The Ducati Multistrada is one of the most successful modern motorcycles to have raced up the famed Pikes Peak hill climb, having taken 7 wins over the years. Motorcycle racing was banned at the Peak after Ducati star Carlin Dunne tragically lost his life in a crash just metres before the finish line in 2019, but Ducati still has a tribute to this race in the form of the Multistrada V4 Pikes Peak.

Effectively, this motorcycle goes back to the Multistrada’s roots of being a tall, sporty road-biased motorcycle. The primary sporty element comes in the shift from a 19-inch front on the standard Multistrada V4 to a 17-inch unit here. But there’s a whole lot more that you get for the (considerable) extra cash over the Multi V4 S than just a smaller front wheel. That includes a new Race Mode and Öhlins EC 2.0 semi-active suspension, just like you would have found on the previous-gen Panigale V4 S. It even gets a single-sided swingarm, forged aluminium wheels and a road-legal titanium Akrapovič end-can.

Multistrada V4 Comfort – 8/10

All of these changes are aimed at sharpening the Multi’s handling capabilities, which leaves the question – how much of an adventure bike is still in there? To find an answer, I pulled out Google Maps and picked a few random roads that I’d been eyeing over the years, but never had the opportunity to explore. The idea was to end up at the fabulous roads around Tahmini ghat, which is closer to Pune, and I’d chalked out a round-trip that came up to about 350km.

The first quest would be the hour-long escape from the mayhem of Monday morning Mumbai. Ducatis are usually the worst bikes for being stuck in jammed traffic, but the V4-engined Multi is different. As with its lesser V4 siblings, the Pikes Peak uses twin radiators that are housed on the sides, and the bodywork neatly ducts the hot air blast away from the rider. Also, as with all Ducatis, the cooling system does a remarkable job of keeping the operating temperature below 106 degrees even when stationary.

So, unless you’re stuck in a nasty bad jam where the clutch can get painful, this bike is surprisingly pleasant to manage in traffic. Of course, that’s a fairly relative statement, considering that this is a big, tall, 240-plus-kilo motorcycle.

However, after an hour or so, there’s no escaping the heat radiating off the rear cylinder bank that’s right under your thighs. I noticed that this was an issue in 36-degree afternoon heat on the highway, but not so much when the temperatures dropped in the hilly regions around Lonavala. Despite this, the Multi was far happier when it broke free from the clutches of the city.

Multistrada V4 Performance and suspension setup – 9/10

What truly blew me away on the Pikes Peak was the sheer range of its ability to change character. Like with the other V4 models, this one also has many different riding modes, a boat-load of electronic assists and minutely adjustable electronic suspension modes. However, the difference between ‘full chill’ and ‘full attack’ mode on this bike is truly breathtaking. After a couple of hours of quick and perfectly pleasant highway riding, the Multi and I soon found ourselves staring at miles of completely broken rural roads without a soul on them.

There’s no way I’d ever want to bring a sporty Italian exotic to a place like this, but putting the engine into Low Power mode (115hp instead of 170hp) and diving deep into the suspension setting menus to slack off the damping and preload completely changed the bike.

With ADV seating comfort and the 170mm of suspension travel soaking in the terrain quite well, I had no concerns with simply riding through these non-stop broken road conditions. The bike was unbothered to the point that I could ride it at a gentle pace and enjoy the spectacular beauty of rural Maharashtra in the monsoon. However, I must also make it clear that while the Pikes Peak can tolerate this sort of punishment, it doesn’t thrive on it. Think of this as a surprisingly comfortable road-tourer rather than a true ADV.

Multistrada V4 Ride and Handling – 10/10

A big Tiger or GS would have surely been more capable in these conditions, but the Pikes Peak would have simply blown away any ADV on the roads that came next. After ages of enduring gravel and shattered tarmac, we finally arrived at Tahmini to be greeted by some of the finest riding roads in the country.

A few button presses later, the Multi was now in Race mode, and the difference was startling. The bike suddenly felt tight, taut and taller, thanks to increased preload at the rear. This was no longer a cushy tourer and had suddenly turned into quite a fearsome beast that demanded respect. The raucous intake bark as the V4 engine snarled past 6,000rpm was almost as intoxicating as the way it built speed. While you could get the same sort of performance on a ‘normal’ Multi V4 that uses the same engine, the immense braking and incredible suspension composure of the Pikes Peak was something else.

I was now riding a sport bike, and it cornered and braked with such ferocity that it was easy to get carried away. I had to remind myself that this was a public road and we were going far too fast for good health! Slap on a sticky set of tyres, and this bike could genuinely embarrass a swarm of sport bike riders on the racetrack. After an awesomely exhilarating time on the ghat, there was no doubt that the Pikes Peak spirit is truly alive in this bike, and it most certainly isn’t just a branding exercise to charge a heap of money.

Multistrada V4 Price and Verdict – 8/10

Nevertheless, a heap of money is exactly what you have to pay to own this motorcycle. At Rs 36.9 lakh (ex-showroom), the Pikes Peak is exorbitantly expensive, and you still have to pay more for extras like heated grips, tyre pressure monitoring and keyless functionality for the fuel tank. At the end of the day, this is the connoisseur’s version of what is already a connoisseur’s adventure motorcycle. You’ve got to really want this particularly unique combination of all-road sport bike skills. After all, you can get either phenomenally capable super ADVs or proper super bikes for far less money.

I struggle to convince myself that it’s worth the price, but I’m also infinitely grateful that such a thing even exists and that we have the option to own one in India. If you’re among the precious few with the desire and funds to own such a bike, all I’d like to say is go for it!