NEW METAL! Ducati Multistrada V4 Rally revealed

The wraps have been pulled off Ducati’s newest off-road focused adventure!

There’s little doubt that Ducati’s 170bhp Multistrada V4 is one of the biggest and best adventure bikes on the market. But up until now it’s been missing a little bit of off-road prowess. Thankfully, the Italian factory’s just revealed a new version that’s ready for some dirt-based shenanigans.

The arrival of the newest Multistrada Rally doesn’t come as a big surprise. Ducati’s got form of rolling out its ‘standard’ roadgoing variant, before following it up a year later with a seriously capable off-road ready machine. That’s exactly what’s happened here – and as you’d expect, the Multistrada V4 Rally looks like it’s going to be a good ’un.

Just like the stock V4, it comes kitted out with top-of-the-line semi-active Skyhook suspension from Showa – although it’s up 30mm to a massive 200mm. The Skyhook system is seriously impressive on the standard machine, but the Rally actually gets some new ‘self-levelling’ hardware, which Ducati reckons will help keep the bike on an even keel when things get properly rough. Sounds good to us…

The electronic trickery doesn’t end there. The new bike gets an additional riding mode that’s been specifically designed for ‘extreme’ off-road riding. The dedicated mode uses a different throttle map to the three road riding modes and limits power to a more manageable 114hp. It also adjusts the traction control settings so you’ll get less interference, in addition to turning off the ABS at the rear wheel, turning the wheelie control off and suppressing the cornering functionality and rear lift detection. Considering Ducati’s form with rider aids, it’ll likely be pretty spot on.

Another nice touch is the addition of a new system which follows in the footsteps of Harley-Davidson’s Pan America. It’ll adjust the preload settings when you turn it on, to help make it easier to muscle off (or on) the stand – and to climb on and off when you’re setting off or coming to a halt.

In addition to all the usual off-road related goodies, it gets a set of lightweight spoked wheels as standard and a massive 30-litre fuel tank (which is a whole eight litres bigger than the standard machine). Of course, the Multi’s a thirsty beast, but you’ll be able to turn in around 250 miles if you’re not pressing on too hard. To help improve efficiency (even if it’s only nominal), Ducati’s actually adjusted the cylinders of the V4 engine, making it so that the rear bank is able to deactivate while the bike is moving. The previous model would do it when you came to a standstill,but now it’ll do it when you’re riding gently (pottering through town or stuck behind traffic). Every little helps, right?

No news just yet on pricing, but there’s little doubt it’s going to be cheap. Historically the Rally’s always been the priciest model and we’re expecting it to be no different for next year.

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