2010 Ducati Multistrada

As I was passing my local bike emporium, I saw the new Ducati Multistrada sitting in the window so stopped to have a closer look and a wee sit-upon. Pretty ain't she..........




As soon as I threw my leg over, my first impressions were of sitting on a super-moto, so short is the front compared to a GS - anyone of normal Tosser stature who considered going from a GS onto a Multistrada would be in for a culture shock. It really didn't give me the stonking Tonka-toy feel that I get on my GSA - the 'toy' bit is perhaps more relevant. The funny thing is that the bike, at 185kg is probably much better suited to a shorter rider if it weren't for the seat height which is still a fair stretch. Still, at 185kg the Multistrada felt light as a feather to push around compared to the GS and probaly easier to keep upright at a cambered stop, say, for most riders.

The other thing which was immediately noticeable was the seat - it's bloody hard and quite wide - again compared to the narrowish GS variety. The seat also pushed me (at 6ft 3in admittedly) back against the rear seat section - the bike truly is quite dinky.

The throttle seems a lot heavier that the GS and the race-style instrument seems out of place on a supposedly dual-role 'adventure' bike - but that could just be habit on my part. More fundamental, the screen is tiny compared to the GSA version and I have no idea how effective it would be on a sleety and cold British winter ride.

Still, the Multistrada may well be a blast to ride, the seat may come good once moving and the screen could even be effective - I reserve judgement as I can only give my immediate impressions of the static bike. However the finish did look useful and the panniers quite pretty although I didn't try to open them. Undoubtedly, the Ducati can 'whup the ass' of the GS in a straight line but I don't think that's what most Tossers are after.

Finally, at £14,500 the Multistrada seems way over-priced. I'd rather have a GS and a second hand GSXR or Fireblade for the same money for when I really wanted to hoon.

Multistrada

Hi Oldrascal, an interesting post, thanks!

I suspected a lot of the same, but the good reviews in the press prompted me arrange a test ride a couple of weeks ago. I took a 'Sport' model demonstrator out for an hour and a bit.

Although I have ridden both the 1200GS and GSA for short periods, I have never owned one, and currently have an F800GS. My previous bikes have also been trailie style, first and XL1000 Varadero, then a Tiger 1050.

Coming from my 800GS, the Ducati felt fairly similar in size and weight - so a good bit smaller than the 1200. I expected it to feel cramped and awkward (I'm 6'5") and it did a bit to start with - the ride position is much sportier than any GS - but very quickly it started to feel natural, and well suited to the bike.

Opening it up on the open road was a revelation, it gives a kick of power that is in a different league to any GS, has the brakes to match, handles like a sports bike but very quickly felt comfortable and natural.

In fact, when I got back on the GS the riding position felt like an armchair, but so too did the throttle response - it took me a couple of hours to recalibrate my expectations!

I felt that comparing it to a 1200GS, as most of the papers have done, is not the best comparison. It's direct competitors are more likely to be sports tourers or even sports bikes. I could never hope to wrap my frame around a litre sports bike with any modicum of comfort, but the multistrada would provide most of the performance and handling with much more space. It has all of the performance of most sport tourers, but with much less weight and bulk.

I agree that 14.5k is a lot of money for a bike, when you could have a GS and a sporty bike for the same cash. However, once you've ridden your comfortable GS to the Alps, the sportsbike is still in the garage back home. Once you've ridden the Ducati to the alps in Touring mode, flick a switch and you've got your sportsbike with you!

I won't be rushing out to buy one, but it is a helluva bike, and I can see why they are selling fast - if I was lucky enough to have 14.5k spare, I might well be tempted......

Looks to me that theyve done the same to the MS that Triumph did to the Tiger......it's gone all 'softroader'

Ugly too, and not in the handsome way that the GS is ugly

I have had to look at the pig ugly 2010 Super Tenere every day for the last week.

They have one in Moores of Hemel Hempstead where I take my bike MOTs.

I am sure it gets worse every time.

every detail looks fussy, awkward, heavy and cheap.

It makes the Ducati look good value !

Of course it is very much a case of 'horses for courses' and ....'yer pays yer money etc. etc".... But having has road rockets over most of my biking life, it is bizarre how quickly extreme power can start to seem either 'not enough' or then again too much.........in my case.

My 2008 Hayabusa was a mad machine and I really don't think that I give it the 'beans' on more than a handful of occasions before scaring myself witless. The GSA is much, much slower in theory but better riders than me have remarked how much quicker you ride on an easy handling and forgiving bike like the GSA than on an 'ass in the air, racing god style' hyperbike.

So if that's the case and we all are adaptable to the whims and vagaries of our preferred steed, more power seems an unnecessary luxury for so much money as the Multistrada commands. And then there is the chain drive, the servicing costs, the unknown reliability (although we GS owners should stay a bit schtum on that point ) and, sadly, the dreaded residuals which are an unknown factor with the Multistrada.

oldrascal said:

Pretty ain't she..........

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...amazing how moulded plastic pleases some eyes

Timolgra said:

...amazing how moulded plastic pleases some eyes

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er.....moulded plastic.....er.......some eyes....er.........yup.

Erm, ah well THAT has a simple motorcycle 'line' to it

Timolgra said:

Erm, ah well THAT has a simple motorcycle 'line' to it

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Well we certainly agree there Timolgra..................but I think that thee and me are leathery enough to appreciate classic beauty in bikes. I really do find the modern design 'vernacular' pig-ugly in general. Just look at the grotesque exhaust can and bug-eyed front end on the new Honda VFR1200 if you want to .




.........and apparently styled by the Star Wars generation of designers who forgot how to pen truly beautiful lines. But I am being unfair as designers are subject to the strict limitations of their marketing departments diktats.

In the great scheme of things, the Multistrada at least shows off the classic Ducati engine and trellis frame. But what makes the GS so special is that it has the beauty of all good design in its unique and steadfast adherence to form following function.

Choice is a wonderful expression

I haven't seen one in the 'plastic' yet, but I will keep in mind one simple fact, I bet the vast majority of MultiStrada owners love 'em and will quite happily tell others to shove their GS's up their arses.

not sure if this chap agrees

turnipbmw said:

not sure if this chap agrees

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Quite, not go find out how many owners here whinge about their expensive bavarian machines.

Davy F said:

Quite, not go find out how many owners here whinge about their expensive bavarian machines.

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You never did that! You loved yours and cherished it an cleaned it within an inch of its life.

I took one out for a ride today cause of all the hype surrounding it - got me interested. I have never been a fan of the look of the bike but it did get my attention.

Sitting on the bike it seems quite plasticky with alot less in front of you which felt weird. I didn't like the digital dash and the idiot lights just looked too cheap n nasty like they wern't suited for the bike. The bike was set to sport mode and the bike started up with out the key - interesting! Front brake was sharp and powerful. It had the low sports seat which I found uncomfortable but I was told there is a softer seat available. No sooner did I ride it away and stop at a round about the bike stalled and it took me a min or two to get it all started again without a key! First thing I noticed when riding is it's power/acceleration. It is just fantastic to have that much power on tap which can also get you out of trouble when you need it. I found myself using as much of that power as I could just for the fun of it and on one short blip of the throttle, whilst riding on a dual carriage way I got up to 120mph then backed off as I don't like riding at those speeds but the bike did had more to offer! At speed the front end feels alittle light which I didn't like especially when accelerating. I think bikes with this sort of power get ridden fast which means it's a license killer cause it didn't take much to do 100mph and I reckon you would enjoy riding at higher speeds on this bike and become the norm. The mirrors were excellent with good rear visibility and they didn't vibrate like the GS. I wasn't keen on the engine both sound and feel. The exhausts look quite delicate and if I were buying I would want to change the exhaust cans if nothing else. I found riding the bike in traffic wasn't as smooth as I thought it would be. I rode behind a number of cars doing 25-30ish through a couple of small villages and it didn't seem as smooth as my GS but I was in sport mode! I thought navigating through the map changes was alittle cumbersome. Push to select each mode, hold to select, throttle off to commit - each time. No doubt you would get used to it but it wasn't a one button push action as expected. I'd say the MS sits between the Buell and GS in terms of design & feel but is way ahead in terms of power which I did like.

If I could have the acceleration in my GS that the MS offers I wouldn't want anything else! I really like the Ducati Red and it was a nice sporty touring type of bike but it wasn't for me. I'd be waiting/hoping for future GS releases to see how BMW catch up! And yes I would want BMW to make a much faster GS. The GS, imo, has more to offer than the MS but lacks performance. Jumping back on my bike after the test ride felt flat and lacking until I adjusted and got used to my bike again.

I do have one question? When I jumped back on my GS, bearing in mind it's a 2008 version, with Kieham headers, Ackropovic exhaust can, K+N and Accelerator fitted I have not been able to smooth out the acceleration on hard throttle. Feels there are a number of flat spots through the rev range on full hard throttle. Question is, would paying £500 for a PC + tune fix this and give me noticeable acceleration improvements? My GS will never have the outright acceleration of the MS but if my bike could be improved in terms of performance I would be happier!

oldrascal said:

Finally, at £14,500 the Multistrada seems way over-priced. I'd rather have a GS and a second hand GSXR or Fireblade for the same money for when I really wanted to hoon.

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Was told today there are none for sale in the Country now. When they do come back in, in November, they are going up in price! Go figure?

Schtum said:

You never did that! You loved yours and cherished it an cleaned it within an inch of its life.

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Yep, mine was one of the good ones.

Ducati multistrada

I took a day of work a couple of months ago and test rode a tiger,ktm adv,multistrada,gsa i ended up changing my 57 plate gsa for a new one but i did like the multi at the time, i went back yesterday to test ride the multi again after putting 2500 miles on my gsa just to put my mind at rest that i made the right decision soon as i stepped of my gsa onto the multi i started noticing the hard seat the build quality was nothing like the bmw i still took it for a spin and the acceleration was a blast but it ended there i carnt believe these bikes are more expensive than a gs i couldnt wait to get back to the dealers and jump back on my gs,when i did what can i say (smoother, better gear change,better built,more protection from the weather,more comfortable, better bike all round the dealer told me that the multi had been tested in italy and was better than a gs offroad (bullsh..) nice looking bike though.

The biggest pull to this Multi Strada is the performance. It does make the difference I think but I agree that beyond the performance the MS is not better than the GS. The sales rep, when I returned after my test ride, asked what I thought about the handling, I said is was OK but not a million miles from my GSA or Buell. Yes is cornered smoothly but it wasn't ground shatteringly different! However I wished my Red GSA but the same red as the ducati - stunning!

I have not test ridden the new GS yet, but there again I'm not looking to change my bike either - too expensive right now! I think if I did test ride the new GS I may yearn for it after? I do hope that BMW release another new engine that has more / better performance cause between mine bike and the MS they are miles apart and I thought mine was quick!

Why do peeps keep comparing the MS to a GS, they are such different sorts of bikes

Granted, there will be some cross over appeal in the types of people that may wish to buy one but that's the only connection I can see.

I think it looks a fab bike and I'd love one, but then again it's one of many bikes I'd love to own

Andres

Nice bike the MultiStrada, very strong and quick bike, not a GS replica i might add... nearly as nice as the MG Stelvio

Here is one which left us today on route to Portugal, seemed to be holding up to two up touring. will see it again in 2 weeks so will see