Ducati Multistrada To Get Radar Safety System

[Hugh Janus]

Ducati’s 2021 Multistrada V4 will feature forward- and rear-facing radar systems. (Ducati /)

Ducati just released news about the coming of a totally new, fourth-generation Multistrada that will be powered by a new V-4 engine. At this date it is just a teaser, and more news will come by October 15 when the new V-4 engine will be revealed. Finally the whole bike will be unveiled November 4. The Multistrada is one of the most successful top-level models in the history of Ducati, with more than 110,000 units sold.

The original Multistrada was conceived in the early years of 2000 around the ever-faithful Ducati air-cooled, SOHC, desmo V-twin in the original displacement of 1,000cc (2003), soon grown to 1,100cc (2007) and harnessed in a real superbike chassis that ensured superb road manners that would have granted the original Multistrada an immediate success if it wasn’t for the terrible “bumper car”-like top fairing designed by Pierre Terblanche that really killed all the potential appeal of the concept.

Things radically evolved in 2010 when the second generation introduced the mighty liquid-cooled, DOHC, 1,200, desmo, eight-valve Testastretta V-twin and, equally important, a much sharper design. And that was the beginning of massive success around the world. The third-generation Multistrada, which is about to pass the baton to the new V-4-powered fourth, was powered by the superb evolution of the very same DOHC, eight-valve, desmo V-twin to the 1,260cc desmo Variable Timing edition.

The front-facing radar system on the 2021 Ducati Multistrada will be used for Adaptive Cruise Control. (Ducati /)

In its first announcement of the coming of the Multistrada V4, Ducati mainly focused on the bike’s very advanced radar-based active safety equipment consisting of two radar units that keep constant track of both the traffic ahead and behind. The unit at the front is intended to further expand the effectiveness of the Adaptive Cruise Control as it will be able to maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front when traveling at a range of speed between 20 and 100 mph. The rear unit detects all vehicles coming up from behind in its Blind Spot Detection function. The radar sensors are extremely compact and only add 6.7 ounces to the total weight of the bike.

The system has been developed in cooperation with Bosch, which also manufactures the components. While all this is great for even safer highway cruising, this is not the essence of what we would like to know about a radical evolution like that of the coming of a V-4 powerhouse on Ducati’s enduro/GT flagship.

Rumor has it that indeed it will be a new engine, one that will mark the return of Ducati (brace for collision!) to a non-desmo valve train. There is a lot of sense in this, yet Ducati purists will feel betrayed. But if you think hard, this epochal U-turn will have a positive domino effect on both production and maintenance costs.

In its release, Ducati only underlines this characteristic of the new V-4, and that links well with the rather solid rumor I collected. Although brought to a very rational level of efficiency, desmo valve adjustments are far more expensive than those for standard spring valves. And the new V-4, in 1,100 or maybe even 1,150cc displacement, will not need to reach out to sky-high rpm to generate power adequate enough to keep at bay the 160 hp of the Multistrada’s high-strung competitor, the BMW S 1000 XR.

The Multistrada V4’s rear-facing radar will be for Blind Spot Detection function. (Ducati /)

The testbikes circulating the roads on the hills around Bologna, Italy, show that the new Multistrada V4 will replace the single-sided rear swingarm with a suspension unit of standard design, and it might also come with either 17-inch wheels all around or with a 19-inch front wheel intended for a more adventurous version. This is all for now, stay tuned.

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