• How would you sum up your mission for the Multistrada project?
  To create a bike that responds to true enthusiast needs, from good bikers to the most passionate and demanding riders who really want to test their skills and get the most out of their motorcycles. To me, this means riding the hell out of my bike, testing the bike on all sorts of road conditions.

• Who will ride the Multistrada?
  To really take advantage of the full potential of the Multistrada, you need an expert - a Ben Bostrom or Troy Bayliss - guys who can take the bike to its limits on twisty, mountain back roads. But what's amazing about the Multistrada is that it will be a blast to ride no matter what your experience level.
  
   
• At the end of the day, the bike is built for someone like me. It's the kind of bike I'd want to own and ride. It's a bike for a real world rider, a guy who wants to be on his bike as often as possible: to commute, to go for a hard ride, to pick up the groceries. It's a bike for living, and that's extremely exciting. Look, there's no reason you can't be brilliant and beautiful at the same time. Beauty and practicality aren't mutually exclusive - although we usually tend to think they are. I've never accepted the fact that a motorcycle must be impractical to be beautiful!
  
   
• Pierre, take us through some of the design features?
  My design team and I developed a comfortable, upright riding position with wider handlebars. We created a small fairing which we made as narrow as possible so that you can really tuck into the bike, but also provided some wind protection and even storage possibility. In the rear, we mounted a rack and optional bags. We developed a Superbike suspension with a bit more travel than standard sport bikes to absorb and respond to the multiple road surfaces that the Multistrada would encounter. Throughout the Multistrada, you find Superbike quality componentry. For example, the brakes and light-weight wheels are derived from the race-track, but mounted with high performance street tires. We've designed a bike that's stable at high speed but also content on city streets and in traffic.
  
   
• Can you tell explain the advantages of the "more comfortable upright riding position?
  There are multiple advantages to this riding position. It allows the average rider to ride much, much better. It ought to do a lot of people a lot of good. It gives better visibility in traffic, better opportunity to enjoy the scenery.
  
   
• What were the major design considerations and challenges?
  First of all the bike had to be light-weight. It had to be compact. And since it was going to be a very flexible, the bike had to be versatile in use, practical in nature and powerful. Therefore, our engineers created a new and potent engine for the bike with linear power delivery and lots of low-down torque. On our end, we made sure the bike was comfortable and we've tried to highlight technical components to give the bike a raw, mechanical look. Like on the MH900e, we've contrasted rough and finished surfaces, cast parts with slick and painted components. We think we've designed a very beautiful and sculptural new swing-arm, which emphasizes the high performance nature of this motorcycle. It's not easy to design a bike that performs well on any road, or maybe more accurately, on every road, but I think we've done it with the Multistrada. I intend to ride this bike every day.
  
   
• Should we be thinking of any particular precursors that influenced you?
  The Multistrada is a new niche. The precursor for me is the standard bikes of the 70's … when people used to buy bikes that could do many things - in an era of pre-specialization. I hope they will again.
  
   
• You mentioned the term "real world ride." How would you define that?
  A guy who goes for a ride in the hills on Monday and takes a spin with his girlfriend through town on Tuesday. A biker woman who wants to do her shopping and not in a station wagon. Basically, this is for an enthusiast who lives with his or her bike. Not just someone who takes the bike out every other Sunday.
  
   
• Pierre, what was the single greatest challenge of designing this bike?
  To create a bike that does everything well, has storage space, and at the same time has a massive visual impact. We worked on this bike long and hard until it looked right. Getting those sides slim enough, making a frame as narrow as possible, and building a low bike that didn't seem too low, took a lot of time. Motorcycle design demands an elegant combination of aesthetics, ergonomics, and mechanical solutions in a very small space. Everything needs to be extremely practical, which means form must usually follow function. And so specific details take on a heightened significance - the graphic element, for example, becomes very important. In the end the colour of a screw is as important as the shape of the bike.
  
   
• The graphic element has always figured prominently in your work. What can you tell us about the reasoning behind the Multistrada's colours and finishes?
  Silvers and metallic colours, Ducati red, finishes celebrating the mechanical look: cast aluminium, stainless steel, chrome … similar ideas in that regard to the Mhe. No fake finishes, the materials speak for themselves.

Ducati Multistrada

Click here for an interview with R & D director Gianluigi Mengoli about the new engine.