GS v Multistrada 2016

G&T

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Well I might as well get this one off my chest. Just about ready to upgrade my dream machine Fazer FZ1 to either of the above. The plan is more miles 1 and 2 up, from weeks in the saddle to just a day blast. 95% tarmac 5% track for now. Has anyone tried both to get a good perspective? Thanks Glenn :bow
 
Yes
2013
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2014
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Backward step - 2010
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2016 DVT
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I've still got a boxter thing going on tho.
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Yes I've owned a GS Watercooled and test ridden a multi.

The multi is fking awesome and sounds epic and I'd be seriously tempted. But the dealer local to me is pish.

I can't really say which is best you should try them both, as a tourer the GS is hard to beat with good luggage and a solid design, possibly slightly roomier riding position, but the multi is more exciting to ride.

Both are imho great bikes.
 
Test ride both to see which you prefer. As above how good your local dealer is and things like servicing costs might be worth considering too.
 
Ive had an MTS 1200SGT since June 14, fantastic bike, ignore the detractors, it's a far more engaging ride than the GS and I have not regretted it once, the later DVT is even better.

BUT

I'm now considering a GSA, mainly because of the drive and fuel range.

Don't discount the Ducati because of the dealer, I drive by my closet one to go to Snells in Alton or bug it from the pish one but get it serviced somewhere that cares. Join the ducati forum

Happy times ahead
 
I love Ducati's but that is seriously f'ugly! :barf it looks like a scooter on steroids. :nenau
 
Both cracking bikes. I found the Multi a little less comfortable, and more tiring to ride. It felt like it was constantly egg me on to thrash it. Not what I want in a tourer. It was pretty close but for me the GS was just better in more ways than the Multi was


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I've not owned a Multi, but these are very different bikes. A better comparison would be the XR rather than the GS.

Which is better depends on what sort of riding you do, and what you want from a bike. Get a GS for a proper demo (half a day), take it on all types of roads including white roads and goat tracks, then decide. The GS will handle EVERY type of road, the Multi won't.

I have a GSA and an XR, and if I want a day where I can ride anywhere, without worrying about road surface, I take the GSA. If I want a day of sticking to bigger, faster roads, I take the XR.
 
I sold that DVT because i had a terrible dealer experience that tarnished the new bike feel, I won't go into detail but it was horrendous and they even damaged the bike. However I have brought another DVT but this time instead of buying the S-model as before ive gone back to basics, and brought a standard, less to go wrong only difference is no skyhook suspension, no led headlight, no m50 calipers, no colour dash clocks. Skyhook was waisted on me I only ever leave it in one setting and never touch it plus you still have to set the front preload manually, so instead I'll have the stock suspension set up to my weight and for a couple trips a year when I add the panniers I'll just wind some rear pre-load, the led lights are a nice touch but with me adding the OE spots on the stock lights, there actually better then the led lights now, the front brakes on the standard bike are last year multi brakes instead of the M50's and tbh the standard front brakes are still more then good enough, colour dash is nice but so is the standard non colour, i saved £5k going standard !

Both bikes have rider modes, both bikes have cruise and back lighted switch gear and engine power is exactly the same, 1st gear is really long a ducati trait and most owners go up on the rear 2 teeth or down 1 on the front and this mod turns the bike into a rapid beast, the engine is lovely and smooth, low down it rides like a 4 but sounds like a twin ! and when you open it up the howl is addictive and pulls strongly with a lovely tone from the stock exhaust. There was a euro 4 fuelling issue with a serious flat spot between 4-6k however ducati have released an updated fuel map to rectify this but it's only effective if you have the stock exhaust, I had the full termi and has the race upmap and mine suffered with the euro 4 flat spot but ducati cannot update the upmap however changing the gearing allows you to ride through the flat spot. The termi is £1720 and is not value for money, tbh if anything it spoils the look of the bike, stock exhaust looks nicer but the full termi sounds awesome not overly loud without the baffle, just right and apart from a bit more free revving low down it don't make £1700 worth of power !!

The power delivery makes it a rapid bike and feels lovely to ride very involving and just feels special.

The Gs is a great bike I love em to bits it will take you across the water to any destination without a fuss, a good rider will stick with sport bikes up to to a point but for me they started to get boring and on a sunny day it was the least bike I wanted to take out, the ducati is the opposite.
 
I've not owned a Multi, but these are very different bikes. A better comparison would be the XR rather than the GS.

I don't disagree with the XR being similar to the DVT and Im sure it was BMWs response as the Multi has been very popular. I have ridden most variants including the XR, which has an awesome acceleration and braking, however, it has a fundamental flaw. The vibration is in my opinion a major issue, even the foreman at a main dealer admitted it was an issue. A salesman told me you can ride around it, not fooking likely. However it is a great bike.
 
I don't disagree with the XR being similar to the DVT and Im sure it was BMWs response as the Multi has been very popular. I have ridden most variants including the XR, which has an awesome acceleration and braking, however, it has a fundamental flaw. The vibration is in my opinion a major issue, even the foreman at a main dealer admitted it was an issue. A salesman told me you can ride around it, not fooking likely. However it is a great bike.

The vibration on the XR is not a major issue. There are heavier bar end weights now available, which eliminate the handlebar vibes, however, most of us that have put a few miles on these bikes have found that any vibes have disappeared. The issue was picked up by one journo, and ever since he mentioned them, EVERYONE was looking for them. If they were that bad, people wouldn't be buying them. The vibe threads on the XR forums have now gone quiet, as there is no longer an issue.
 
Yes I've owned a GS Watercooled and test ridden a multi.

The multi is fking awesome and sounds epic and I'd be seriously tempted. But the dealer local to me is pish.

I can't really say which is best you should try them both, as a tourer the GS is hard to beat with good luggage and a solid design, possibly slightly roomier riding position, but the multi is more exciting to ride.

Both are imho great bikes.

Interesting about the Ducati dealer. At the NEC Bike show I had a long chat with Uk head of sales and recounted a not so good experience at local Ducati dealer. It was if he knew! Interesting. The experience at Benham Wolves very different.
 
I sold that DVT because i had a terrible dealer experience that tarnished the new bike feel, I won't go into detail but it was horrendous and they even damaged the bike. However I have brought another DVT but this time instead of buying the S-model as before ive gone back to basics, and brought a standard, less to go wrong only difference is no skyhook suspension, no led headlight, no m50 calipers, no colour dash clocks. Skyhook was waisted on me I only ever leave it in one setting and never touch it plus you still have to set the front preload manually, so instead I'll have the stock suspension set up to my weight and for a couple trips a year when I add the panniers I'll just wind some rear pre-load, the led lights are a nice touch but with me adding the OE spots on the stock lights, there actually better then the led lights now, the front brakes on the standard bike are last year multi brakes instead of the M50's and tbh the standard front brakes are still more then good enough, colour dash is nice but so is the standard non colour, i saved £5k going standard !

Both bikes have rider modes, both bikes have cruise and back lighted switch gear and engine power is exactly the same, 1st gear is really long a ducati trait and most owners go up on the rear 2 teeth or down 1 on the front and this mod turns the bike into a rapid beast, the engine is lovely and smooth, low down it rides like a 4 but sounds like a twin ! and when you open it up the howl is addictive and pulls strongly with a lovely tone from the stock exhaust. There was a euro 4 fuelling issue with a serious flat spot between 4-6k however ducati have released an updated fuel map to rectify this but it's only effective if you have the stock exhaust, I had the full termi and has the race upmap and mine suffered with the euro 4 flat spot but ducati cannot update the upmap however changing the gearing allows you to ride through the flat spot. The termi is £1720 and is not value for money, tbh if anything it spoils the look of the bike, stock exhaust looks nicer but the full termi sounds awesome not overly loud without the baffle, just right and apart from a bit more free revving low down it don't make £1700 worth of power !!

The power delivery makes it a rapid bike and feels lovely to ride very involving and just feels special.

The Gs is a great bike I love em to bits it will take you across the water to any destination without a fuss, a good rider will stick with sport bikes up to to a point but for me they started to get boring and on a sunny day it was the least bike I wanted to take out, the ducati is the opposite.

Sorry to hear about the dealer experience. You pay premium money you want premium service. I have over time been in and out of what was then my local Ducati dealership in UAE. Personable, friendly and helpful. It really felt like a family - even posting a stunning photo of new bike with new owner welcoming to the Ducati family. It was a massive following. Compare that to my local and they couldn't be bothered. In fact not heard from them since.
 
I don't disagree with the XR being similar to the DVT and Im sure it was BMWs response as the Multi has been very popular. I have ridden most variants including the XR, which has an awesome acceleration and braking, however, it has a fundamental flaw. The vibration is in my opinion a major issue, even the foreman at a main dealer admitted it was an issue. A salesman told me you can ride around it, not fooking likely. However it is a great bike.

I had a good look at the XR as I thought it might be the bike for me. However the build quality did not look as good - too much basic plastic + one of my big bug bears...I just hate the scaffolding around the rear wheel to take panniers. Ok when panniers on but when off spoils the look. At least for GS this has been resolved in last model with clip on type panniers. I really did want to like the XR, but I just don't think they have it right yet.
 
I had a good look at the XR as I thought it might be the bike for me. However the build quality did not look as good - too much basic plastic + one of my big bug bears...I just hate the scaffolding around the rear wheel to take panniers. Ok when panniers on but when off spoils the look. At least for GS this has been resolved in last model with clip on type panniers. I really did want to like the XR, but I just don't think they have it right yet.

couldn't agree more , the build quality and component quality just isn't there IMHO , having owned a proper RR all I see on the XR is a cheaper swing arm , cheaper wheels , sub standard suspension ( not the same as the HP4) and it just doesn't have the ride quality of the MTS in my opinion , It is however way faster then the Ducati and probably stops better too , despite the MTS having M50's
However for ride quality the MTS edges it for me and the quality of components ,switches etc......and of course the ride.
 
Don't forget I've also owned the XR
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You can't make comparisons unless you have actually owned these bikes, your mate telling you it's not good this one is better is personally to each individual and yes the XR is a good bike, let's forget about the vibes because mine did not have em and they are fixable however it was the harsh suspension that did it for me, I even looked at buying another with non ESA but they don't do a low height bike in the non ESA form so I moved on. I do feel there's a lot of black plastics on the XR and it makes it somewhat cheap looking however the engine is epic but lacks soul and wants to be rev'd everywhere where as the dvt can be Jekyll n hide and has lots of character and if your a bike nut riding a Ducati just feels special where as an inline 4 is just bland

Look at the dvt without its clothes it's still a work of art - sexy !! I did the same to the XR and it reminded me when I used to weld 22mm box section together 🤐 one thing Ducati have done is hide all fasteners for a clean look, downside is they are not stainless like the XR and there a nightmare to strip.
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What with all the opinions being posted up here it looks as if it's all pointing towards 'going Orange'; good build quality, quality componentry, loads of character and stonking engines on a par with or nicer than Ducati................

Unless your name is Nutty, in which case they are reallly, really shit bikes. He'd hate one. Don't bother even test riding one Nutty, it'd be pointless :D

Andres
 
The OP is also looking to use on track.

Thing about a BMW is it isn't as sexy or engaging but we all know about Italian products, often style over substance. That concentric chain adjuster on a single sided swingarm is a bit of a pain, plus servicing on the Ducati can get a bit silly, the belt service is a big one. Plus the pannier fasteners are prone to snapping on the DVT , this on a supposed tourer.

That sort of shit wouldn't get past BMW

The black plastic on the XR can be swapped out for carbon fibre if it bothers you.
 
.....plus servicing on the Ducati can get a bit silly, the belt service is a big one.......................

Does the MS not have the chain cam engine from the Panigali or am I dreaming?

.....Plus the pannier fasteners are prone to snapping on the DVT , this on a supposed tourer.

That sort of shit wouldn't get past BMW................

Not like crap handlebar switches and out of spec sub frames that both did get past BMW as well as various clutch and transmission issues that took two years to effectively improve.

.....The black plastic on the XR can be swapped out for carbon fibre if it bothers you.

Which would doubtless need a new mortgage on it's own unless you build it in to a personal lease contract.
 
Does the MS not have the chain cam engine from the Panigali or am I dreaming?



Not like crap handlebar switches and out of spec sub frames that both did get past BMW as well as various clutch and transmission issues that took two years to effectively improve.



Which would doubtless need a new mortgage on it's own unless you build it in to a personal lease contract.

the multistrada 1200 I owned had timing belts. If they have changed it on the DVT great.

Carbon aftermarket parts can be bought in plenty of places.

The move to water cooling had transmission issues but the BMW is a more robust bike, I say that having owned both. A pannier that snaps off is poor on a touring bike.

I think both are great bikes I've said that already.
 


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