MCRIDER007
Well-known member
Last week I was in the Seattle area visiting my father and took the opportunity to visit Seattle Ducati and check out the new Multistrada 1200 (which up to that point I had never seen). Upon arriving I was given the grand tour by Buz, one of the mechanics that I have ridden with several times on a annual Central Oregon group ride. When he asked me if I wanted to test ride the new MS demo I jumped at the opportunity.
After a 5 minute orientation of all the bells and whistles of the 1200S, I was turned loose and asked to return in 30-40 minutes. The problem is that the surrounding area is very congested. For those of you that are familiar with Seattle, I elected to go north on Aurora Avenue to Northgate Way, turn east to I-5, and then take the freeway back to Seattle Ducati which is located at the south end of Lake Union. Total distance was only about 20 miles but took about 30 minutes with all the stoplights. Not an ideal test run but it did give me the opportunity to ride on a lot of different pavement surfaces.
The first adjustment on the MS is the preload with 4 choices, the salesman selected solo rider with luggage to compensate for my 230 lb rider weight (I later changed it to solo rider without luggage and didn't feel any difference). You then select one of 4 engine modes (sport, touring, urban, enduro) each of which has a preset traction control and damping settings (rebound and compression, front and back). Sport and Touring both give full power, about 135 HP at the rear wheel, Urban and Enduro have about 90 HP at the rear wheel. I later found out that the torque curves for all 4 engine modes are almost the same up to 6000 rpms so for my test ride it really did not matter which engine mode I selected. However, the engine mode does change the suspension settings and I selected Touring mode thinking that it would be the most plush ride, afterwards I discovered that Urban was actually the softest suspension setting.
Sitting on the MS was quite different than my bikes. The seat is well padded but pretty much limits you to one position. It has a lot of leg room but it seemed like the pegs were too far back. The tank is very short and the handlebars are really close to the rider, much more so than my 1000 V- Strom. The ride was not what I expected. I have never been a big fan of twin cylinder street bikes but this one is smooth and has awesome power, almost too much at lower speeds. The transmission was not that smooth, OK on upshifts but it hung up a couple of times when I was downshifting for stops and I hit neutral between second and first several times. Not a dealbreaker and maybe it will get better with more miles (the demo had 400 miles).
The ride was disappointing. I felt every bump in the road and got jolted by the big bumps, much like the BMW K1300S and K1300GT I test rode last March. When riding a demo on unfamiliar roads there is always a chance that one is being too critical but this time I was able to confirm my impressions because I re-rode half my test ride on my bike and it absorbed the road bumps like a sponge, most of the time I couldn't even feel the bumps that were very apparent on the MS. Riding the MS on the freeway was very smooth as long as the pavement was smooth. It seemed to give excellent wind protection and the engine was very smooth when running in 5th or 6th gear at 70 mph.
Back to the electronic suspension, each damping setting can be changed (and saved) via a menu selection but that seems like it would be a very time consuming operation. I thought that the settings could be adjusted on the "fly", which would really be a neat feature, but since that is not available, I think the whole electronic suspension system is an expensive waste of time. The standard system includes fully adjustable 50 mm Marzocchi forks and a fully adjustable Sacks shock. Just like my other bikes, I would prefer to use a screwdriver to fine tune the suspension for my riding style and preferences and then make minor adjustments for road conditions and temperatures.
The MS is expensive. The base model is $14,995 with ABS a $1500 option. A set of 58 liter saddlebags (which actually hold about 40-45 liters) is $850 and the 73 liter bags are $1000. You can have both by buying the smaller bags and larger lids for an extra $330. Since the MS is a hot seller the dealers are loading it with freight and setup charges. The 1200S that I rode has a MSRP of $19,995 but after adding freight, setup, sales tax (9.8 percent in Seattle), and license fees, the cost out the door was $23,400. The first major service at 15K miles will cost an additional $1100.
If I were buying one I think I would get the base model, maybe with ABS, and buy the bags later...but, and this is a big but...I am not sure what I would use it for. If you want a single bike to do everything, the MS is a strong contender. But like most jacks of all trades, it does not seem to be the master of anything, especially for someone who is keeping their current bike(s). I consider myself to be a touring rider and if I was going to take a multi-day trip, the MS would stay home. I don't think it is nearly as good of touring bike as the FJR or C14. It certainly has the engine to be a sport bike for day rides but long travel suspension and long wheelbases don't work that well when trying to keep up with good riders on real sport bikes, I would much prefer to be riding my ZX-14. The MS does have some off pavement capability but its not really built for it, has street tires rather than off road tires, and who wants to beat up a bike that expensive? I think my old V-Strom, which has a market value of about $4K would do just as well, probably better with the tires I have mounted. Finally, when it comes to urban riding, the FJR is much easier to ride in town and stop and go traffic.
There are situations and roads where the MS's long suspension, upright seating position, light weight (505 to 530 pounds depending on options) and wide handlebars really work well, and that is one of the reasons I keep my V-Strom, but the V-Strom only gets ridden 1-2 K per year, and I think the same thing would happen with the MS once the newness wore off. However, if someone only wants one bike or a really well rounded second bike to compliment the FJR, they should take a hard look at the MS. I would wait until next year and try to find a low mileage used one and keep in mind how expensive that 15K service is going to be.
After a 5 minute orientation of all the bells and whistles of the 1200S, I was turned loose and asked to return in 30-40 minutes. The problem is that the surrounding area is very congested. For those of you that are familiar with Seattle, I elected to go north on Aurora Avenue to Northgate Way, turn east to I-5, and then take the freeway back to Seattle Ducati which is located at the south end of Lake Union. Total distance was only about 20 miles but took about 30 minutes with all the stoplights. Not an ideal test run but it did give me the opportunity to ride on a lot of different pavement surfaces.
The first adjustment on the MS is the preload with 4 choices, the salesman selected solo rider with luggage to compensate for my 230 lb rider weight (I later changed it to solo rider without luggage and didn't feel any difference). You then select one of 4 engine modes (sport, touring, urban, enduro) each of which has a preset traction control and damping settings (rebound and compression, front and back). Sport and Touring both give full power, about 135 HP at the rear wheel, Urban and Enduro have about 90 HP at the rear wheel. I later found out that the torque curves for all 4 engine modes are almost the same up to 6000 rpms so for my test ride it really did not matter which engine mode I selected. However, the engine mode does change the suspension settings and I selected Touring mode thinking that it would be the most plush ride, afterwards I discovered that Urban was actually the softest suspension setting.
Sitting on the MS was quite different than my bikes. The seat is well padded but pretty much limits you to one position. It has a lot of leg room but it seemed like the pegs were too far back. The tank is very short and the handlebars are really close to the rider, much more so than my 1000 V- Strom. The ride was not what I expected. I have never been a big fan of twin cylinder street bikes but this one is smooth and has awesome power, almost too much at lower speeds. The transmission was not that smooth, OK on upshifts but it hung up a couple of times when I was downshifting for stops and I hit neutral between second and first several times. Not a dealbreaker and maybe it will get better with more miles (the demo had 400 miles).
The ride was disappointing. I felt every bump in the road and got jolted by the big bumps, much like the BMW K1300S and K1300GT I test rode last March. When riding a demo on unfamiliar roads there is always a chance that one is being too critical but this time I was able to confirm my impressions because I re-rode half my test ride on my bike and it absorbed the road bumps like a sponge, most of the time I couldn't even feel the bumps that were very apparent on the MS. Riding the MS on the freeway was very smooth as long as the pavement was smooth. It seemed to give excellent wind protection and the engine was very smooth when running in 5th or 6th gear at 70 mph.
Back to the electronic suspension, each damping setting can be changed (and saved) via a menu selection but that seems like it would be a very time consuming operation. I thought that the settings could be adjusted on the "fly", which would really be a neat feature, but since that is not available, I think the whole electronic suspension system is an expensive waste of time. The standard system includes fully adjustable 50 mm Marzocchi forks and a fully adjustable Sacks shock. Just like my other bikes, I would prefer to use a screwdriver to fine tune the suspension for my riding style and preferences and then make minor adjustments for road conditions and temperatures.
The MS is expensive. The base model is $14,995 with ABS a $1500 option. A set of 58 liter saddlebags (which actually hold about 40-45 liters) is $850 and the 73 liter bags are $1000. You can have both by buying the smaller bags and larger lids for an extra $330. Since the MS is a hot seller the dealers are loading it with freight and setup charges. The 1200S that I rode has a MSRP of $19,995 but after adding freight, setup, sales tax (9.8 percent in Seattle), and license fees, the cost out the door was $23,400. The first major service at 15K miles will cost an additional $1100.
If I were buying one I think I would get the base model, maybe with ABS, and buy the bags later...but, and this is a big but...I am not sure what I would use it for. If you want a single bike to do everything, the MS is a strong contender. But like most jacks of all trades, it does not seem to be the master of anything, especially for someone who is keeping their current bike(s). I consider myself to be a touring rider and if I was going to take a multi-day trip, the MS would stay home. I don't think it is nearly as good of touring bike as the FJR or C14. It certainly has the engine to be a sport bike for day rides but long travel suspension and long wheelbases don't work that well when trying to keep up with good riders on real sport bikes, I would much prefer to be riding my ZX-14. The MS does have some off pavement capability but its not really built for it, has street tires rather than off road tires, and who wants to beat up a bike that expensive? I think my old V-Strom, which has a market value of about $4K would do just as well, probably better with the tires I have mounted. Finally, when it comes to urban riding, the FJR is much easier to ride in town and stop and go traffic.
There are situations and roads where the MS's long suspension, upright seating position, light weight (505 to 530 pounds depending on options) and wide handlebars really work well, and that is one of the reasons I keep my V-Strom, but the V-Strom only gets ridden 1-2 K per year, and I think the same thing would happen with the MS once the newness wore off. However, if someone only wants one bike or a really well rounded second bike to compliment the FJR, they should take a hard look at the MS. I would wait until next year and try to find a low mileage used one and keep in mind how expensive that 15K service is going to be.
Last edited by a moderator:
