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After a hectic handful of weeks, I sincerely hope today is my last press launch for 2021 – my Delta SkyMiles status is doing just fine for the next two years.

But, don’t take that as a complaint, as this edition of “Gone Riding” sees us getting ready to ride the new Ducati Multistrada V4 Pikes Peak adventure-sport, which brings the 17″ wheelset back to this popular ADV machine.

The launch is taking place in Palm Springs, California – but this sunny SoCal getaway has a bit of rain on the forecast for our street ride today. Even so, I don’t think that will stop us from seeing if this 167hp beast can do the business.

Of course, the question on everyone’s mind will be whether the paint and goodies on the Multistrada V4 Pikes Peak is worth the $29,000 price tag, which is more than a $3,000 premium over the Multistrada V4 S model.

I hope to find that out, and also to see whether Ducati has captured the spirit of its Pikes Peak heritage, which started with a Hypermotard, and ended with a Streetfighter V4.

Per our new review format, I will be giving you a live assessment of the new Ducati Multistrada V4 Pikes Peak right here in this article (down in the comments section), and I will try to answer any questions you might have about this exciting motorcycle. 

Here is your chance to learn what it’s like to ride the Ducati Multistrada V4 Pikes Peak, before even our own proper review is posted. As always, if I don’t know an answer, I will try to get a response from the Ducati personnel. So, pepper away.

You can follow our thoughts on the bike live via FacebookTwitter, and Instagram, and you can see what our colleagues are posting on social media by looking for the hashtag #MultistradaV4 #PikesPeak

Spec-Sheet Comparison of Relevant Models to the Ducati Multistrada V4 Pikes Peak:

  Ducati Multistrada V4 Pikes Peak Ducati Multistrada V4 S BMW S1000XR KTM 1290 Super Duke GT
Power 167 hp 167 hp 165 hp 175 hp
Torque 92 lbs•ft 92 lbs•ft 84 lbs•ft 104 lbs•ft
Weight 527 lbs (wet) 529 lbs (wet) 498 lbs (wet) 497 lbs (wet)
Engine 1,158cc / V4 1,158cc / V4 999cc / Inline-Four 1,301cc / V-Twin
Price $28,995 $25,795 $21,090 n/a

Photos: Ducati

My first proper introduction to the Ducati Panigale V4 S happened in Spain, almost  four years go. Testing Ducati’s first proper four-cylinder superbike around the Valencia circuit was like witnessing a moment in history.

The Italian brand had slaughtered the last of its sacred cows, and laid them as tribute on the alter of speed – Ducati was serious about winning in WorldSBK, and had built a machine designed for that specific duty, with a whatever it takes attitude.

Our first outing with the Panigale V4 S showed that Ducati was on the right track. The bike was potent, not perfect, but potent.

Now here we are again, testing the 2022 Ducati Panigale V4 S at another Spanish race track, and I have to revisit those thoughts from my first meeting.

Potent? Yes, certainly. The 2022 Ducati Panigale V4 S only hones the formula further in terms of on-track potency for the Italian brand’s superbike package.

But how close does this new Panigale V4 come to perfection? That is why we were in Jerez de la Frontera, to look for the unobtainable dream.

Our conclusion? For those who can afford to put one in their garage, the 2022 Ducati Panigale V4 S is two-wheeled nirvana. Let me explain.

When I first met the Aprilia Tuareg 660, it didn’t make much of an impression. It was the 2019 EICMA show, and the bike was quietly on display in a glass box, covered with plants and vines.

The display was so nondescript, that thousands of attendees and hundreds of journalists passed by the Tuareg 660 without even noticing that it was there.

Nothing is subtle about the Tuareg 660 now though, as the middleweight adventure bike is riding the wave of success that has come with Aprilia’s previous two models from its 660cc platform.

Add into that notion how popular the middleweight ADV space has become recently, and we can begin to see why the Aprilia Tuareg 660 is one of the most anticipated motorcycles for the 2022 model year.

So to test its mettle, Aprilia brought us to the Italian island of Sardinia, where the winding mountain roads make for challenging and technical riding on the street.

And to get our feet dirty too, we tackled some rough gravel roads/trails, as well as an off-road circuit that Aprilia created with a good mix of sandy, rocky, wet, and bumpy conditions.

Is the Aprilia Tuareg 660 any good? Ask 31 riders and you will get a Baskin Robins of answers back in this highly personal two-wheeled space.

But, the Aprilia Tuareg 660 does seem to inhabit the Goldilocks zone of the middleweight ADV space that should impress many, and leave quite a few riders reaching for their wallets. Let me explain.

Hello from a mile-up, as Asphalt & Rubber is in sunny Denver, Colorado to ride two bikes from the BMW Motorrad lineup: the BMW R18 B bagger and the BMW R18 Transcontinental dresser.

Two birds of the same feather, both bikes are built off the BMW R18 platform, which means that they have a mammoth 244-pound air-cooled boxer-twin engine at their core.

Built to tackle the American v-twin touring scene, the BMW R18 bikes have Harley-Davidson squarely in their sights.

Can the Germans take on one of America’s most iconic brands? That is what we are here to find out, with a day’s ride through The Centennial State.

Editor’s note: Breaking my collarbone just a couple weeks before the press launch of the new Ducati Monster in San Francisco, I asked the most discerning Ducatisti I knew to take my place and test this new street bike fro Asphalt & Rubber.

Colin has seen more than a few Ducati’s in his garage over his many, many years, so he knows the history of this iconic motorcycle name, and yet he has enough “other” bikes in his garage so as not to be a complete Italian snob. Enjoy his words, and the properly English accent they were written in. -JB

First a confession: I feel like an imposter. I am neither a moto-journalist nor a professional rider. But, I do have some qualifications.

I own an eclectic collection of Ducati icons from the 80s and 90s, and many other newer Ducatis have passed through my hands over the last 30 years including a beautiful, raucous, guttural, black Monster S4RS in the late aughts.

Now a second confession: that Monster was the only bike that ever really scared the crap out of me.

The ferocious power and torque and no electronics meant the front wheel needed no excuse to leave the pavement; usually when I least expected it and was not paying attention. This was a design feature not a fault.

It was…is…the reason people wanted that Monster. For me, it was exciting but exhausting. It had to go.

After a long run-up, it is now really happening: Harley-Davidson is launching an all-road motorcycle with the Pan America 1250. No, not a soft adventure or crossover, but a real all-road, which will enter the category where the BMW R1250GS ruled for years.

As they say within the American brand full throttle marketing campaign: “this changes everything” – even if that’s just the case for themselves. 

The Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 is perhaps the most-anticipated motorcycle for the 2021 model year, as the bike is set to define the future of the Bar & Shield brand.

If the bike is a success on the sale floor, the future bodes well for this iconic American institution. If the bike is another failure, like the V-Rod (and Livewire), then well…Harley-Davidson has a tough road ahead of it.

With the European press launch of the Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 coming ahead of the bike’s debut in the USA (weird, right?), we couldn’t wait when came to evaluating this important machine.

The other side of the same coin? The Aprilia Tuono 660 is the “more naked” sibling (it’s a little unfair to call it a naked bike) to the Aprilia RS 660 sport bike.

With a more upright sitting position, cheaper price tag, and a lack of an IMU, the Aprilia Tuono 660 hopes to be a bit more approachable for street riders who aren’t looking for the race-ready design that comes with the RS 660.

Is there enough meat on the bones to hoon around on the track with this 660cc Tuono though? That’s what we aim to find out.

One of the most anticipated motorcycles of the 2021 model year is finally here for us to test, and in case the title to this review didn’t give it away, I am talking about the Ducati Multistrada V4 adventure bike.

Ducati has teased us long enough on this new ADV machine, including giving us an early look at its new Granturismo V4 motor, which is most notable for its lack of desmodromic valves. *Gasp* goes the Ducatisti collective.

With 168hp (125 kW) on tap, and 92 lbs•ft of peak torque coming from the compact V4 engine, it is hard to imagine why anyone would complain about what is beneath the fairings on this new Multistrada model, but then again…Ducati did leave a few sacred cows on the slaughterhouse floor when designing this motorcycle.

A pillar to Ducati’s two-wheeled lineup, the Multistrada V4 is a critical bike for Ducati to get right, as it accounts for roughly 20% of the company’s unit sales.

And for all of its changes and upgrades, the Multistrada V4 continues Ducati’s core principle for the Multistrada lineup – of having a model that is four motorcycles in one.

To see if Ducati got this recipe correct, the Italian brand invited us down to Borrego Springs, California, to ride the 2021 Ducati Multistrada V4 S in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

Our ride involved equal parts of curvy mountain roads and sandy desert tracks, giving us a good glimpse of what the Multistrada V4 S was capable of on the street and in the dirt.

The verdict? It’s a big one. If there was only one motorcycle we could buy with our hard-earned blogging dollars, this would be it. The Ducati Multistrada V4 S is the new standard in the premium ADV space. Let me explain.

The much rumored, much anticipated Ducati Multistrada V4 S is finally hitting US soil (in dealers, as we speak) and today we get a chance to ride this new adventure bike in anger.

Ducati North America has brought us to the Anza-Borrego desert in California to try this new machine, and put it through its paces both on the street and in the dirt.

Our bikes are also equipped with the new front and rear RADAR systems from Bosch, which means that we will get to test the adaptive cruise control and blind spot warning systems on the Ducati Multistrada V4 S, even though they won’t officially be available on the bikes until later this summer.

It should be a lively day of riding, and a prime chance to get your questions in about this machine and its new systems.

The Italians have been talking a big game with the new Multistrada V4, so we will be looking to see if this Ducati can top the very best in the big-bike ADV class.

Per our new review format, I will be giving you a live assessment of the Ducati Multistrada V4 S right here in this article (down in the comments section), and I will try to answer any questions you might have about this exciting motorcycle.

So, here is your chance to learn what it’s like to ride the Ducati Multistrada V4 S, before even our own proper review is posted.

As always, if I don’t know an answer, I will try to get a response from the Ducati personnel. So, pepper away.

You can follow our thoughts on the bike live via FacebookTwitter, and Instagram, and you can see what our colleagues are posting by looking for the hashtag #MultistradaV4 on social media.

Spec-Sheet Comparison of Relevant Models to the Ducati Multistrada V4 S:

  Ducati Multistrada V4 S BMW R1250GS KTM 1290 Adventure S
Horsepower 168 hp 136 hp 158 hp
Torque 92 lbs•ft 105 lbs•ft 103 lbs•ft
Weight 529 lbs (wet) 549 lbs (wet) 524 lbs (wet)
Engine 1,158cc / V4 1,254cc / Boxer-Twin 1,301cc / 75° V-Twin
Price (w/ bags) $24,095 $22,415 $19,847

Source: Ducati