SPY SHOTS of Ducati’s 2021 V4 Multistrada caught in secret road test

At first glance, Ducati’s 2021 V4 Multistrada looks much the same as the L-twin powered bikes currently in the Italian factory’s line-up – but in truth, this is an all-new machine that’s bristling with a hulk of an engine and loads of new tech.

As our exclusive photos show, the new bike WILL have Ducati’s ARAS (Advanced Rider Assistance System) radar fitted to it, which monitors distance to the vehicle in front of the bike and gives warnings if a vehicle is approaching too quickly from the rear. The radar units are sited in between the bike’s headlights (the grey box where an air intake hole would normally be) and directly under the rear brake light.

Expected to make around 190bhp when it’s launched, the V4 Multistrada will surface in production-ready form towards the end of the 2020 season at the EICMA Show in Milan.

WHAT’S NEW?

✓ Double-sided swingarm with what looks like trellis/bracing parts (which have been taped over to hide the actual shape of the metal underneath). The current Strada has a big single-sided swingarm unit. The double-sider is used to keep the bike narrow.

✓ 19-inch front wheel and new forged Marchesini wheels

✓ New Ohlins rear shock, off-set to the left-hand side of the swingarm

✓ New mirror stalks, new shape, and they’ve been cast with braced parts to reduce weight

✓ New LED lights with bigger topstrip of lights built into the headlight unit themselves. New rear LED units, too

✓ New adjustable screen (although this could be a Grand Tour version of the V4, so the screen might not end up on all V4 models in the range)

✓ Dash-cam type cameras are fitted to the test bike and these may be incorporated into the production version. You can see a dashcam-type camera bolted on an arm to the front of the bike’s fairing with another mounted by zip ties to the bottom of the pillion’s grabrail frame, just above the tail-light

✓ There’s a new, larger TFT screen, which is likely to be touch-sensitive with haptic response, too

✓ The floating number-plate holder of the current Strada is gone, replaced with a conventional set up bolted to the underside of the seat

✓ Painted red, the bike’s rear subframe is now trellis steel instead of cast. This swaps completely with the current Strada where on the 2020 bike the main frame is trellis and the subframe cast

✓ New, larger metal sump guard

✓ Larger, GT-style rider seat with pannier-acceptors built into the bodywork under the pillion seat, too.