Bike Review | 2024 Ducati Multistrada V4 Pikes Peak

If you don’t know what Pikes Peak is, do yourself a favour and watch some YouTube clips of it, it was a bit of a mental hill climb. A Ducati Multistrada won it with the late Carlin Dunne in the saddle and they have been naming a bike after the event ever since. We test the V4 Pikes Peak.

The 2024 Ducati Multistrada V4 Pikes Peak has 17in forged alloy wheels and Ohlins EC 2.0 suspension.

Sadly, Carline, a four-time Pikes Peak winner, would lose his life in the event in 2019, crashing just before the finish line. Aussie racer, moto journo and our own ex staffer, USA based Rennie Scaysbrook, was very close friends with Dunne and won that day. It was the last time a motorcycle would race at the unforgiving yet historic event… You can read a tribute to Carline here. 

Rennie Scaysbrook the moment he is told he had run the sub 10-minute record pass. Pic: Larry Chen

At first it was more a cosmetic thing, but fast forward to 2024 and over the years it has developed into this spicy, exotic V4 with all the bells and whistles at an eye watering $47,100 and if this bike isn’t exclusive enough you could splash out $56,000 and grab the RS model (check that out here)

The Multistrada V4 RS is equipped with EBC (Engine Brake Control) adjustable on three levels, which allows the rider to customize the engine braking depending on riding style and context.

Looks are always subjective, but who doesn’t love Italian motorcycles and those number one stickers on the side just do it for me. The Pikes Peak oozes quality, from the deep lacquer paint finish, to the carbon-fibre front-end and the Ohlins electronic Smart EC 2.0 suspension and those Brembo Stylema Monoblock brakes are a thing of beauty. For this amount of money though, I would have liked to have had a few extra bits of carbon included, such as a rear hugger and chain guard just to finish the look of the bike off.

The 2024 Ducati Multistrada V4 Pikes Peak has a carbon-fibre front guard, but plastic rear and chain guards.

Read our other Ducati reviews and articles here…

The Ride

My first ride as usual was a very early commute to work in the dark, this gave me an opportunity to see how the lights work and how easy the functions are to navigate around, well on both of those accounts the bike performed very well. I really like the illuminated buttons, it just makes life so much easier to see what you’re pressing and with having so many buttons to press, it really does help. The functions are pretty easy to navigate through, however the 6.5in TFT dash is cluttered with information although it’s crystal clear, bright and easy to read with the most important info large enough so you can easily see it.

TFT dash is 6.5in.

Backlit right switch block.

Backlit left switch block.

LED headlights, adaptive cruise radar.

“The Pikes Peak oozes quality, from the deep lacquer paint finish, to the carbon-fibre front-end and the Ohlins electronic Smart EC 2.0 suspension”…

After a couple of rides I had the functions down-pat, I love how you can go into each mode and change everything to suit your personal riding style and adjust each level in so much detail, engine, ABS, traction control, wheelie control, the list goes on and when you adjust something a graphic pops up to show you what area of the bike you’re adjusting.

Ohlins Smart EC 2.0 forks, carbon-fibre front guard.

Ohlins Smart 2.0 electronic shock.

Pressing the start button I’m greeted by the 170hp V4 sound that’s been derived from the engine from the Streetfighter V4 and burbles out of the Akrapovic muffler. With it being only six degrees I press the button for the heated handlebar grips and they don’t work, not a good start! Nevermind, I’m tough so I select first and head off up the street. The first thing I notice is the quick-shifter, it’s not as buttery smooth as some, but more analog with a precise yet positive click when each gear is selected.

Whether cruising the countryside or having a go in the twisty, the Pikes Peak has a mode for any situation…

Accelerating up the road I’m only a few kilometres into my ride and I’ve fallen in love with the bike, the way the engine makes me feel when I twist the throttle as if it pulses through my body, it has so much character, I just love it. Heading onto the freeway is a good opportunity for me to test out a few more of the Pikes Peak functions, the adaptive cruise control is first.

The heated grips on our press bike were not activated.

Excellent switch layout.

Comfortable rider triangle and handlebar position.

Handguards and radial-pull Brembo master-cylinder.

It’s super easy to operate and adjusts the distance between me and the car in front and it does a great job of slowing me down and or speeding me up, the sensor even works with smaller bikes in front. The mirrors also do a pretty good job of letting me see what’s behind and also have blind spot detection, which works really well, the only time the mirrors get a bit blurry is under acceleration where they feel the pulses from the V4.

the Ohlins Smart EC 2.0 suspension does a great job of providing support and balanced handling, while still offering a a smooth ride on the bumps.

The upright neutral riding position is super comfy and with the electronic suspension adjustments at the press of a button, I can ride in plush comfort or choose a more sporty setup instantly when I hit a twisty road. In top gear the bike cruises along at 110km/h at a leisurely 4500rpm, but a quick twist of the throttle in top gear will see the bike accelerate away with immense drive, no matter which mode…

“A quick twist of the throttle in top gear will see the bike accelerate away with immense drive, no matter which mode”…

Speaking of modes, you get Urban, Touring, Sport and Race. Like I said before, each are fully customisable and the bike remembers your preferences so you don’t have to adjust them each time you start the bike. I set up Touring mode supersoft for our bad roads and Race mode with most stuff turned off, in case I found a private road to pop a wheelie…

There is plenty of ground clearance and lots of grip from the Pirelli Diablo ROSSO IV tyres.

The seat feels pretty firm so I’m not sure how it would go long distance, my biggest time in the saddle was around 200km and my arse wasn’t complaining. This bike is very capable of long distance though, if you choose, the 22L tank was showing a predicted distance of 360km to empty so it’s more than capable especially if you fit the optional panniers.

Seat is good for at least 200km at a time.

Akrapovic muffler.

Marchesini forged alloys.

Heat shields on the V4 engine.

The best part about riding any bike is how it makes me feel and the Pikes Peak takes this to the next level, it’s just an exciting bike to ride or a relaxing bike if you want it to be. But, set this bike in a sporty mode and find a tight country road and I challenge anybody not to have a grin a mile wide when riding the Pikes Peak. There’s no denying this is a big tall bike, but it handles and steers far sharper than it has any right to, no doubt helped by those lightweight forged Marchesini wheels that help reduce the gyroscopic effect.

“Tapping up through the quick-shifter and hearing the induction noise and the sound coming from the Akrapovic pipe on full song, life doesn’t get much better”…

For the fun bits of road, I’d adjusted the Sports mode to be a bit edgier than stock, sharpening up throttle response and suspension to just how I liked it. Make no mistake this bike is an absolute weapon, there is masses of torque everywhere in the rev-range and it just keeps building until the 10,500rpm redline, however it’s the midrange where I spent most of my time and around 6000rpm the Pikes Peak really has a change of personality and fires out of corners unbelievably quick.

Tapping up through the quick-shifter and hearing the induction noise and the sound coming from the Akrapovic pipe on full song, life doesn’t get much better and I’m reminded how lucky I am to be riding this bike. Yes the bike has the speed, but it also corners and it doesn’t matter if it’s wide open sweeper or twisty mountain roads the Pikes Peak takes care of them with ease, even changing direction the big Ducati it switches from one side to the next very quickly, with only minimal effort and it’s super stable doing so. Encountering any pothole or bad road surface and the Ohlins suspension adjusts to suit in milliseconds to add an extra level of confidence to my ride.

Designed mainly for the road, the Pikes Peak will tackle the odd smooth dirt road but that’s about it…

The brakes are also amazing and well up to the task of pulling up the 214kg (dry weight) of the Pike Peak. The brakes are taken from the Panigale V4 so they should be good. You get 330mm discs on the front that grip the Brembo Stylema monoblock calipers and at the back you get a 265mm disc with a Brembo caliper. They are also adjustable through the mode menu for ABS intrusion and have cornering ABS, they are extremely powerful and are more than capable of track days should you want to take your Pikes Peak to the track as I wish I could have done, because this bike would be amazing and embarrass some superbikes I’m sure.

Conclusion

The more I ride this style of bike, the more I like them and can really see the attraction. For people like me that can’t physically ride a full-on sportsbike for any length of time due to old injuries, but still want that rush and performance of a superbike without the discomfort, then the Pikes Peak ticks all those boxes. It’s blisteringly fast without being completely mental, it’s comfy, it handles corners way better than it has any right too and more important than anything, that amazing V4 gives the Ducati a soul, which makes it so much more fun to ride.

Pommie gives the 2024 Ducati Multistrada V4 Pikes Peak a big thumbs up!

2024 Ducati Multistrada V4 S Specifications

Ducati.com.au
Price: From $47,100 R/A
Warranty: Two-year, unlimited kilometre
Colours: Ducati Red
Claimed power: 125kW[170hp]@10,500rpm
Claimed torque: 125Nm[92ft-lbs]@8,750rpm
Wet Weight: 227kg (no fuel)
Fuel capacity: 22L

Engine: V4 Granturismo, V4 90°, four-valves per cylinder, counter-rotating crankshaft, liquid-cooled, 1158cc, 83 x 53.5mm bore x stroke, 14.0:1 comp, EFI with 46mm elliptical throttle-bodies and RbW system, six-speed gearbox, slipper clutch, Akrapovic exhaust, chain drive, 16/42 gearing.

Chassis: Aluminium monocoque
Rake: 25.75º Trail: 120mm
Suspension: 48mm fully adjustable USD Ohlins Smart E.C 2.0 fork, electronic compression and rebound damping with Skyhook suspension (f), Fully adjustable Ohlins TTX 36 monoshock, electronic adjustment, Skyhook suspension (r). Travel F/R N/A.
Brakes: ABS, Front: Brembo Stylema radial mount monoblock calipers, 330mm rotors, ABS, Rear: Two-piston floating caliper, 265mm rotor, ABS.
Wheels & Tyres: Marchesini forged alloy 3.50 x 17in (f) and 6.00 x 17in (r), Pirelli DIABLO Rosso IV 120/70 – 17, 190/55 – 17.

Dimensions:
Seat height: 840mm – 860mm
Wheelbase: 1595mm
Overall height: N/A
Overall width: N/A
Overall length: N/A

Dash & Electronics: Riding Modes, Power Modes, ABS Cornering, Ducati Traction Control, Ducati Wheelie Control, Daytime Running Light, Ducati Brake Light, 6.5in TFT, Adaptive Cruise, Ducati Quick-Shift, Backlit ‘bar switches, LED headlight, Nav,

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