Ducatistas ahoy! All your prayers requesting a racier Multistrada have finally been answered! Behold the Multistrada V4 RS. The most dynamic version of Ducati's famed adventure-tourer. It borrows the manic Desmosedici Stradale engine from its sportier siblings, the Panigale V4 and the Streetfighter V4, gets a lighter chassis and many carbonfibre and titanium bits. The Multistrada V4 RS will be produced in limited numbers and there's a lot to know about it.
The V4 RS looks like the V4 Pikes Peak albeit with a slimmer tail section and bespoke ‘RS' graphics. It gets an array of carbonfibre goodies, a smoked visor, a golden USD Öhlins front fork, a single-sided swing arm and those sweet looking 17-inch Marchesini forged aluminium wheels. The bike also sports a split-seat setup complete with an 'RS' badge. To help its engine breathe better, the RS gets an Akrapovic exhaust as standard, which also looks the part.
Ducati has given the V4 RS a new heart! Unlike all the other variants of the Multistrada which are propelled by the Granturismo V4 engine, the V4 RS is powered by the Desmosedici Stradale mill. In the Multistrada, this engine produces 177bhp at 12250rpm and 118Nm of peak torque at 9500rpm. That's 11bhp higher, but 7Nm lower than the Granturismo V4. The bike also gets a lighter billet aluminium dry clutch for snappier feedback.
The V4 RS gets some major tweaks to its chassis to make it the most dynamic Multistrada we've ever laid our eyes on. It therefore gets smaller 17-inch wheels at the front and rear, similar to the V4 Pikes Peak, which are 2.7kg lighter than the 19-incher on the standard Multi, for improved agility. These rims are shod on stickier rubber — Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV Corsa tyres measuring 120/70-17 upfront and 190/55-17 at the rear.
The bike also gets an exclusive titanium rear sub-frame for added strength and weight reduction. And all this makes the V4 RS the lightest fourth-generation Multistrada yet. At 211kg dry, it's a whole 3kg lighter than even the Pikes Peak edition, which itself was put on a strict diet.
The bike rides on Öhlins Smart EC 2.0 suspension borrowed from the Panigale V4 S at the front and rear, in lieu of the Skyhook suspension from the standard Multistrada V4 S. This setup gets electronic compression and rebound adjustability at the front and electronic preload adjustability at the rear.
Braking duties of the V4 RS are handled by dual 330mm discs upfront, with Brembo Stylema monobloc four-piston calipers and a single 265mm diameter disc squeezed by a Brembo floating caliper at the rear.
Taking centre stage in the dash of the Multistrada V4 RS is a 6.5-inch TFT with navigation, screen mirroring and dedicated RS graphics. It controls all the functions of the bike. The Multi is a tour de force when it comes to safety equipment. It gets cornering ABS, traction control, wheelie control and most notably, ADAS features enabled by a radar system at the front and the rear! It is the first production motorcycle in the world to feature radar Adaptive Cruise Control. My colleague Karan has ridden the Multistrada V4 S and he says this system works seamlessly even on our Indian roads.
The V4 RS gets four power modes — Full, High, Medium, Low — and four riding modes — Race, Sport, Touring, Urban. More features include a cornering function for the headlight and also hill-hold assist.
While we don’t have an official word on its India launch yet, at least a few units of the Ducati Multistrada V4 RS should make their way to Indian shores, given that we’ve seen other limited edition Ducatis making their way here too. As for its price, it will certainly demand a premium over other variants of the Multistrada. Expect it to be priced anywhere between Rs 35-40 lakh. That’s because at Rs 31.48 lakh, ex-showroom, the Multistrada V4 Pikes Peak which commands a premium of almost Rs 6 lakh over the Multistrada V4 S, is the most expensive Multistrada on sale in India currently. In terms of rival, the Multistrada V4 RS doesn’t have any direct competitors, but the upcoming BMW M XR should come close.