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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

In 2019, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb announced the halting of its motorcycle classes, after the death of Carlin Dunne highlighted the high-speed perils of racing on the 156 turns of the all-asphalt course.

Completing a two-year review on including motorcycles back into the Pikes Peak racing program, the race organizers have concluded that bikes will indefinitely be absent from the Race to the Clouds going forward.

Episode 19 of the Brap Talk podcast is finally out for your two-wheeled audio pleasure, and apologies for its nearly three-week delay. One of the topics we cover, Carlin Dunne’s death at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, hit close to home for us.

Quite frankly, I think I put off editing this show for a while, so I wouldn’t have to deal with the personal emotions that arise when talking about his untimely departure from us.

The future of motorcycles competing at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb continues to be a precarious situation after this year’s death of Carlin Dunne.

As such, the Board of Directors for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb recently convened and decided that for next year’s event, no motorcycle racing will take place as part of the hill climb.

In a press release, the race organization says that it needs to “gather data and analytics to review more thoroughly the impact on the overall event in the absence of this program.”

The future for motorcycles racing at Pikes Peak is under question, according to local reports about the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

The news comes from the Colorado Springs Gazette, which says that Executive Director Megan Leatham told the city and US Forest Service in an email after the crash that she thought the race would be the last for motorcycles on the mountain.

As one would expect, the discussion about the future for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, and whether motorcycles would continue at the event, is far from a definitive conclusion, but the possibility of the motorcycle race ending is very real.

This video of Rennie Scaysbrook (resident fast man at Cycle News) racing at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is insane and must be watched, as his Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 Factory summits in a time of 9:44.963.

This video showcases what it takes to set a new Heavyweight motorcycle record and the fastest time ever for a motorcycle at the iconic Race to the Clouds.

Be sure to watch all the way to the end though, because Rennie’s elation at finishing the race in record time is easily worth the price of admission.

Episode 18 of the Brap Talk podcast is now out for your two-wheeled audio pleasure, and this is another topic-packed show that runs the gamut of the motorcycling experience.

Before we get into the show’s details, it should be noted that this episode was recorded during the practice week of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

So, we talk a bit about Carlin Dunne during the show, and are of course unaware of what would happen later that weekend. We deeply miss our friend Carlin, and plan to talk about his amazing life in our next podcast.

The 97th edition of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb has finished for the motorcycle riders, and with it comes a new outright two-wheeled record at the iconic race.

Rennie Scaysbrook took the heavyweight class win, and along the way (we interviewed Rennie on the MOTR Podcast  just a few weeks before the race), he pushed the outright motorcycle record at Pikes Peak to 9:44.963 on his Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 Factory.

It is with a very heavy heart that we have to report the passing of our friend and colleague Carlin Dunne, who died today while racing at the 97th Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

Carlin was on his way to a record-setting lap with his Ducati Streetfighter V4 prototype, and according to eyewitnesses (which we should preface have been very unreliable throughout the day), he had just passed the final turn on the course a small distance from the finish line when his bike encountered a bump, crashed, and went off course.

In Episode 6 of the MOTR Podcast, I sit down with Rennie Scaysbrook, the road test editor at Cycle News magazine, and also one of this year’s competitors at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

In this short show, Rennie and I discuss what it is like to ride on “America’s Mountain” and what goes into creating a successful Pikes Peak racing program.

Shot on location in the Pacific Northwest, we finally get to see the Ducati Streetfighter V4 in its natural element: rippin’ and tearin’ on the asphalt.

At the helm is Pikes Peak racer Carlin Dunne, who aims to take the Streetfighter V4 to the summit of Pikes Peak faster than any motorcyclist has ever gone before. That means a time of 9:45.624 or faster.

There are 156 turns between Carlin and this goal though, along with thousands of feet in elevation change. As the Santa Barbara native once told me, you don’t race your fellow competitors at the Pikes Peak – you race the mountain.