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What It’s Like Riding the Ducati Multistrada V4 S, A Review

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One of the most anticipated motorcycles of the 2021 model year is finally here for us to test, and in case the title to this review didn’t give it away, I am talking about the Ducati Multistrada V4 adventure bike.

Ducati has teased us long enough on this new ADV machine, including giving us an early look at its new Granturismo V4 motor, which is most notable for its lack of desmodromic valves. *Gasp* goes the Ducatisti collective.

With 168hp (125 kW) on tap, and 92 lbs•ft of peak torque coming from the compact V4 engine, it is hard to imagine why anyone would complain about what is beneath the fairings on this new Multistrada model, but then again…Ducati did leave a few sacred cows on the slaughterhouse floor when designing this motorcycle.

A pillar to Ducati’s two-wheeled lineup, the Multistrada V4 is a critical bike for Ducati to get right, as it accounts for roughly 20% of the company’s unit sales.

And for all of its changes and upgrades, the Multistrada V4 continues Ducati’s core principle for the Multistrada lineup – of having a model that is four motorcycles in one.

To see if Ducati got this recipe correct, the Italian brand invited us down to Borrego Springs, California, to ride the 2021 Ducati Multistrada V4 S in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

Our ride involved equal parts of curvy mountain roads and sandy desert tracks, giving us a good glimpse of what the Multistrada V4 S was capable of on the street and in the dirt.

The verdict? It’s a big one. If there was only one motorcycle we could buy with our hard-earned blogging dollars, this would be it. The Ducati Multistrada V4 S is the new standard in the premium ADV space. Let me explain.

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Bikes

Here It Is, The “All New” 2022 Suzuki Hayabusa

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The wait is finally, finally over. The third generation Suzuki Hayabusa is now out in the wild, officially, and that means we can talk about every detail of this iconic hyperbike. Don’t worry, it will be a short conversation.

Despite calling it an “all new” motorcycle (Suzuki claims over 500 parts have been changed), there are only a handful of items that are truly new about the 2022 Suzuki Hayabusa.

The chassis is very much the same, with a few tweaks here and there, and the 1,340cc inline-four engine gets an update to make it compatible with emission standards around the world, but it is still certainly a refresh of the current design.

We should say, there is a full suite of electronics to get excited about, and as you can tell from the photo above, Suzuki have given the Hayabusa a serious makeover, with the help of the company’s wind tunnel and CFD work. So, let’s get on with it.

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Rumors

A New Suzuki Hayabusa Is Coming in a Week’s Time

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After tons of speculation about the prospect of an updated Hayabusa, Suzuki seems finally ready to shake the streets again with a new version of this iconic sport bike.

There have been so many rumors about the next-generation of the Suzuki Hayabusa, that we dedicated our own series of stories to the onslaught of speculations, inside infos, and rumors. But now, the real-deal seems just a few days away.

We say this because of two teaser videos that Suzuki has posted to its YouTube channel, which boast of a new motorcycle debuting on February 5th.

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Bikes

Mega Gallery: KTM 1290 Super Adventure S

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When the KTM 1290 Super Adventure S for the 2021 model year debuted yesterday, the Austrian brand gave us some pitifully small photos. I spit on the ground when I saw them, they were so woefully small and soured my senses.

Knowing how much our readers enjoy obnoxiously large photos of motorcycles, we aimed to do better. So, here we are today, with 44 high-resolution photos of the KTM 1290 Super Adventure S, for your viewing pleasure.

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Bikes

The KLR Lives! Updated Kawasaki KLR650 Announced for 2022

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When it comes to motorcycles with a cult following, at the top of the list has to be the Kawasaki KLR650.

This durable dual-sport has won over the hearts and minds of legions of adventuring types, despite its unchanged architecture and questionable aesthetics.

So, you can imagine the backlash that occurred when the venerable KLR650 was rumored to be on the chopping block, especially as the Euro5 homologation loomed.

For these loyal riders, the news was like a family member had died, and that Team Green had abandoned a core constituency to the cold dark night of ADV riding on another model.

Fear not, loyalists. The Kawasaki KLR650 lives to fight for another day, and the iconic machine re-debuts today as a 2022 model year machine, with a number of smart updates to its rugged design.

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Bikes

The All-New Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RS Debuts for 2021

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After teasing some details, and seeing some others leak ahead of today’s debut, we finally get to officially see the all-new Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RS.

The original streetfighter, the Triumph Speed Triple is the OG standard when it comes to the naked sport bikes segment, but the British brand has seen this iconic model soften in recent years when compared to the competition.

In fact, our review of the last generation of the Triumph Speed Triple demoted the three-cylinder machine to the “roadster” category, as its teeth had clearly lost their edge over the years, leading it to become a more subdued ride for the street.

The folks in Hinckley must have taken exception to that kind of comparison because their response for the 2021 model year was to build an all-new Speed Triple with a serious focus on performance.

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Bikes

“Spirit of Passion” BMW R18 Custom by Kingston Custom

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BMW Motorrad has had no shortage of factory-backed custom motorcycle builds involving the BMW R18.

The giant air-cooled cruiser may have debuted with a retro vibe, but the Germans have been busy trying to build the platform’s street cred as a robust platform for customization.

Enter here the “Spirit of Passion” BMW R18 by Kingston Custom, which takes things full loop with a distinct vintage feel that included a dustbin front fairing that brings an art deco feel to the motorcycle.

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Dirt

Toby Price Fixes Slashed Tire with Zip-Ties an Duct Tape, Still Finishes 2nd

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Toby Price, you are a damn legend. Anyone who wins a Dakar Rally is truly worthy of such praise, but this year Price really earned the mantle.

After a rest day on Saturday, Sunday’s Stage 7 was always going to be a tough one, as it is what the Dakar Rally calls a “marathon” stage.

On top of the usual difficulty one finds racing in The Dakar, competitors are left at the end of the day to fix their own machines – their mechanics cannot help them. 

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