Ducati MultiStrada 1200

Not my intention at all. I just could not think of a modern 1200cc adventure bike that does not have EFI.

EFI, ABS, ETC, are all going to be more prevalent as we move forward. If you are looking for a carbed bike, without electronic braking, engine, or suspension management, the list is going to be pretty small.

Just a "tongue in cheeky" jab, intended to keep the proceedings light hearted.

Dielectic grease and a surgeon's caution at the pressure carwash,
is certainly becoming even more important, than ever before. :eek1

996DL

Go check out Dr Greg's posting on Ducati.ms re. his experience with self-servicing his MTS12. He's an experienced Ducati wrench (i.e. he's done Desmo valves on his other Ducs before) and even he threw in the towel. Oil change? Easy peasy. Valve check/adjust? Read Doc's story.....

-SM

Unfortunately, the dealership that we were at did not have a single one for us to look at. I guess that they are quite popular around here (MA). The SMT looked quite lonesome there, among all of the RFS's and Husabergs... They had at least 8 Diavels, and maybe 8 more Monsters. They had one Hypermotard, but no Hyperstrada's. The silver Multi-S was all alone.
My wife and I are still shopping, and we want to try a 990 Adventure, and maybe even hit up a Triumph dealership. In truth, the little hooligan in me really wants a bike that will wheelie and slide around easily, and yet still carry my wife in some comfort, and that pretty much means the Strada's and the SMT. All of the others (S10, Tigers, Stelvio's, 'Strom's, etc.) are complete Tank's in comparison. I would really hate to give up the "Fun factor" for just a little bit more comfort. A 990 Adventure looks pretty long... Do they snap up a 2nd or 3rd gear wheelie OK?

Hyperstrada in the spring...

or even the new GS.....

A GS will wheelie easily in 2nd or 3rd? I must be thinking of of the wrong bike... Unless they have come a really long way in the last few years.

yeah my 2012 does.

The new water cooled GS might surprise you.

Third gear wheelies seem less likely with the GS though yet possible. Through the marvels of physics, it is often easier to wheelie with more weight added via the mechanism of an innocent but terrified pillion who just happened to come along for the ride.

I think its fair to say that if snapping wheelies is part of the requirement, the Multistrada goes to the head of the class. The KTM would be the other likely possibility, but I'll bet the GS will still take second fiddle in this category.

I agree, it's a bit of an undertaking. This was my multi in the middle of its 15k service and they hadn't even gotten to the valves yet:

:huh I absolutely love my 'Strada but if I keep piling on the miles at my current rate, I'm looking at two or three of those within the next four years. That new GS is looking more and more attractive from a purely high mileage maintenance view.

Dammit, Triumph where is that 1050 Sport

I don`t understand all the complaing regarding the MTS mainteance Okay, the fairings and fuel tank take som more time to remove comparing to other bikes. But when that is done, and the bike look like the one in this picture, it is like servicing any other 4 valve Ducati...only this one got longer interval`s.. Mechanics at Ducati dealership`s are not Wizard`s from Oz, they are normal people with ten fingers. There are not any special tooling needed to do a normal service. Deleting the service indicator, then you need the dealership`s fancy diagnostic computer

If you can wait a bit longer, you might find one of these to your liking.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/TgpuwjMm2M0?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Available in the rest of the world from next month. In your corner? Maybe next summer.

bright minds.....

Tiger sport just got announced.

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/N...ry/jan1013-triumph-tiger-1050-sport-unveiled/

Probably the closest competition to the MTS (other than the KTM SMT).

As an engineer and as an 2010 MTS 1200 BASE owner I realy appreciate this post. Thanks for posting it.

I'm still digesting the content, but this article has got to be the best promotion ever. I'm still very happy with my 2010 base version, however this article really has me thinking about a new MTS. I can't imagine more low and midrange torque and an active suspension system that might actually solve some of the small nitpicks I have with the base model suspension.

Must not go for a 2013 DEMO ride. Must be disiplined...

I bought a new R1100GS in '96, after busting my cherry on a run of airheads and a K75S (which I loved). I was kind of a newbie to wheelies, and the new GS was like a Ferrari compared to my previous beemers. I had wheelied my first bike, the original Honda Hurricane 600 a bit, but I really didn't know what I was doing when it came to wheelies then. On my second ride with my new oilhead GS, I cracked the throttle hard in first, and found myself off the back of the bike, hands still on the bars! The bike fell forward and yanked me back on the seat, and the whole episode might have lasted a half a second, but it got my attention.

I don't intentionally wheelie the Multi, but I did get on it hard once, winding it up through the gears, and felt the front come up after hitting third. When it set back down I looked a the speedo, which was reading 92mph! If you're into wheelies, I think the Multi is the ticket.

Since my name popped up, I'll add my $0.02 personally. It took quite a while to get the Multi to the state in the pic below. The next step (according to the FSM, but apparently unnecessary) was to remove the airbox, and this stumped me.


Airbox notwithstanding, from there, you're right, it's "just another 4-valve Ducati." But I guess my poor ol' (65 YO) body just wasn't up to doing it all anymore. So I opted for a maintenance contract from the local dealer. Considering the amount of miles I ride (nominally 20K miles/year) it's a good deal. I still do a lot of "other wrenching" on the thing (I mount tires, for example), so there's still plenty to do.

There is a fellow over on Ducati.ms who actually DID the whole service himself, and wrote up a nice description. I'm sure you could find the link.

I keep thinking that there's gotta be a better bike for me, considering how much I ride it (recently retired), but I've test-ridden about everything out there, and I still like the MTS1200S better than any of them.

Just installed the Tuneboy electronic cruise control (love it!), and am almost ready to get a set of Touratech side/top cases (the stock side case mounting doesn't like crashing too well, and I seem to crash a lot), but I figure I should demo the new GS first. I'm sure it'll still feel too big for me, like all the previous GS's I've ridden, but who knows?...

--Doc

The GS sounds like it could split the difference nicely, but it will still be heavier. It was the relative sense of light weight that hooked me on the Multi. If it were to be just about long rides, I think the GS will hold the edge. I doubt it will actually be more satisfying to ride for shorter runs, but only riding can answer that. They have stepped up their game with it, but it will need to be freer spinning than the air cooled motor has been in the past to capture the elan of a Ducati.