On the 17th of September 2019 in Borgo Panigale (Bologna, Italy) - sixteen years after the first Multistrada rolled off the assembly line - Ducati produced the 100,000th Multistrada. The milestone machine handed over to German Ducatista Dave Hayward was a Pikes Peak version of the 1260, with a custom laser marking on the top yoke. Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali took it upon himself to deliver the bike, and even twitted about it, saying:
With a grand total of seven versions, today's Multistrada family has two 950 cm³ (113 hp) bikes and five 1260 cm³ (158 hp) ones. And based off Domenicali’s tweet they'll be adding an all-new V4 model to the breed in 2021.
What can we expect from the Ducati Multistrada V4 in 2021?
Ducati has confirmed that development of the Multistrada V4 is ongoing, and in 2021 the Multistrada family will expand to see the twin-cylinder 1260 and 950 motorcycles joined by a version with a new V4 engine.
Besides the obvious V4 motor, one thing to expect from the V4 Multistrada is it to be laden with technology. In recent years, the Strada been the testbed for a host of electronic and mechanical innovations e.g. riding modes in 2010; D|Air compatibility in 2014; and a variable-timing Testastretta DVT (Desmodromic Variable Timing) engine in 2015. So, expect nothing less from the V4. We strongly believe it will feature ARAS (Advanced Rider Assistance Systems) aka, Radar Cruise Control - like that seen on the new 1260GT.
In development since 2016, ARAS uses front and rear-facing sensors to map and understand its environment and feedback safety information to the rider, such as obstacles or fast-approaching cars. A bit of a game changer.
Besides that, we expect the V4 to share much of its DNA with the current 1260 and 950 models, just based off a few spy shots we’ve seen. But with a well over a year of development still to take place we could see more major changes.