Ducati MultiStrada 1200

[ohayo]

The expandable panniers damn cool la!

[ujiro]

Nice to look at but I wonder if it can take the punishment like a KTM.

[kmax]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVco316rMFk[/yt]

[lycan]

Buying the bike is one thing. Maintenance is another. Minerva can sell but I think they have poor aftersales service. With such new technology, I doubt the service center can manage.

soo..

 

whats gonna happen if it breaks down?

 

send it back to italy to fix?

 

wait for months for the spare parts to ship here?

 

:/

[LollyPoP]

shall we org a trip to check out this new toy?

[CMYRS]

shall we org a trip to check out this new toy?

 

 

everytime Im at minerva, theres 4-5 ppl standing around n staring at it like its a mona lisa.

[lycan]

So... has anyone bought one yet?

[kmax]

http://www.xt660.com/showthread.php?t=13752&highlight=multistrada

 

I took the new 1200 Multistrada out to stretch it’s legs yesterday, the local dealers wanted some mile on it before it begins it promiscuous life being ridden by anyone with a will to get a leg over it!

 

http://www.smokingtailpipes.com/Gallery/P4220153.JPG

 

http://www.smokingtailpipes.com/Gallery/P4220152.JPG

 

http://www.smokingtailpipes.com/Gallery/P4220154.JPG

 

I picked it up from J&L Motorcycles in Carlisle with 190 miles on the clock, had a quick introduction to the keyless ignition, and the plethora of switch combinations to make the bike go, and the various ways in which it can go.

 

Off through the town in ‘Touring Mode’, the bike rides really well and feels much lighter than the Tenere, although the bars feel much much wider and you sit a little more forward to get the same riding position. Heading out of town and clearing the traffic I was starting to get the feel for the bike so I switched to ‘Sport Mode’. One of the great things about this bike is the on-the-fly changes to the setup, not just the power delivery (like in the Dorsodoura) but the suspension too. In ‘Sport Mode’ the suspension stiffens up (so you can feel those sweet papers on the ground as you go over them) and the power delivery is almost savage, not so bad as it bites you but if feeds in very quickly and that one overtake soon becomes 3, 4 or 5. Good job the breaks are awesome because when the power catches you out, the breaks sort everything out for you.

 

After clearing the A roads I hit the B & C roads, along with the undulating surface that the Tenere loves so much, I though the Ducati might struggle a little here, but another on-the-fly change to ‘Enduro Mode’ and the power delivery drops to a poultry 100Hp and the suspension softens to start soaking up the bumps. In ‘Enduro Mode’ the bike feels very similar to my Tenere in both power delivery and ride & handling (My Tenere isn’t standard as it comes with DNA filter, PC-V and HyperPro upgrades). The big difference is the Ducati still has ooooodles of power well after the Tenere is bouncing off the redline. The Multistrada isn’t as easy to turn in on these roads as the Tenere, but I put that down to fact I hadn’t really had any time to get a relationship going with the 1200, and it was the most expensive bike I’ve ever ridden at £14k, so risk taking wasn’t on the agenda.

 

Along the coast road and back to A roads for the ride home, I jumped into ‘Sport Mode’ and started to carve up the traffic. This bike is sports bike quick, really, I took one car on a short piece of road and was into three figures between the boot and the bonnet of the 3 Series BMUU, if you don’t have your whit’s about you this bike will see you licence flutter away into Mr plods glove box.

 

As I rode back into town I tried out ‘Urban Mode’, and to be honest it’s rubbish! The bike feels like it’s hunting all the time , the ever-so-snatchyness you get with all V-Twins is very noticeable and you’ve got no power, the bike feels asphyxiated. A quick flick back to Touring and the bike behaves allot better.

 

The seat is very comfortable, it’s firm but sort of bottom shaped, it’s strange as I though it was more sportsbike like than tourer, adventure or commuter. You get a reassuring feeling from the pillion seat as just nudges you from the rear if you move too far back. Normally on a new bike it takes me a while to get used to the seat, but I covered 80+ miles on this and didn’t feel at all uncomfortable.

 

The hand guards, with the nice expensive looking LED indicators are very good, there is no wind buffeting around the outside as you get with lots of these type of guards, and despite there still being snow around I never felt cold with my autumn/spring gloves on.

 

http://www.smokingtailpipes.com/Gallery/P4220153-1.JPG

 

The Mirrors are a strange setup, rather than the arm moving to bring the rear into view, the mirror is set into an outer shell and the mirror moves in that, so the arms never move.

 

The bike is fairly well thought out, with two power outlets, one each side near the in-built pannier mounts. The bike also comes with three matching lock barrels for panniers if you decide to buy them later.

 

http://www.smokingtailpipes.com/Gallery/P4220156.JPG

 

http://www.smokingtailpipes.com/Gallery/P4220151.JPG

 

The keyless entry is good, and by keeping the key in you pocket, you just kill the engine (with the kill switch) and walk away, it sorts itself out! Upon your return, you have to sort of reboot the bike by moving the kill switch (which has three positions) up, then down and down again, then back up. When it goes back up it exposes the start button, kinda quirky but easy once you get used to it, Keyless range is about 1.5 meters so it’s not going to able to be started if the key is in the house and the bike in the garage.

 

This bike is like a computer game to operate, and I never got fully familiar with all the functions that you can control with the various combinations of what are about 4 multi directional buttons. Ducati say that they have all the electrical gremlins sorted out, and the bike will go between services without a workshop visit, I hope it’s true as the electronics alone are mind boggling. The multifunction computer gives lots of information, range (left in the fuel tank – very useful) average speed, average fuel consumption, current fuel consumption, trip time and some other stuff that I just can’t remember. On the main dash you have time, engine tem, rev counter, and some more stuff, that I forget!

 

http://www.smokingtailpipes.com/Gallery/P4220158.JPG

 

 

Despite the whole bike being an electronic whiz, the screen is a manual adjustment, but with 120ish mm of adjustment you can get it to where you want it very easily and the locking knobs are large and glove friendly. The cockpit is a very uncluttered affair, it look like it’s missing something, I suppose once you get a GPS in there it will fill up a little.

 

The bike is equiped, from the factory with the top Pannier mountings already there, although the bike I had was the 'S' with the Carbon body bits, I think the Tourer version is probably better value.

 

http://www.smokingtailpipes.com/Gallery/P4220155.JPG

 

 

Under the seat is something that Tenere owners only dream about, space! Enough for a set of waterproofs and a sandwich. It’s a proper space too, not just some spare space above the battery.

 

http://www.smokingtailpipes.com/Gallery/P4220150.JPG

 

Ducati say this is four bikes in one, and to be fair you really notice how the same bike behaves in four completely different ways depending on the mode you are in. I wouldn’t like to take the bike anywhere more adventurous than a well laid gravel road, but the Enduro mode works exceptionally well on the winter damaged B & C roads, Touring will give you great all round ability and Sport will have you holding on for dear life! The modes are all tuneable, so maybe a little work on Urban mode will sort out the shortcomings here.

 

As if to give the bike some off-road ability, they've even given it removable rubbers.

 

http://www.smokingtailpipes.com/Gallery/P4220157.JPG

 

 

I like the bike, and I’d like to get back on it when I can break the 5/6K rpm barrier, I think this bike will be a totally different bike when the rev ranges opens up and the engine is a little less tight.

 

Is it worth £14k, I'm not sure, when you consider that J&L have already taken orders for this bike, and two of them are GS1200adv's it's clearly a seller and might even upset some who've put the deposit down on a Super Tenere, as long as you are road warrior and not a RTW adventurer.

[akesu]

very nice Du, my wallpaper bike... ...

[greeklander]

Video doesnt do justice to the GS. Its all road... boringness!

Sorry not to go Off Topic but I do agree with papabread:

 

In term of smoothness, you cannot be the the GS boxer engine. I do agree that the Ducati might be a little faster or more nippy on road, but an Enduro-Tourer is not about fast speedy or nippy on roads, but rather for off road too. I think the if you put two boxers on a TDM, you can get a tourer like the Ducati MS too. But you cannot put two boxers on any bike that gives the feel like a BMW GS.

 

I will go for the BMW anytime. Sorry just my humble opinion.

[kmax]

[yt]

[/yt]

[kmax]

RTW Multistrada 1200...

 

too bad it's just TV show hosts doing their thing..

 

http://travelog.ducati.com/jspducatimultistrada/travelog.jsp?lang=en

 

Read a real travel journal inspired by the new Ducati's motorcycle, the Multistrada 1200.

Let yourself be driven by Emerson Gattafoni and Valeria Cagnoni, stars of the Italian national TV programme "Dreamsroad".

 

Valeria and Emerson are on the road with their Multistrada 1200, travelling around the world to the most beautiful and remote places on earth. A trip that crosses four continents to celebrate the four-bikes-in-one Multistrada riding experience, starting in Australia and travelling through the United States, Africa and finally Europe.

 

Starting on Thursday March 4th, you can read Emerson and Valeria's travel diary, exclusively on Multistrada Travelog.

Don't miss it!

 

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sabqYNOP1Jk&feature=player_embedded[/yt]

 

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDNyqMw43FI&feature=player_embedded[/yt]

 

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwnR09yS9cQ&feature=player_embedded[/yt]

 

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqB7M6unaDk&feature=player_embedded[/yt]

[ohayo]

hmmm..has anyone seen this bike on singapore road? cant wait to hear and see its engine roar by my side!

[kmax]

hmmm..has anyone seen this bike on singapore road? cant wait to hear and see its engine roar by my side!

 

saw one at motoworld a few weeks back, owner was installing after market horns.

 

it's really compact machine, smaller than v-strom or TDM, not much room for 2-up touring but hey.. you could pillion small size model girl if u r riding such machine

 

great detail in finishing, all parts and accessories looks perfect fit.

[ohayo]

saw one at motoworld a few weeks back, owner was installing after market horns.

 

it's really compact machine, smaller than v-strom or TDM, not much room for 2-up touring but hey.. you could pillion small size model girl if u r riding such machine

 

great detail in finishing, all parts and accessories looks perfect fit.

 

ohhhh...you are so lucky! hope to see and hear one soon!

[CMYRS]

time to order yours?

[kmax]

ohhhh...you are so lucky! hope to see and hear one soon!

 

i just only see see look look, owner is truly lucky one

[ohayo]

time to order yours?

 

 

Bro....cannot ah. Really need to save up. Unless i can let go my concours at 26-27k? full accessories down. Then got chance!

 

i just only see see look look, owner is truly lucky one

 

Hahahah....kmax, just now i backside itchy. Went to minerva to test the strada. Shiok can go as many rounds as i love. Wa lau eh....i am in love with it la... solid man!

[CMYRS]

from what I recall, Mr Lee took in a few of his friend's GTRs for about 22k.

 

They were about 6-12mths old, with some, mileage as low as 3000km.

 

He is pretty stiff with the trade in price unless u get the strada from him?

[ohayo]

from what I recall, Mr Lee took in a few of his friend's GTRs for about 22k.

 

They were about 6-12mths old, with some, mileage as low as 3000km.

 

He is pretty stiff with the trade in price unless u get the strada from him?

 

22k on stock. I am quite ok with it ah. Ya. i am planning to get strada from him. Tomorrow he will let me know the outcome lo.

[CMYRS]

22 stock is not a bad price, then just top up 28k with options and ure good to go!

 

warranty with minerva or looi?

[ohayo]

22 stock is not a bad price, then just top up 28k with options and ure good to go!

 

warranty with minerva or looi?

 

eh.....he has not get back to me. Warranty with either minerva or looi. Any differences bor?

[CMYRS]

it depends if he gets the bike from minerva or PIs it himself.

 

other than price, next most impt bit is warranty.

 

excel boys also sell dukes but they apparently have heaps of issues when making claims from minerva. ask the boss about the 3mth old 1098s issue with the electrical harness.

[ohayo]

it depends if he gets the bike from minerva or PIs it himself.

 

other than price, next most impt bit is warranty.

 

excel boys also sell dukes but they apparently have heaps of issues when making claims from minerva. ask the boss about the 3mth old 1098s issue with the electrical harness.

 

ok ok. Thank you for the advice. Not possible to get the excel boys to get from minerva straight? They died died will get PI ah?

 

Actually for me, i plan to head straight to minerva to get the bike out. Like you have mentioned. Warranty very very important. After freak out by (n)ever shine, i learnt my lesson liao.

[CMYRS]

actually, excel does get the bike direct from minerva, that is why for claims, the owner has to go via excel n they will approach minerva.

 

yes exactly!

u get the picture, u dont want it to end up like a nevershine issue cause I dont think there is a ducati agt in JB for easy parts access and also at double the price.

 

At least duke warranty is 2 yr unlimited km.