---
title: "The Fastest Motorcycle up Pikes Peak This Year Was a Mostly-Stock Ducati Multistrada 1260"
description: "Ducati has reclaimed the crown as the two-wheeled king of Pikes Peak from KTM, with racer Carlin Dunne topping the motorcycle classes of this year's “Race to the Clouds” with a time of 9:59:102 in the saddle of a mostly-stock Ducati Multistrada 1260 Pikes Peak model."
date: "2018-06-25"
modified: "2018-06-25"
authors:
  - name: "Eric Brandt"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/eric-brandt"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/21738/the-fastest-motorcycle-up-pikes-peak-this-year-was-a-mostly-stock-ducati-multistrada-1260"
categories:
  - "News"
  - "Racing"
tags:
  - "Carlin Dunne"
  - "Ducati"
  - "Ducati Multistrada"
  - "motorcycle racing"
  - "Pikes Peak"
---

# The Fastest Motorcycle up Pikes Peak This Year Was a Mostly-Stock Ducati Multistrada 1260

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/06/ducati-multistrada-1260-pikes-peak.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

[Ducati](<https://www.thedrive.com/motorcycles/20597/a-brief-visual-history-of-the-ducati-monster>) has reclaimed the crown as the two-wheeled king of [Pikes Peak](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/21726/travis-pastrana-talks-about-racing-pikes-peak-and-flying-upside-down>) from KTM, with racer Carlin Dunne topping the motorcycle classes of this year's “Race to the Clouds” with a time of 9:59:102 in the saddle of a mostly-stock Ducati Multistrada 1260 Pikes Peak model.

Dunne's race-winning bike is actually pretty darn similar to the one that anyone can go buy at a dealer. The Pikes Peak model separates itself from other Multistrada trims with a Termignoni exhaust, an Öhlins suspension, and carbon fiber bodywork for weight reduction purposes. The changes to Dunne's mount were relatively minor, including different handlebars, Pirelli slicks, and a different Brembo master brake cylinder.

"This quite literally is the bike you buy on the showroom floor," Dunne said in a video showing off the Pikes Peak model before the race. Incidentally, Dunne was the first racer to ever climb Pikes Peak in less than 10 minutes on a motorcycle back in 2012.

https://youtube.com/embed/obppX7Z8Qt8

Ducati promised the new Testastretta DVT L-twin engine in the Multistrada 1260 would deliver 18 percent more midrange torque than the engine in the [outgoing Multistrada 1200](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/2526/six-great-motorcycles-for-tall-riders>), and the proof is in the first-place pudding. Oh, and it sounds magnificent. The new model also has a redesigned chassis for increased stability.

What’s so impressive about this Ducati’s Pikes Peak victory is the fact that it’s a touring bike. The Multistrada is just as at home eating up highway miles with a passenger as it is racing up a mountain, making it one of the most versatile motorcycles you can buy today.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/brandt004>)