these side covers there is a pair of radiators that are now placed horizontally, both with electric fans. The lateral gills attract attention and it is that Ducati has placed special emphasis on thermal comfort. Of the three gills, the one furthest back and closest to the pilot does not communicate with the radiator, but with the front to create a curtain of fresh air that moves away the hot air coming from the radiator.

Just below these gills and on each side of the engine we find a pair of wings similar to those of the Ducati Streetfighter V4. Unlike in the naked, in the Ducati Multistrada V4 they do not have an aerodynamic function to generate load, but instead take air from the front of the engine and channel it to the rider's area where the slipstream effect usually traps part of the hot air from the engine.

If we continue back we find a two-piece seat that has also been modified to be more comfortable, a bolted tubular subframe and a conventional swingarm. The single-sided swingarm is not used in this generation, while the exhaust adopts a raised position on the right side.

The secrets of MotoGP reach the trail bikes

What has not changed in this new Multistrada is that it is a big bike. The part of the tank with its 22 liters feels quite thick, but when we climb on top we notice that the arch of the legs is narrow, clean and leaves us with relatively good accessibility. The seat is adjustable in two heights (840 and 860 mm) and without tools. In its highest position, it allows us to reach the ground with the tip of both feet for a height of 170 cm.

Ahead of us, the Multistrada V4 S sports a fully digital color TFT control panel of a new invoice (simpler in the Multistrada V4) with simplified menus and controlled by control clusters that are totally new as well. The coating is mineral glass to prevent scratches, tilt adjustable and perfect viewing. Its operation is simple and in the configuration menus of the electronic section the pictograms make it quite easy to become familiar with each section.

We did not like that there are certain simple operations that involve more clicks (and distractions) of the account. In the main menu we can select the heating of the seat, but to connect the heated grips we have to press a button on the right handgrip and regulate the intensity or disconnect it through the menu that is controlled with the left handgrip.

There are other interesting options such as the possibility of connecting the phone to the motorcycle and using Sygic to have GPS navigation on the dashboard. For this, Ducati has arranged a hermetic compartment on the tank where you can store and recharge your mobile (perhaps the largest smartphones do not fit) through a USB socket.

When you turn on the ignition and start (without a key, by the way), the Ducati Multistrada V4's new engine comes to life with a powerful roar. An engine that is much more than a simple change from two to four cylinders.

The new generation of V4 Granturismo engines justifies the abandonment of the traditional V2 and inherits a series of interesting advances taken directly from MotoGP. But why this change? The answer is technical, and it is that to continue conserving benefits, the V2 had to increase displacement, and this increase has a limit imposed by the internal dimensions of the engine. It's finite growth, or they would be engines too big or lacking in Ducati character.

This new four-cylinder engine is 85mm shorter and 95mm lower than the previous twin, and just 2cm wider. These changes have allowed Ducati to reposition the engine where they wanted, lower it to lower the center of gravity without losing ground clearance, better center the masses and relocate the rest of the engine peripherals with greater freedom, achieving a theoretical improvement in the dynamic behavior.

In addition, in the guts of this engine there are also other substantial changes, such as the adoption of the counter-rotating crankshaft that the Panigale V4 and the Italian house MotoGP debuted in 2015. This unique solution in the segment reduces inertia inside the engine, improving maneuverability and making an antiwheelie effect. The gyroscopic effect of the crankshaft along with that of the wheels determine how easy it is to change direction, and this new counter-rotating crankshaft makes a similar difference to swapping out cast wheels for forged ones.

It has also embraced the bigbang firing order that Ducati uses in MotoGP, what they call Twin Pulse. An irregular firing sequence that dates back to the 500cc class and that detonates in order 1-3-4-2 the cylinders, with all four exploding in 370º and leaving almost a complete revolution of the crankshaft without detonations for a power delivery smoother and allow better traction by letting the rear tire rest.

Other solutions inherited from MotoGP are the adoption of a semi-dry sump that achieves an even more compact engine or the triple greasing pump. What does not come from MotoGP is the traditional spring distribution, leaving a Ducati without desmo for the first time. A motivated decision because they do not need to look for power (the desmodromic system is the most effective in this aspect, but also more complex).

In return there are two derived advantages. The first is that their experience in the more complex desmo system has allowed them to extend maintenance intervals to an exaggerated 60,000 km for valve adjustment (previously 30,000 km). Secondly, the distribution of springs implies a certain effort for the engine at idle to overcome its resistance, leaving a much finer idle than in the other V4 engines with desmo distribution of the brand.

And all this is noticeable in practice? Well, yes, it is noticeable. The engine is marvelous for a motorcycle of this style, and Ducati has achieved a propellant that works perfectly at any speed. It has a forceful midrange and a high zone from 7,000 revolutions worthy of a sports bike, displaying its 170 hp and 125 Nm of torque without shame.

In the lower zone it is an engine that also stands out because even dropping it at just 1,500 rpm, it is capable of developing torque and leaving at low speed even if it shows certain vibrations. It is an ultra-elastic motor.

What we do miss is some character. It is a forceful engine and it can become exaggerated turning at high revolutions for a normal user in real traffic conditions, but the Euro5 regulations are forcing the engines to lose viscerality, and here, in the emotional aspect, we throw a little into that wild touch of the previous two-cylinder is missing.

Dynamically, the counter-rotating crankshaft is noticeable, and makes the Ducati Multistrada V4 an easy motorcycle to take from one place to another with noticeably faster changes of direction than those of the previous generation and that make one doubt whether we are really dealing with a motorcycle of 218 kg dry and 243 kg in running order.

Obviously the laws of physics are immovable, and both volume and weight are noticeable when braking or cornering the bike. The inertia is there and you have to have hands although the Multistrada V4 makes it easy, you have to do it.

At the level of the cycle part and suspensions, the Ducati Multistrada V4 S that we have been able to test adds a plus compared to the normal Multistrada V4. The only aluminum chassis in the segment is joined by suspensions that incorporate the electronically adjustable Skyhook system for the inverted fork and the rear monoshock absorber.

Both have a solid operation with a point of comfort in all modes, because depending on the selected driving mode they will act in a more or less firm way. You can also regulate the preload depending on whether we go alone, accompanied or with luggage.

The brakes also change, going from 320 mm to 330 mm discs and bitten by Brembo M50 Stylema monobloc radial-mounted brake calipers, also commanded by a radial brake master cylinder with a precise feel but without excesses, and with a capacity of braking according to the performance of the motorcycle. Yes, it is true that returning to the issue of inertia, in strong braking the rear sometimes moves a little, and that includes combined braking.

And if there is something in which the Ducati Multistrada V4 stands out again, it is in the electronics, because apart from the already typical driving modes, six-axis Bosch IMU inertial measurement platform, ABS with curve assistance, traction control, antiwheelie and others, this new model adds unprecedented technology.

The Multistrada V4 is the first motorcycle on the market to be equipped with a pair of radars: one front and one rear. This technology is inherited from the automotive industry with the added complexity of adapting it to a motorcycle and after having tested it, it must be recognized that it has been wonderful.

The front radar allows the implementation of adaptive cruise control, regulating the speed based on the traffic, maintaining a safe distance and being able to brake the motorcycle in a range between 160 and 30 km/h. When we are following another vehicle and we press the indicator, it starts to accelerate and adapts smoothly if we change lanes and there is another vehicle, being able to read if that vehicle is going faster than us so as not to brake or start to brake if it goes slower. It recognizes both motorcycles and cars well.

At the other end of the bike is the rear radar, which in its case is a safety extra that we think should become mandatory equipment. The sensor located in the tail will alert us if we have a vehicle in our blind spot.

The warning is made through auto yellow LEDs located in the mirrors. The LED on that side stays fixed to warn us of the presence of a vehicle and flashes if we are going to change lanes. It will also alert us with the two sets of LEDs flashing in unison if the radar detects a vehicle approaching too quickly from behind. We have found it to be a very useful system that costs nothing to get used to and that can provide a higher level of security.

Maxitrail on and off road

In addition to having tested it on the road, we have also been able to see how the Ducati Multistrada V4 S performs on a route of about 30 km off-road. This time equipped with spoked rims (optional) and fenders, with the most equipped configuration, in addition to being fitted with Pirelli Scorpion Rally tires and repositioned controls for standing up (forward handlebar, lower pedals and footrests without rubber).

Fitted with these studded rubbers, the motorcycle radically changes its behavior and becomes noticeably heavier and more difficult to turn on asphalt, in addition to generating a much higher rolling noise. It is the price to pay when we want to face complicated terrain with guarantees, and even more so carrying low pressures, with 1.6 kg, tuned to ride on hard off-road terrain.

Once we move away from the black, the Ducati Multistrada V4 S commands respect. It is not the typical motorcycle for offroad routes, but it is a motorcycle that handles quite freely on difficult terrain, surely thanks again to that counter-rotating crankshaft solution that allows apparently light driving.

Now, if the inertia is perceived on the road, even more so in the field, and you can go abnormally fast with this bike, arriving with a lot of speed and a lot of mass to put on the sidewalk before entering the curve. The feeling of safety that it provides riding on rough terrain is inappropriate for a motorcycle of this type, largely due to the suspensions that work progressively and smoothly with travel of 180 and 170 mm at the front and rear, respectively.

It is true that within the Enduro riding mode, the least intrusive level of traction control seemed too intrusive, stopping the bike too much as soon as the rear wheel slipped, forcing us to completely disconnect traction control if we wanted to climb broken slopes with happiness. On the contrary, the ABS in Enduro mode disconnects the anti-lock of the rear wheel and in the front it is not too intrusive, being quite effective once it kicks in.

A maxitrail to break prejudices

The new Multistrada is no longer the Multistrada we knew. It has abandoned the 17-inch front rim in favor of the 19-inch one, apparently leaving the Enduro version without space, it is not as sporty in approach but it is just as satisfactory and can reach a wider audience, from which it only wants routes weekend to those who want to do adventure motorcycle tourism.

The range of action has been extended, and Ducati has wanted to satisfy in an even deeper way, taking care of all the details: from thermal comfort to the rear panniers with floating anchors to prevent rear movements, or the extremely fast adjustment screen.

The price of the Ducati Multistrada V4 starts at 20,890 euros for the basic version, but we have been able to test the V4 S version whose price starts at 23,990 euros. On this occasion from Borgo Panigale they offer different configurations and equipment packages, being the Travel & Radar configuration the one that we have been able to test whose price rises to 26,290 euros.

The KTM 1290 Super Adventure S starts at 19,199 euros and the BMW R 1250 GS is much cheaper (18,480 euros) but considerably less powerful, less equipped, and can not even optionally install radar technology. In both cases, to get equipment similar to the one that the Italian brings as standard, you have to use options on KTM and BMW, closing the price gap considerably.

It is not a cheap motorcycle and in principle the price is high if we compare it with its direct rivals with a 19-inch front wheel, but in context, taking into account the technological investment, the ride quality, the extra safety and the level of finishes, the Ducati Multistrada V4 S is priced according to what it offers.

The experience of driving the new Multistrada V4 S both on the road and on offroad sections has shown us that the Borgo Panigale engineers were right, and once the tests are carried out, you forget that there is no longer a desmo, or a tubular chassis, or a V2. Very good job, Ducati.

Ducati Multistrada V4 2021 - Review

Ducati Multistrada V4 2021 - Technical sheet

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