Tag Archives: Ducati Multistrada

Multistrada: Twenty Years of Emotions and Innovation

Multistrada (Multi-strada, meaning ‘Multi-road’): never could a name have been more apt for a motorcycle destined to leave its mark like few others in Ducati’s history. A dynasty that turns twenty in 2023: twenty years of innovative technology, performance, emotions, and adventures to tell.

The Multistrada was born in 2003 with the aim of offering a Ducati both versatile and sporty, capable of tackling any terrain with maximum safety and solidity. The first version of the bike was the Multistrada 1000 DS, the starting point of a family that has continued to evolve through four generations, the most recent based on the V2 and V4 Granturismo engines.

Over its twenty-year life, the Multistrada has brought with it a rich history of innovations and technological evolutions that have redefined the standards of the motorcycle industry, confirming itself, generation after generation, as the ideal companion for all enthusiasts who love to discover the beauties of the world and experience every journey in relation with the surrounding landscape and with the road, alone or in pairs.

Among the most important innovations introduced for the first time thanks to the Multistrada that must certainly be mentioned are the Riding Modes of the 2010 model, a solution now widespread on most high and medium range motorcycles. The Multistrada V4, the technological benchmark of the Bologna-based manufacturer introduced on the market in 2020, was at the time the first motorcycle in the world equipped with front and rear radar . A solution that has made it possible to introduce the Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and Blind Spot Detection (BSD) systems, which improve riding comfort and safety. Also on the same model, Ducati introduced the Phone Mirroring solution, which transforms the dashboard into a colour map navigator while keeping visible the information necessary for riding the bike.

The Multistrada V4 also features benchmark maintenance intervals, with valve clearance checks set every 60,000 km. All models in the family come with the exclusive “4Ever Ducati” warranty, valid for 4 years with unlimited mileage*.

To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the model that changed the history of the Bologna-based manufacturer, Ducati has set up a temporary exhibition entitled “Multistrada 20th – Twenty Years of Evolutionary Exploration” inside its Museum.

Enthusiasts can admire  two of the symbolic models of the Multistrada dynasty up close. On the one hand, the first Multistrada 1000 DS, which embodies the initial vision and inspiration behind the creation of this family of motorcycles, and on the other hand, the more recent Multistrada V4 Rally, which fully epitomises the path of innovation and evolution that the model has gone through in the past twenty years.

The display is enhanced by a short documentary that, through images and testimonies, traces the history and progress that has characterised this incredible model, from its introduction to the most recent versions.

The special exhibition “Multistrada 20th – Twenty Years of Evolutionary Exploration” will remain open until the beginning of October with the same opening hours as the Ducati Museum, from Monday to Sunday from 9:00 to 18:00 and closed on Wednesdays.

The Multistrada will be one of the protagonists of the Ducati World Première 2024. After the first episode dedicated to the Ducati Monster 30° Anniversario, five other appointments, from the 19th of September to the 7th of November, will unveil just as many new Ducati models for the 2024 range every fortnight.

All information on how to visit and book is available in the section dedicated to the Borgo Panigale Experience on Ducati.com.

The history of the Multistrada is also illustrated in the article Multistrada Dynasty on the Ducati website.

For further details on the Multistrada family, visit the dedicated page on the Ducati website and the Instagram profile  @ducatimultistradav4.

* The “4Ever Ducati” guarantee is valid only in EU countries

Ducati Multistrada hits the 100,000 mark

Sixteen years after the first Multistrada rolled off the assembly line, the family has now reached the 100,000-bike milestone. Multistrada number 100,000, a Pikes Peak version of the 1260 with a customised laser marking on the top yoke, was handed over to Dave Hayward – a German Ducatista who had ordered his Multistrada from the Düsseldorf dealership – by none other than Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali in person.

Ducati’s dual-purpose motorcycle has always been technologically cutting-edge. In 2010 the Multistrada was the first bike to feature riding modes, the system that changes the very character of the bike. Indeed, the tagline for the advertising campaign read: “four bikes in one”. With the D|Air version, introduced in 2014, Ducati offered the first motorcycle with a system capable of interfacing with a dedicated airbag-equipped jacket. In 2015 it became the first motorcycle to feature a variable-timing engine: the Testastretta DVT (Desmodromic Variable Timing).

And as the technology evolved, so too did the reliability. Ever-longer, stricter development tests were applied. Production processes were improved, materials enhanced, numerical simulations honed, taking the Multistrada 1260 and 950 to unprecedented levels of dependability. Today, all the engines in the family have valve play checks at 30,000 km intervals – three times that of the first version.

With no less than 7 versions, today’s Multistrada family has never been more complete: two 950 cm³ (113 hp) bikes and five 1260 cm³ (158 hp) ones.

Presented in 2019, the new Multistrada 950 – also available as an S version – is designed to put Multistrada performance within everyone’s reach while maximising versatility, thanks also to the 19″ front wheel.

The most recent interpretation of the original dual-purpose sports concept, the Multistrada 1260 combines the comfort and load capacity of a dual-purpose bike with tyre sizes, wheels and brakes that are, instead, typical of sports motorcycles. Equipped with Öhlins suspension, forged wheels and a carbon fibre end pipe, the Pikes Peak model offers maximum sports performance.

For those, instead, who love adventuring, Ducati has come up with the Multistrada 1260 Enduro, designed to take on the toughest terrain and longest journeys thanks to the 30-litre tank, long-travel suspension, 19″ front rim and, of course, the hard-wearing spoked wheels.
 
Development 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, specific V4 engine.

Multistrada milestones

  • 2003 Multistrada 1000 DS
  • 2005 Multistrada 620
  • 2007 Multistrada 1100
  • 2010 Multistrada 1200
  • 2012 Multistrada Pikes Peak
  • 2015 Multistrada 1200 DVT
  • 2016 Multistrada 1200 Enduro
  • 2016 Multistrada 950
  • 2018 Multistrada 1260
  • 2019 Multistrada 1260 Enduro