What Ducati MotoGP Riders Think of the Multistrada
The Ducati Multistrada is the Bologna brand’s most popular model, but what do its factory MotoGP riders think of the tourer?
Ducati is continuing its dominance of the MotoGP World Championship in 2024 and currently occupies the first four positions in the riders’ standings. But what do its winning riders think of its road bikes?
Of all Ducati’s production offerings, the Multistrada is its most popular, coming in a number of variants from the base V2 and V4 models to the off-roading Multistrada V4 Rally, and a track-focused Multistrada V4 RS.
For Enea Bastianini, who will cease to be a Ducati rider at the end of this season when he switches to KTM, the Multistrada is a solid package.
“For me, the Multistrada is a good bike,” Bastianini said in the pre-race press conference for this weekend’s MotoGP Aragon Grand Prix. “I suggest to Ducati, in the next Race of Champions to use this one,” he laughed.
Bastianini will be replaced next year by Marc Marquez in the factory Ducati team. Although Marquez rides for the Gresini Ducati team currently, his contract is with the team, Gresini, not with the factory, hence he still often rides a Honda CBR600RR for training or a Honda CRF motocross bike.
It also means that Marquez has yet to sample the Multistrada. “Unfortunately, I never ride the Multistrada, but I’m looking forward to discover all the Ducati family,” the eight-times champion said, PR cap firmly attached.
Jorge Martin is in a similar position to Marquez, as someone who does not hold a road licence. “I never tried the Multistrada, I don’t even have the licence, so I cannot ride it,” Martin admitted.
Most insightful was Francesco Bagnaia, the reigning and two-times MotoGP World Champion confessing some degree of appreciation for Ducati’s flagship tourer.
“Yeah, I rode already the Multistrada,” said the Italian. “I think it’s a fantastic touring bike. You can go everywhere and it’s fantastic, very smooth, super-fast, you can do wheelie. So, it’s a great bike.”
The Multistrada, though, is not Bagnaia’s daily rider. Instead, he chooses something slightly tamer.
“I ride the Ducati Scrambler Nightshift,” Bagnaia said. “I love it, because I think it’s the perfect bike to ride in the street: not very powerful, but very clean.”
Alex has been working in the motorcycle industry for as long as he has been at Visordown, which has been since March 2022 so we'll let you work it out from there. He's the new guy. He'd be fetching us all coffee 'round the clock if he wasn't based in the arse end of nowhere.
