The Ducati Multistrada V4 is on its way and the bikemaker recently confirmed that the Multistrada V4 has entered production. Ducati has been teasing the world by dropping in teasers (theorems in Ducati lingo) and the last of the four teasers indicate that Ducati might drop the name ‘Multistrada’ altogether and will christen the upcoming flagship ADV-tourer with an entirely different name.
Say hello to the Granturismo V4!
In the last teaser, Ducati plays on the emotions and describes an engine that excites. The new engine will feature the same Twin Pulse firing order as the other V4, but be adapted for touring rather than high-performance—hence the name “V4 Granturismo”.
More details
Not many details are out yet and its performance figures are still unknown. Ducati is officially going to unveil the motorcycle on 4th November. Interestingly, it will be the first motorcycle to use front and rear radar technology. For the fourth generation of the Multistrada (or Granturismo), Ducati has developed a new, light and compact V4 engine, designed to meet the needs required for “adventouring” use without neglecting emotion and sportiness. The complete redesign made it possible to reach record-breaking maintenance intervals for the world of two wheels. At the moment, the Multistrada 1260 can go a little over 9,300 miles between oil changes and a staggering 18,640 miles between “Desmo Services” (a more significant check-up that includes not only an oil change but also a valve inspection, among other things). Expect the Granturismo V4 to push the envelope even further!
Radar technology
Ducati is bringing radars on production bikes, confirming what was anticipated in 2018. The adoption of these systems promises to be a true revolution for the world of two wheels, marking a new level of excellence in terms of comfort and riding assistance, especially on long motorway journeys. Radars are advanced aid systems capable of supporting and making riding more comfortable thanks to the ability to reconstruct the reality surrounding the motorcycle.
Ducati’s interest in this type of systems dates back to 2016 when the company worked in collaboration with the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering of the Politecnico di Milano to experiment with this type of systems. This first experience has confirmed the applicability of this kind of technology to vehicles on two wheels and has pushed Ducati to the creation of a complete package of riding assistance using two radars that, within four years, has been developed and produced in close cooperation with Bosch, a top-level technology partner, and sees its first application on the new Granturismo V4.
Each radar has compact dimensions (70 x 60 x 28 mm, similar to a modern action camera) and integrates perfectly into the bike, weighing only 190 grams. The radar positioned in the front of the vehicle controls the operation of the ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control), which by means of controlled braking and acceleration automatically adjusts the distance (selectable on four levels) from other vehicles when riding at a speed between 30 and 160 km/h. This car-derived system has been evolved and developed according to the dynamics and ergonomics of a two-wheeled vehicle. In particular, the authority of the system in terms of deceleration and acceleration has been limited in order to ensure the rider can maintain constant control of the vehicle in any situation. The system allows for more comfortable riding, especially on long motorway journeys.
The rear radar, on the other hand, is able to detect and report vehicles positioned in the so-called blind spot, i.e. the area not visible either directly by the rider or through the rear-view mirror. The BSD (Blind Spot Detection) system also signals the approaching from behind of vehicles at high speed.