Ducati has begun officially teasing a new V4 engine platform on its website and social media channels – a move that is almost certainly the beginning of an unveiling for the Ducati Multistrada V4 adventure-touring motorcycle (the two off-road / on-road panels are a bit of a giveaway, shown above).
That a V4 version of the Multistrada was coming has been known for quite some time, with even Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali acknowledging that we would see the new model by the end of this year.
So that news, coupled to a bevy of spy photos that have caught the machine testing in its pre-production form, give us a good idea what to expect about this new model.
Still, there are some details we do not know about the Multistrada V4, and Ducati seems intent on teasing out those details in the coming weeks, via various “theorems” it is postulating.
Right now, we are on Theorem #1, which states “4 is lighter than 2”. This is surely a nod that Ducati has found a way to make its four-cylinder Desmosedici Stradale V4 engine lighter than the previous twin-cylinder Testastretta 11° DS.
Ducati says that the smaller bore V4 engine drops 1.2kg (2.6 lbs) in weight compared to the current v-twin platform.
With three more “theorems” planned until the October 15th unveiling, Ducati has some more time to build the case around its four-cylinder ADV model.
We know the bike visually doesn’t depart too far from the current Multistrada aesthetic, and it will bring with it adapative cruise control from Bosch.
We also have reason to believe from other reports that the bike will get a different displacement than the Panigale V4 and Streetfighter V4 models it shares a platform with, as Motorcycle.com reports a displacement size of 1,158cc is in the works at Borgo Panigale.
There is some debate about what this displacement size could be used for, however, with Motorcycle.com retracting its own assertion that it would be for the Multistrada V4 motorcycle.
However, we suspect that our friends at MO were right the first time around, as we know from Ducati that the Multistrada V4 will not be a horsepower screamer like its sport bike siblings.
Instead, the model will focus on usable torque and power, while also balancing fuel consumption and rideability. As such, we would expect a peak power figure closer to 180hp, rather than the 200+ horsepower found on the other bikes.
The comment from Ducati today that the new Multistrada V4 would have a smaller bore is what is causing Motorcycle.com pause, though all things being equal, a V4 engine is always going to have a smaller bore than a twin-cylinder engine, and we would suspect that the extra 55cc quoted on this new engine comes from a longer stroke, not a bigger bore size.
Still, time will tell – as we are fond of saying. In a couple more days, we will learn another fact about the new V4 bike; and in two weeks’ time, we will see the debut of the Ducati Multistrada V4 motorcycle.
Source: Ducati North America
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