Moto Review: 2024 Ducati Multistrada V4S Grand Tour

The popularity of long-legged motorcycles forces manufacturers to put together more capable entries. Whether you want to call it an adventure bike, an enduro, or a sports touring bike, they are all meant to do everything well. That said, when you demand a motorcycle to do everything well, it ultimately affects the pricing negatively.

We have had a chance to review one of the most expensive big-bore adventure/sport touring motorcycles available – the Ducati Multistrada V4S Grand Tour. With a starting price of $31,595, it is designed by enthusiastic engineers with no accountants in the room. From an off-road-oriented Rally trim, to track oriented Pikes Peak version, the Multistrada gives several different options for different riders with one condition. You need to be ready to pay the premium regardless of the trim you choose.

The Looks

The Multistrada started its life with its weird looks back in 2003, and eventually became a motorcycle which is considered as aesthetically pleasing to look at. Of course, it all starts with the front fascia. It has sharp and angular lines in the front. The dual LED headlights are the most striking feature that gives the bike an aggressive but modern look. It offers a great balance of sporty, elegant and rugged look.

The Multistrada V4S is the first motorcycle with an adaptive cruise control system, but Ducati has done a terrific job with the placement of the radar, it doesn’t make the bike look uglier like other European entries. Even though the Grand Tour is designed for long trips, the windscreen isn’t too large and it is manually operated. The competition has already moved to electronically adjustable windscreen, but it is very easy to operate the manual lever even at higher speeds.

The Multistrada V4S Grand Tour has a unique look from all angles, but unlike the new R1300GS, it has a wide road presence with its large and sculpted bodywork. The side panels are also functional and they are meant to move air to the rider’s legs, which can be closed for colder weather. The Grand Tour trim also offers more touring-oriented features, like the fog lights attached on each side of the fairings, and the Tire Pressure Monitoring Sensor.

The fit and finish are excellent, and the attention to detail is the main reason why you would pay a premium. The Multistrada V4S delivers great build quality that you expect from this price range, including the backlit buttons on the handlebar and the small storage area that has a cooling fan for your electronic device. Everything feels solid, including buttons, plastic trims, paint job, seat material and other surfaces that you can see and touch. The left side of the handlebar may look a little bit confusing at first sight, but once you get used to the joystick and its location, it is very easy to go through the digital screen.

Almost all European entries miss the opportunity to add a touchscreen feature to their high-end models, but Ducati’s screen is just as good as the direct competition, if not better. The screen won’t allow you to choose different layouts, but it shows a lot of important information without being too overwhelming. The menus are shown in a simplified fashion and they are easy to read. The bike allows you to choose each setting including wheelie control, suspension adjustments, traction control and so on.

Just as expected from a big bore adventure bike, it has a very relaxed riding ergonomics. The seat is exceptionally comfortable, but what makes the Multistrada V4S appealing to riders is the great balance of comfort and performance. The handlebar is quite wide and slightly far from the rider, making it easier to rotate the bike as you have more leverage with the right amount of sporty feeling.

At 6’1″, I had no issues with the standard seat after riding it for several hours. The stock seat is quite comfortable and can be adjusted 20mm up or down based on your height. Ducati also offers optional high or low-seat accessories for extra adjustment. The foot pegs are not too high or too low and are padded to isolate the vibrations. Two-up riding is also quite fun, offering a wide and nicely padded passenger seat. The heated seat for the rider is standard, but you need to pay the extra if you want the heated rear seat.

One of the reasons why the Multistrada has a higher starting price is the standard features, including cargo accommodation. The V4S and the Grand Tour trims come with side panniers that can easily be removed. You cannot lock or unlock them electronically, so you have to use the key to operate. Due to the exhaust location, the right pannier cannot take large items, but the left pannier can take a medium-sized full-face helmet. I always recommend spending extra for a top case, as it offers optimum cargo accommodation with minimal compromise, which is the ideal choice for longer trips.

The Ride

When Ducati first released the Multistrada V4 and higher trims, it was a big splash for the adventure bike segment. It is the first V4 engine layout implemented, which is very popular in the sports bike world. Of course, Ducati revised the platform to make it a better fit for adventure-oriented riding, including the powerband and maintenance schedule.

The Granturismo V4 motor pushes out 170 horsepower at 10,500 RPM and 92 lb-ft of torque at 8,750 RPM. It’s a 90-degree 1158cc V4 engine with a twin-pulse firing order. The engine also features a counter-rotating crankshaft operating in the opposite direction of the wheels. This technology is taken from their MotoGP team to improve handling to compensate for the bike’s gyroscopic effect, which helps with quicker turn-in.

The V4 engine offers a decent amount of torque down low, which sounds and acts like a V-Twin when you ride normally. It is not the smoothest engine at lower RPM, it wants you to keep the revs over 4000, especially at higher gears. However, the V4 engine really shines above 6000, it starts to sound and feel like a real V4 engine with its deep intake growl at wide open throttle. The exhaust note isn’t that noticeable especially at higher speeds thanks to strict emissions, but that can be fixed quickly.

The playful character of the V4 engine puts the Multistrada in a unique spot, as it makes long-riding sessions more fun, but it always feels like you have lots of power in reserve for all types of situations. I just wish the engine was a little bit less thirsty, and that would be the only negative aspect of the whole experience. In our tests, we were averaging around 7 litres / 100 km with a lot of highway driving. So if you are planning to take long trips, you need to be mindful about the total range that it can go.

For many adventure riders, one of the most important features is the long oil change and valve adjustment intervals. The Granturismo V4 engine doesn’t need valve adjustment for 60.000 kilometres, which is one of the longest in this segment, after the Harley Davidson Pan America, which comes with hydraulic lifters that do not require valve adjustment at all.

Even though it does not have a self-lowering feature we would find in an R1300GS, it comes with a minimum preload and easy lift settings. The minimum spring preload function allows the rider to increase the suspension sag and have lower ground clearance, but it relies on the rider’s weight to lower the bike. The Easy Lift feature softens the suspension to a level where it is much easier to lift the bike upright from the side stand, which can be a nice asset when the bike is fully loaded.

The Skyhook semi-active suspension and the dampening quality are impressive. The delta of adjustments is very noticeable. The dampening difference compared to the most comfortable and the sportiest setup is huge, which is what you expect from a bike meant to do everything well. It cannot eliminate the front-end dive at heavy braking, but it is very minimal and happens in a very controlled fashion at the limit.

Speaking of the limits, this is where the new Multistrada V4S Grand Tour shines. With its 19″ wheel in the front, it is not meant to be a track machine, Ducati offers the new Multistrada V4S Pikes Peak or the RS for that purpose. The Grand Tour comes with Pirelli Scorpion tires, which did not have the best grip on dry tarmac, but the bike was very communicative at the limit. The Brembo brakes provide great stopping power with the right amount of initial bite and no brake fading even when it’s pushed to its limits repetitively.

The suspension and chassis tuning magically make the bike feel a lot lighter than it actually weighs, it gives a lot of confidence in the mid-corner and corner exit, and it makes the whole experience a lot easier especially for a bike that weighs almost 240 kg with all extras. The Multistrada V4S is surprisingly agile, the bike wants to rotate despite its large footprint. It also offers different ride modes you can choose for different terrain and riding styles, including Enduro mode for off-roading.

It can disable the rear ABS in Enduro mode, and change the suspension setting to handle bigger bumps. The bike can hide its weight quite well off the beaten path, but the V4 engine doesn’t like to be hanging out at lower RPMs, which can be an issue for more technical trails. Standing on the Multistrada is also quite easy, the 6.8-inch TFT screen can be adjusted to tilt upwards so you can see the screen, and it feels quite comfortable even when you are standing up.

The Verdict

After riding the Multistrada V4S Grand Tour for almost 1000 kilometres, it has become my favourite heavyweight adventure bike even with its hefty price tag and mediocre fuel economy figures. It offers the right blend of comfort, sportiness and fun character in one package with a nice list of standard features, but with two different characters. It is easy to ride, predictable and comfy on long trips, and suddenly becomes a beast when you twist the throttle and flick into tight corners like a giant supermoto with confidence.

Unlike the other entries, Ducati gives you different options to choose from, you can opt for the more off-road oriented Rally trim, go with even more road-oriented Pikes Peak trim with 17″ wheels, or even go all out and choose the new RS trim for the best performance – and that flexibility puts the Multistrada in a unique spot that the other European entries can only offer with two or more bikes.