We have heard rumors that Ducati would jam its new V4 engine into a Multistrada-type for quite some time now.

But, most of those rumors seemed to confuse the high-powered adventure-sport for the upcoming Ducati Streetfighter V4, so we dismissed them. And yet, talk of a Ducati Multistrada V4 continues.

Now, the rumors are getting more palatable, and even more credible. One reasons for this is a report from Germany’s Motorrad Magazine, which says that they even saw the Multistrada V4 out testing in Bologna.

Zie Germans have no photographic proof of this unicorn, but they do quote figures like 190hp and the inclusion of an advanced rider safety aid suite called ARAS (Advanced Rider Assistance System), which will use radar to help alert the rider to certain dangers on the road.

The bike is said to be for the 2020 model year, and set for an EICMA debut later this November. We would expect pricing to be well above $20,000 for this machine.

While we would be surprised to see Ducati releasing both the Streetfighter V4 and a Multistrada V4 the same year at the Milan trade show, crazier things have happened, and Ducati does seem to have up its sleeve a number of strong releases for later this year.

This new creates some interesting possibilities in Ducati’s two-wheeled lineup, however. Going forward, we can see Ducati taking one of two paths with a Multistrada V4.

The first would be perhaps not to call the bike a Multistrada in the first place, letting it be its own sport-focused machine that maybe lives in the Multistrada family, but is very different in purpose from its v-twin siblings.

This allows the Multistrada 1260 lineup to explore one vein of ADV riding, one that is more off-road focused, while the V4 model could become a stronger adventure-sport machine.

The other possibility we see is that the V4 engine replaces the 1262cc v-twin engine line (of note, Motorrad nixes this idea in its story), leaving the smaller 937cc models to use a v-twin engine.

This creates some more stratification in the Multistrada lineup, similar to what Ducati has already done with its superbike offerings. However, it is hard to see how a V4 motor will be welcomed by true off-road riders, which makes this an imperfect solution.

Whichever road Ducati decides to go down, this should be an interesting rumor to follow. We will of course have our Bothan spies go looking for any details, and we will report what we find. Stay tuned.

Source: Motorrad Magazine