If you’re one of those who thought even the Multistrada Pikes Peak wasn’t ‘sporty’ enough, the Italian bikemaker has something in store for you. Presenting the Ducati Multistrada V4 RS — perhaps the sportiest iteration of the Multi to exist yet, even more sportier than the Pikes Peak. The Multistrada V4 RS gets the same heart as the Panigale and the Streetfighter, along with other mechanical components that focus on being lightweight and making it track-friendly. Sounds exciting?
The V4 RS is recognizable as a Multistrada, but it gets a special Iceberg white livery with MotoGP-derived graphics, a huge RS sticker, along with carbon fibre components, golden USD forks, and a smaller 17-inch front wheel. The rear continues with a 19-inch wheel, and the tail section is slimmer as well.
Powering the Ducati Multistrada V4 RS is the 1103 cc Desmosedici Stradale engine shared with the Panigale and Streetfighter, churning out 177 horses at 12,500 rpm, along with 12.02 kgm of torque at 9500 rpm. The aluminum billet dry clutch contributes to the sporty nature of the motorcycle, providing an enhanced feedback. Ducati also says that the final drive ratio has been shortened, while the rest of the gear ratios are unchanged. It also receives a special-developed Akrapovic silencer.
The Multistrada V4 RS is underpinned by an aluminum monocoque chassis with a titanium sub-frame. This setup makes use of Ohlins Smart EC 2.0 suspension on both ends — 50 mm fully-adjustable USD forks with TiN treatment, along with a TTX36 monoshock. Both ends receive 170 mm of wheel travel. The Multi V4 RS gets a 17-inch wheel at the front and a 19-inch wheel at the rear, both shod on Pirelli Scoprion Trail II tyres. Braking is taken care of by 330 mm semi-floating twin discs with radially-mounted Stylema monobloc callipers at the front, and a 265 mm disc with a dual-piston calliper at the rear.
In terms of features, the Multistrada V4 RS is similar to the rest of the Multi lineup, with the exception of a new ‘Race’ riding mode replacing Enduro, for obvious reasons. The rest of the features it gets are adaptive cruise control, blind spot detection, wheelie and traction control, cornering ABS, a 6.5-inch TFT screen, and engine braking control among other things.
So can we expect to see it in India? Given that Ducati launches nearly most of its lineup here, we do not see why not. However, we expect it to come with a rather heavy price tag, and in limited numbers. Competition? The BMW M 1000 XR comes to mind, but that’s still in prototype phase.
