The Ducati Multistrada is a wonderful, nearly uncrashable motorcycle...as long as you keep it on the pavement. It seems Bologna might be fed up with people laughing at their silly little wheels from their well-farkled German machines, but that might not be the case much longer.

As you can see from the picture above, the Ducati is pretty far from anything you would want to take off road. Those 17 inch wheels are great for sport riding, as is the stiffer suspension and beautiful and pricey engine is also far too exposed to ever consider dropping onto a rock.

The latest iteration of the Ducati Multistrada is also their best yet. It uses variable valve timing which helps the 1200 cc super sport motor create more power and fuel far more smoothly down at the bottom of the rev range, while still remaining well tuned for optimal high-rpm performance.

Lean an $18,000 Ducati over on wet pavement and grab a handful of brakes? Our test rider ignores…

It’s also nearly impossible to low-side, thanks to their new Bosch Motorcycle Stability Control system. You can read about how .

Point being, the Ducati Multistrada is a fantastic bikes but it is definitely not a true adventure bike. I actually appreciate that Ducati didn’t take a massive touring bike, throw a big tire on it, and pretend it could go off road like so many manufacturers do - but it seems like that is now a market they’re no longer content remaining absent from.

A source close to the company told me about a new model set for release this year that he was calling the off-road Multistrada. I’m sure many of you thought the top photo was a spy pic of the new bike but () it’s an incredibly sneaky rendering of the Multi mixed with my favorite big off road adventure bike, the KTM 1190 R. Watch the video above and see just how awesome a big bike can be in the dirt when set up properly.

The move would certainly be an interesting one for the Italian brand, but getting laughed at by Germans will do crazy things to you. If this does turn out to be true, I think we all owe Portland’s a thank you for paving the way. Luckily, we only have a few weeks left to wait and see if this is true - stay tuned closer to the EICMA show on November 17th.

Photos: Ducati and MotoCorsa