Ducati has just refreshed its Multistrada V4 Rally – the most off-road capable in its line of performance adventure touring motorcycles – after three years, with a bunch of tech upgrades to make long journeys more comfortable and justify the slightly higher sticker price.
This model is designed for touring with a whole lotta luggage and a pillion passenger without breaking a sweat, and looking good doing it – albeit also looking virtually the same as the 2023 edition. To that end, it's got the same excellent engine as the outgoing model. You'll get a massive 170 hp and 91 lb.ft (123.8 Nm) of torque from its 1,158 cc V4 Granturismo engine, which should make for spirited performance to cover plenty of ground on long rides.
It's rated for 37,000 miles (60,000 km) service intervals, so you should be able to take this out on extended adventures and not have to bother with much maintenance on the road.
The powertrain also deactivates two cylinders when you're not pushing it too hard, in order to keep the engine cool and reduce fuel consumption. Speaking of which, it can hold 8 gallons (30 liters) of fuel, so you'll be able to get pretty far from home with a full load of gear on the bike and its own 529 lb (240 kg) weight.
The seat height on this big boy is thankfully adjustable from 34.3 - 35 in (870 - 890 mm). Accessory kits can bring that down as low as 31.7 in (805 mm), or go up as high as 35.6 in (905 mm) if you're awfully tall and need serious ground clearance.
The biggest new bit of tech on board is the suspension setup, which combines Marzocchi semi-active suspension and Ducati's Skyhook Suspension Evolution system allowing for 200 mm of travel. The fork and rear shock’s preload, compression and rebound damping can all be adjusted on the move, and a new Road Detection feature can automatically identify what type of terrain you're riding on and calibrate hydraulics accordingly. Riding Style Detection, meanwhile, analyzes your riding inputs and tweaks suspension settings on the fly.
The setup can also automatically adjust preload depending on passenger and luggage weight, lower the bike automatically below 6 mph (10 km/h) to make it easy to get your feet on the ground, and even help lift the bike off the center stand. Pretty thoughtful, no?
Closer to the ground, you'll find lighter spoked wheels than the old model, TPMS sensors fitted as standard, and rugged Pirelli Scorpion Trail II tires (120/70-19-inch at the front and 170/60-17-inch at the rear). There's also a larger 280-mm disc mated to a Brembo floating caliper at the rear, and premium Brembo Stylema monobloc radial calipers with two 330-mm discs at the front for plenty of stopping power.
The V4 Rally already had linked braking, in which pulling in the front brake activated the rear one automatically; this now works so hitting the rear brake engages the front brake too. They've also been tweaked for reduced dive under strong braking, adjusting to the weight on board.
We're not done yet: the V4 Rally gets updated traction and wheelie control systems powered by an algorithm called Ducati Vehicle Observer borrowed from the Panigale V4 sportsbike. This estimates the bike's position and mass in real time, and beams that to the rider aids for more precise cornering ABS and wheelie control intervention so the bike can hold a tight line. There's also an updated Ducati Quick Shift 2.0 system that should offer a more direct response.
The bike's onboard radars already supported adaptive cruise control and blind spot warnings. The updated system will now deliver front collision warnings on your dash, alerting you to hit the brakes if you're getting too close to a vehicle ahead.
You'll get the same 6.5-inch color dash as before, along with heated grips as standard. The V4 Rally already had cornering lights and emergency stop lights that engaged with heavy braking; a new 'Coming Home' function keeps the daytime running lights on for a bit after you turn off the ignition to help you get into your house safely.
All that comes in at a starting price of US$31,995. That's up from $29,995 in 2023. It's not cheap, but you're getting a ton of top-shelf kit and track-burning performance for your money. Go nuts adding accessories with the configurator on Ducati's site.
