Asphalt & Rubber is reporting Ducati is working on a new Multistrada.
Ducati’s Multistrada was a groundbreaker when it came out, combining mild off-road capability with bold adventure bike styling and a hot-rod motor. Since then, that’s been the basic pattern Ducati has followed; there have been smaller versions of the bike (like the 620 Dark), but the Multis usually have a previous-gen sportbike motor and love-it-or-hate-it styling.
Now, we know there’s a new Ducati superbike coming, a 1299 version of the Panigale. Given Ducati’s tendency to power their Multistrada models with previous-gen superbike motors, it wasn’t surprising to find out about the new Multistrada (supposedly to be unveiled at EICMA, says A&R). It’s just a little surprising to hear about it this early.
But from another perspective, it makes perfect sense. The adventure bike seems to be dividing into two segments – there are bikes like the GS series or the Super Tenere, which are fairly robust and capable of off-road work. Then, there are bikes like the V-Strom series, which are more street-worthy. In the last couple years, there’s been a new V-Strom 1000, MV Agusta has released the Turismo Veloce, BMW’s built the soon-arriving S1000 variant and Yamaha’s coming FJ-09 has been rumoured to follow these lines. That’s a lot of fresh competition for the Multistrada, and it’s perfectly sensible for Ducati to update their adventure bike to take on the opposition.
