RIDE REVIEW I 2 0 2 2 D U C AT I M U LT I S T R A D A V 4 P I K E S P E A K
P64
PRE-LAUNCH
MEET & GREET
Due to the 156-turn, 12.42-mile race
course's starting line hovering at 9400
feet and checkered flag flown at more
than 14,000, winter road conditions kept
the 2022 Multistrada V4 Pikes Peak press
introduction from taking place on the fabled
mountain near Colorado Springs.
Weather on our ride to the clouds—from a
five-star basecamp in Palm Springs (eleva-
tion: 479 feet), to mile-high Idyllwild—was as
volatile as racers experience in June at Pikes
Peak when the motorcycles raced there.
A gleaming row of identical bikes and their
handlers were steps away from our posh
hotel rooms, ready for the green flag to fly.
Dressed in a MotoGP-derived livery accented
with rich carbon-fiber side panels, front fender
and ignition switch cover, each Pikes Peak
has a distinctive two-tone passenger seat and
an official-looking Ducati Corse badge on its
short-cropped beak.
Dialing in the bike's setup took seconds.
Instead of drilling down into various menus to
find Auto-Leveling (for suspension preload ad-
justment) and Ride Modes (which control most
everything else), individual buttons atop the left-
side switchgear provide direct access.
RIDE TO
THE CLOUDS
As a testament to Ducati's latest engine-
management, traction, braking and
suspension-control technology, the group
survived this tempest—riding through rain
whipped by wind gusts up to 50 mph,
minor mudslides and fast-moving streams
of runoff—with reflexes slowed by temper-
atures in the 30s, through wet, numb extremi-
(Above) Skinny
little footpegs send
a few vibes through
the rider's feet.
(Below) Proof we
test in all weather!
At this point it was
barely over 30° F.
