Ducati is no stranger to controversy. Take the recent disappearance of that iconic trellis frame from the 2021 Monster family, for example. One heartbroken designer even “fixed” the new Monster by adding that styling detail back into a render.  

When the Multistrada lost its single-sided swingarm with the V4, some fans were similarly distressed. To be clear, there’s plenty to appreciate about the Multi V4—but it was still sad to see such a well-loved feature go. That’s why a new spy shot from Motoblog might give anyone who really misses that single-sided swingarm some hope. 

The photo shows what appears to be a 2021 Multistrada V4 out testing, disguised in black so as to appear fairly unobtrusive. However, unless you deck your bike out like a parade float, no amount of camouflaging can hide that single-sided swingarm.  

 

Another notable difference is the 17-inch wheel up front, where the 2021 currently sports a 19-inch wheel. That potentially suggests a more street-oriented version of the Multistrada V4. Ducati wants to push its design language in new directions, but it also wants to make sure that Ducatisti are happy, since that’s who buys Ducati bikes. Two things can be true at once.  

As of March, 2021, Ducati has not offered any official indication that it is planning to release any Multistrada V4 with these modifications. Of course, that’s the whole point of spy shots—that they gin up interest and discussion prior to any sort of announcement from the OEM in question.  

From this photo, it certainly seems like this is an avenue that Ducati is at least willing to explore. How soon we might see any street-oriented Multi with a single-sided swingarm and a 17-inch front, of course, remains to be seen. Could it happen any time soon? It seems unlikely, since Ducati appeared to be mostly done with its 2021 new model announcements. However, there’s a new Scrambler presentation coming up on March 10, so maybe Borgo Panigale has a little more on its plate that it wants to share, as well.  

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