Ducati’s ST4 (and ST4S) has been around for several years, now. Occupying, perhaps, the sportiest end of the sport tourer market, the bike has never been a direct competitor of the larger machines on the luxury end of the spectrum, such as Honda’s ST1300, Yamaha’s FJR1300, and BMW’s R1150RT. There is a rumor circulating in Europe that Ducati is developing a sport tourer to more directly compete with these luxury-biased machines.
The redesigned machine is expected to retain a v-twin engine (although, the engine itself will be redesigned, and feature a new transmission). It is possible that Ducati will display an early prototype this Fall at one of the major European shows.