Ducati launched its very first Multistrada, the air-cooled 1000DS, in 2003. I was young, had hair, was working for Fast Bikes, and was sent to Italy to ride the new – and then – unusual bike famously designed by Pierre Terblanche. Nobody knew what to expect. We had seen the images: tall suspension, 17-inch wheels and powered by a 992cc air-cooled motor with, wait for it, 86bhp. I immaturely packed my race leathers and pulled wheelies everywhere – I was young and working for Fast Bikes, what else did you expect! How have times changed… the Multistrada and I have matured over the last 20 years to the sophisticated specimens you see today.
Since adopting the Granturismo V4 platform in 2021, the Multistrada has come to represent the more sober side of Ducati's two-wheel output. A Multistrada Rally, for example, has genuine off-road ability, and a Multistrada V4 S Grand Tour has a worldclass package of state-of-the-art rider aids, but both are Multistradas at heart: engaging, versatile, and efficient all-rounders. A relatively sensible choice. Ducati, famous for its success in racing and ability to produce poster bikes for every generation, showed its mature side with the Multistrada platform.
So, here's an unexpected surprise, and a most welcome one at that, because the new Ducati Multistrada V4 RS, the sixth variant in the current range of V4 Multi crossovers, is the most astonishing, the most powerful, and, at £31,995 the most expensive Multistrada yet. And it will be, by some margin, the most outrageous Ducati seen for some time. It's rewarding to see that Ducati can still let the designers and engineers
