See, we’re not crazy, right?! Well, not tinfoil hat crazy at least. This is indeed the new Ducati Multistrada.
For a little while now we’ve been hinting that the V-twin powered Multistrada 1260 was due an upgrade in the engine department - in the form of a beastly V4 configured block.
But these were mere rumours... until now, as German magazine Mottorad has finally spotted and snapped the V4 Multi being ripped around on public roads, near the Ducati factory in Bologna.
Now, I know what you’re thinking, how does a five-second slightly blurry clip prove we’re not insane in the membrane? But, listen closely. That’s not a V-twin you’re hearing ripping past the man holding a potato as a camera. Oh, No. That ladies and gentlemen is a Moto GP inspired V4 powered Strada.
Sanity proved. And we’re mega glad because the Multistrada 1260 is one hell of a motorcycle without the addictive sweetness of Ducati’s V4 motor. Let’s hope it makes it to production and loses the black and white urban camo that we’re so used to seeing on prototype Ducatis.
In terms of changes, there doesn’t appear to be much. As it’s a V4, the exhaust configuration has had to be slightly re-jigged, but besides that, the bike looks like a normal 1260 - which was quite a looker anyway.
Chances are we’ll see the new Multistrada V4 on October 23 following confirmation the manufacturer will use that date to reveal its 2020 range of machines in an online presentation ahead of a public reveal at EICMA in Milan.
As we have no official word from Ducati, we can only guess what the bike’s final spec to be, but a power output of 170bhp or more is clearly on the cards should the rumours be true. One thing that isn’t clear is the price, Ducati’s current top-of-the-range MTS, the Pikes Peak, comes in at £21,000, with a base model coming in at £14,000 – it’s fairly safe to assume the new machine’s standard variation will fall somewhere in the middle.
