My Dream Bike, Four Years Later

For about 4 years the Ducati Multistrada V4 Pikes Peak has been the poster on my wall. I rode one at the press launch, decided it was the best thing on asphalt, and spent a good chunk of the time since telling anybody who would listen that it was my dream bike. There is an entire TikTok series built on that idea.

So I went back. Mountain Motorsports had a pre-owned 2023 on the floor with just under 10,000 miles on it, wearing an Akrapovic exhaust, Evotech protection and a few other upgrades from the previous owner. New, this bike was $31,595. Used, it hurts a lot less.

The plan was simple. Ride it again and confirm what I already knew. That is not quite how it went, and none of it is the motorcycle's fault.

Performance Highlights

The engine is a 1,158cc V4 Granturismo making 170 horsepower and 92 lb-ft. You'd assume a number like that lives at the top of the rev range and you have to go looking for it. You don't. Crack the throttle and it's already there, and in Touring mode that power sits right where you can use it. Then I switched to one of the sportier modes and it went for the red line so fast I said a word I can't print here.

I did the 40-80 run in first gear, and it turned into a wheelie through first and another one through second. 2.21 seconds. That's the quickest 40-80 I've ever recorded, quicker than the BMW M 1000 R, on a bike with a tall windscreen and radar cruise. Ducati's wheelie control kept it civilized and put the front down softer than Yamaha's does, which I did not expect to be saying.

Handling is where it stops making sense. This is a 527 pound adventure bike with a cockpit the size of a studio apartment, and it flicks side to side in town like something half its weight. The secret is at the ends of it. It runs 17 inch forged Marchesini wheels where every other big ADV runs a 19 inch front, and the bars are wide enough to give you all the leverage in the world. You keep waiting for it to feel big. It never does.

The Öhlins semi-active suspension is the best I've felt on a big bike. Push hard into a turn and it takes a split second longer to lock in than a Panigale would, so it isn't quite race-bike perfect, but nothing else in this class settles faster. And the Brembo Stylemas surprised me twice. On the slow camera car run I was complaining about them. At pace, with a proper squeeze, they hauled the whole thing down so hard I lost my train of thought. The Tiger 1200 Alpine was my brake benchmark for this class. This beats it.

Rider Experience & Tech

You sit upright with wide bars pulled back toward you, and your legs are more folded than you'd expect on a touring bike. I can flat foot it, but the pegs sit exactly where my feet want to go at a stop. The seat is on the firm side and cupped at the back, so you don't slide off when all that power arrives. Then the heat shows up. 10 minutes in, on a cool day, I could feel the engine through the seat. Not Panigale bad, but not far off, and it's the main thing holding comfort back.

Tech is where Ducati earns the money. Radar cruise that paces the car ahead, blind spot warning lights tucked quietly into the mirrors, hill hold, a windscreen you raise with one finger, and what I think is the best menu layout in motorcycling. BMW included. The mirrors actually work, which is rarer than it should be.

What keeps it from being easy is the way it wants to be ridden. There's more power here than most riders will ever use, and the quickshifter is picky about it. Shift in the meat of the rev range and it gives you a lovely little pulse. Shift early around town and it clunks, and lug the V4 in too tall a gear and it shakes. Ride it the way it wants to be ridden and it's happy. Ride it like a commuter and it lets you know.

The Chase Score & Final Thoughts

With a Chase Score of 81 out of 100, the Pikes Peak lands in Great tier, one point behind the 2026 BMW R 1300 GS and ahead of every other adventure bike on the board. The Ride half is a 46, about as close to maxed as anything I've tested. Usability is where it gives points back.

And here's the thing. It isn't my dream bike anymore. Boil it down and it's a race bike made comfortable. You could run a canyon as hard as you would on a Panigale V4 and still be comfortable on the ride home. But I've got a wife and a 2-year-old at home, I'm not doing track days right now, and I like a little dirt every now and then. The GS does that. So the GS takes the title. Best bike, wrong rider.

Buy it if you want the sportiest touring bike on sale and you'll actually ride it that way. Skip it if it would be your first bike, or if your plans include leaving the pavement.