dangerous test ride

[peckhammer]

O.K., I broke down and test rode a Multistrada today. It's every bit as good as they say it is. There are few bikes that I jump on -- and I ride a lot of different motorcycles -- that have that "instant get to know you" quality. The multistrada is one of them, however. Ergos are perfect. The bars are right where I want them. The motor is insanely perfect. The dash and on-board computer gizmos are perfect. The windshield is fantastic. The keyless starting system is awesome. Keep the fob somewhere on your body and you don't need to put metal in a slot to start the bike. Get stuck somewhere and lose the fob, there's a pin-code on the bike to bypass the fob. Lot's of backup on this bike. Throttle by wire wire, with a real throttle cable as backup. The bike is simply amazing. For anyone who is an on-road only type of rider and had thoughts about a GS... don't bother. For an R1200R owner, well, it's a different animal so there's no direct comparison. I will say that my boxer motor felt a little anemic after getting off the Duc, but a couple of zero to 100mph on-ramp entrances got me over that quick enough.

My only complaint: Lot's of heat waft past the inside of your legs while stopped in traffic.

Price tag for the non-ESA Ohlins bike is $16K with ABS included. That puts it in striking distance of a lot of premium brand euro-bikes. You want the full package, it could run as high as $25K. Oh... and since I cannot resist bringing a camera along, I took some shots for insert footage and whipped this together: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isBX9yuJ6Ro

[Stef.]

Might be a stupid point but I would worry about the reliability of Ducati bikes. Didn't they have a really bad reputation? What a the service costs aren't they particularly high for Ducatis and insurance? I have a friend who had one (don't know which model though) and she loved it - when it did work. Has his changed?
Stef.

[vodka]

I live in Australia. Any fuel tank less than 3-400 km capacity is IMHO a waste of time...Ducatis gen have small tanks. I mean how far is it to the next cafe in Italy?

[peckhammer]

I live in Australia. Any fuel tank less than 3-400 km capacity is IMHO a waste of time.

The MultiStrada has a fuel tank capacity of 5.3 U.S.gallons (20 liters).

[Tr250Tom]

Might be a stupid point but I would worry about the reliability of Ducati bikes. Didn't they have a really bad reputation? What a the service costs aren't they particularly high for Ducatis and insurance? I have a friend who had one (don't know which model though) and she loved it - when it did work. Has his changed?
Stef.

Have you tried doing a search of "BMW final drive failures" ? My dealer service costs are quite high, and I ran the bike out of gas when it was new 9 miles after the "low fuel" light came on, with 35 miles remaining showing on the "Bordcomputer." And BTW, my R12R is now on its second recall for front brakes. BMW has nothing to crow about anymore in the quality department.

Viva Ducati. If they'd offered ABS on Multistradas in 2007 I'd be at www.ducati.ms.

Cheers, Tom

[Tarmac]

... nice legs, too bad about the boat race....

Can't argue with 150hp, it crushes the R12R

PS: Nice wheelie

[rokinrider]

I love just about any big twin engine motorcycle!! My R12 and my good ol 00 harley with a few mods work for me. My buddy who has owned just about every model BMW-Guzzi and a few Ducatis shares my love of twin cylinder engines. He does alot of his own maintenance and mile for mile the Ducatis he has owned have cost him the most. Awesome preformance but I think you pay more for it$$ I think they are working on maintenance issues but Italian restraunts cost a little more IMHO.

[Bheckel169]

Come on, Tom. After how many tens of thousands of sales of BMW motorcycles do we have a small percentage of final drive failures? That's a straw dog. If you like the Ducati, great! I don't think anyone on this forum cares if someone falls in love with another motorcycle. I own a few different brands myself. Lots of great things about the Duc but this is a 1200 R forum and you can't expect much less than a crowd who really likes what this machine does for us. Enjoy the ride!
Bruce

[peckhammer]

Come on, Tom. After how many tens of thousands of sales of BMW motorcycles do we have a small percentage of final drive failures?

I am not here to defend anyone, or to sell any Ducatis. I think the point is merely that bikes earn reputations that they may not deserve. So there aren't enough final drive failures to warrant painting BMW with the brush of unreliability, and the same is likely true with Ducati with regard to other matters. Ducati has made great strides in terms of reliability, and now with the Multistrada's 15K service interval, I think they are at least as good as BMW, if not better, IMO.

Personally, I've never owned a bike that has had so many recall items as the R1200R. Since I don't have the time to ride across the country, I don't really worry about it. I like the bike. It is what it is, and it's a very handsome package that I enjoy riding. When I was in the market to replace my Triumph Sprint, the R1200R was the best think on the market, for me. If the Multistrada -- in the 2010 iteration had been available in 2007 -- I'd be on a Ducati today. That's the difference a few years makes in this business.

[Tr250Tom]

Come on, Tom. After how many tens of thousands of sales of BMW motorcycles do we have a small percentage of final drive failures? That's a straw dog.

Bruce,

I appreciate your advice to "enjoy the ride." I do enjoy my bike, and I appreciate the spirit which I think you intend to convey.

The fact remains that BMW has redesigned the housing of their final drive. They have issued a bulletin revising the maintenance schedule, and another revising the fluid quantity to be used. They have also reportedly extended the final drive warranty to 5 years.

In my opinion, these reactions indicate that there is substance to the allegation of unacceptable final drive reliability. It clearly is not a "straw dog." You might just as well explain these facts differently and arrive at your own conclusion.

I'm old enough to associate "Italian machinery" with miserable 1970's FIATs, slapped together between factory strikes to meet tightening Federal emissions standards and safety regulations. I also have an idea about BMW reliability cemented in my psyche from reading "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" years ago, in which the author lauds BMW's as machines with a reputation for never leaving the rider by the side of the road. I've owned BMWs for a long time.

I am slowly, by degrees, coming to the conclusion that modern Italian machinery might be more reliable than a 128 Spider, and modern German machinery might be less so than an R90S. Is it so farfetched to anticipate that their quality levels might converge, or that a premium Italian brand might well surpass BMW?

I was responding to a post that seemed to be dismissing Ducati quality out of hand. Perhaps I shouldn't have brought up so many ancillary issues. But I'm currently miffed that I need a SECOND recall on my front brakes. For emphasis: F-R-O-N-T B-R-A-K-E-S! The ones that do 90% of the deceleration that keeps my soft pink body off the hood of an Escalade that just turned left in front of me. Those brakes.

Brembos, anyone?

Cheers, Tom

[Tarmac]

Hmmm.

Ducati earned its reputation, those beautiful 916's needed to have the belts changed often, and dealerships really gouged folks on maintance cost (I heard tales of $1,500 5,000mile tune-ups). I understand that they have extended the life of the belts in recent years, and cleaned up engine bay so that's its a bit more user friendly. I’m certain that reliability has gone up in recent years too. But folks still remember the old stories... kinda hard to shake a rep.

And BMW's have a rep for lasting forever. When I was working my way through college as a motorcycle courier, all the old timers rode BMW's. That said, my R12Rs fuel gauge failed pretty quickly, but the dealership replaced it free, so I can't complain too much. Besides, it's the 1st motorcycle I've owned that even HAS a fuel gauge.... im used to doing the trip meter thing.

Anyhoo, looking at Ducati's web site for the Multistrada, it's clear that the bike is a great "do-all" machine. And I can't argue with 150hp. But I can argue about it's looks. It's not butt ugly, but it's not a looker ether.

[peckhammer]

But I can argue about it's looks. It's not butt ugly, but it's not a looker ether.

A couple friends of mine make the bike look pretty sweet...

[Mollygrubber]

Peckhammer, you said you liked the windshield - how would you rate the wind/weather protection as a whole (I realize you didn't do an in-depth test but you'd have the best opinion of anyone I know)?

[Tarmac]

But I can argue about it's looks. It's not butt ugly, but it's not a looker ether.

A couple friends of mine make the bike look pretty sweet...

Come on now, thats not a pretty bike. Sure, it's not Kawasaki Versys, or Suzuki B-King ugly, but it's got to be the uglest Ducati I've seen in forever.

"Sir, I knew the 916. The 916 was a friend of mine. You, sir, are no 916".

PS: I think I'd rather have a Hypermotard. Same basic bike, but without the busted grill.

[blueviewlaguna]

The front end somehow reminds me of this scooter...

[websterize]

Those scooter's mirrors look very familiar.

Peckhammer, check out this Multistrada video at this year's Pikes Peak International Hill Climb — shot on an iPhone 4.

[celticus]

But I can argue about it's looks. It's not butt ugly, but it's not a looker ether.

A couple friends of mine make the bike look pretty sweet...

Come on now, thats not a pretty bike. Sure, it's not Kawasaki Versys, or Suzuki B-King ugly, but it's got to be the uglest Ducati I've seen in forever.

"Sir, I knew the 916. The 916 was a friend of mine. You, sir, are no 916".

PS: I think I'd rather have a Hypermotard. Same basic bike, but without the busted grill.

I think it is a fine looking bike. I remember having to get used to the looks of the GS when I came out of hybernation.
Beauty as they say is in the eye of the beer holder.

Mark

[peckhammer]

Peckhammer, check out this Multistrada video at this year's Pikes Peak International Hill Climb — shot on an iPhone 4.

The video is extremely well done, and the editing is great. I have some reservations about the claim that every shot was taken with an iPhone, but it's possible. I see two VHoldR Contour HD camera on Greg (one on the left fairing, and one on his helmet). If they did use iPhones exclusively, they must have had a lot of them. There are several starting line shots from opposite sides of the road (9000 ft), shots of the speedo @ 111mph, a throttle shot, a shot from handlebars looking up at Greg's face-shield, shots at devils Playground (12,500 ft.), a finish line shot (14,100 ft), and a trucking shot of Alexander's bike on the way down from the top. I've worked around these guys quite a bit, and they rig a lot of bike cams.

Speaking of cameras, I just bought a DSLR and used it on a documentary shoot I have been working on: http://vimeo.com/12864449

It's amazing what an $800 camera can do these days... oh, and the $1000 lens helps.

[peckhammer]

Peckhammer, you said you liked the windshield - how would you rate the wind/weather protection as a whole (I realize you didn't do an in-depth test but you'd have the best opinion of anyone I know)?

It was a windy day when I rode it, but the odd thing was that the windshield was never obvious to me, nor was the wind. This will require further explanation... The Cee Baily's shield on my R always produces a little buffeting, and noise. This aspect was completely missing when I rode the Duc. Another cool thing is that the shield raises and lowers; it's not electric, but it's a great feature to have. There are hand screws on each side that you loosen so you can change the position.

Someone at the dealership said they had ridden the bike in the rain, and was worried they'd get soaked -- but they were pleasantly surprised by the fact that they didn't get very wet. So it seems as though the design offers decent protection despite not being fully fared. My take on the wind and weather protection is that it is better than a GS, but not as good as my former Triumph Sprint.

Oh... and just in case you were going to ask, I found the horn on the first try.

[celticus]

I believe I could deal with all of the imagined bad looks of the Multistrada just fine. I'm stoic like that.

Mark