Ducati Multistrada V4 Rally Launched In India

Some say torquey single-cylinder bikes are perfect for off-roading, while some say that grunty V-twins are best suited for it. But what about going off-road with V4 engines, a format most popular in MotoGP, the world’s most competitive tarmac racing series? Doesn’t make sense, does it? Well, Ducati does have a history of making bikes that don’t make sense… at least on paper.

Enter the Multistrada V4 Rally. Ducati decided to take arguably the world’s best sport tourer and make it ready for the ‘dirty stuff’ as well. How exactly is it ready for the dirty stuff, you may ask? For starters, the spoke wheels are shod with Pirelli Scorpion Trail II tyres. It’s still a 19-/17-inch wheel setup though. The wheel travel, though, has gone up and now stands at a solid 200mm at both ends. And what that’s also resulted in is a vertigo-inducing 905mm seat height. That said, it can be reduced to as low as 825mm with the suspension kit accessory. 

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Encouraging you to explore more is the massive 30-litre fuel tank. But that also means that the bike’s weight has gone up by a massive 20kg, meaning it now tips the scales at 260kg! In terms of technology, the V4 Rally is OBVIOUSLY kitted out with everything you’d expect from a Ducati big bike. But Ducati has gone a step ahead and tinkered with the cylinder deactivation technology. While the standard V4 switches off the rear cylinders at idle, they’ll now be turned off even at low speeds. There’s also a new off-road mode which limits the output to 114PS (the V4 makes a behemoth 174PS), to make the bike more manageable off the road. 

And yep, none of this comes cheap. The V4 Rally costs an eye-watering Rs 29.72 lakh (Rs 30.02 lakh for the Rally Black colour scheme), a big premium over the standard V4’s Rs 21.48 lakh price tag (all prices ex-showroom India).