Ducati MultiStrada 1200

And how do you go about getting the English translation of that article?

Just like my '92 Ducati 900SS when I rebuilt it at 41,000 miles. Big-end shells were pretty much toast.

And I've been counting on 100,000 miles from the Multi 12...hmmm :huh

--Doc

PS. I believe there ARE examples of the 4V L-twin going 100K miles, admittedly rare.

Since I haven't eat the article, what'd Ducati say about the bearing?

Run the URL thru Google Translate. BTW, Ducati's response re the big-end bearings was: "since the engine's already apart, go ahead and replace the bearings."

Not too confidence-inspiring...

--Doc

Tks for the link, Moronic..very interesting..also read the endurance test on the 999 and 1098...

Couple of questions:

Have any of the TALL guys one here tried the MRA X-creen yet? I'm still having buffeting issues and wonder if the little spoiler doohickey will help.

Also, how hard is it to change the springs on the ohlins shocks compare to a normal shock?

The Motorrad test had all the oil changes done properly. It wasn't even close to the same test as the one with Nick Sanders.

And given the results from Motorrad, the Multi actually looks just as good, if not better than the Super Tenere, in that particular case. Given the photos and descriptions of the internals, the Multi sounded better than the ST.

I'm getting the springs changed on Friday. The mechanic said that the front springs are 'easy' (bout an hour), but the rear is a 'bitch' (3.5 hrs). Changing the spring is the easy part....getting the shock out is the tough part.

To many pages without pictures here now, so here is another picture of my Multistrada up in the Norwegian mountains last summer

"Despite more or less clearly worded criticism, however, all but one reader would buy the power Funbike any time."

I just turned 1400 miles on my 2013 Multi and enjoy it more with each ride. I did switch to a 14 tooth front sprocket. While the low speed fueling problem I felt in the demo ride of the 2012 was gone, the gearing was awkward at low speed, stop and go traffic. Too slow for second, too fast for first. Also at 70 to 75 mph it was a toss up between 5th and 6th gear. If in 6th, there was a lag in acceleration. With the 14 sprocket both issues are gone. At 70 mph 6th now has " grunt". Did not seem to affect mileage.

I'm 5'8" and get no turbulence from the windscreen. However the wind noise is quite noticeable. I installed the Wonderlich wind deflector and it made a big improvement. However, the bike seems to be effected more by wind turbulence from trucks than before. Not a severe problem, and may just be my imagination.

My only complaint is there are not yet any aftermarket windscreens or seats.

Any aftermarket seat`s that fit a 2012, will fit your 2013

Agreed. I am not offended and wondered if I might be crossing a line . Basically it said:
The Multistrada is a powerful, fun bike () that it's owners like a lot and depending on your priorities it or the KTM look like the best of breed as road bikes from a rider's perspective. Of course, it said that in Babel fish language, and paid passing homage to the GS as well.

The Guzzi came in last

Anybody who wants to translate it for themselves can use this link: http://translate.google.com/

If you type in the url of the magazine, it will translate the entire document onto a single page. The reader can enjoy interpreting for him or herself

Andreas, that turns into an interesting subject. When I purchased, the dealer said ithe 2012 low seat would not fit. They based it on the different part numbers. Today, after your post, I went to the dealer and said lets try the 2012 lower seat. It sort of fit. When positioned correctly at the front the rear peg is about 1/4 too far. There is enough slack up front to make it fit. The round spacers extend about the same 1/4 inch from the front of the pillion seat. Would a Sargant or Corbin fit? Maybe.

More interesting is that the low seat set me further from the ground than the stock. I have a 30" inseam and the stock is acceptable, barely. Lower would be better. But the low seat, even though it purports to be 3/4" shorter, is wider. I was pretty unstable. I believe I'll just shave the stock down.

After posting the link to Motorrad's 50,000km teardown of the Multi 1200, and taking a gander at their similar piece on the Yamaha Super Tenere, I took time to wade through a few more of their recent efforts.

(For anyone interested in doing the same, here is the link to Motorrad's endurance test home page, which carries the latest pieces and a test-finder search tool. Use google translate.)

The more I browsed, the better the Multi 12 looked. Among the disasters and near-disasters:

BMW K1300GT: Clutch exploded at 25,000km, famously blowing a hole in the crankcase and killing the engine, then 10,000km later a big-end bearing blew in the new motor. Among multiple other woes including worn final drive. (A K1200S did much better.)

KTM RC8 superbike: Front cylinder big-end bearing failed at 1700km, factory fitted "revised" engine with better finished bearing, front big-end blew again at 26,000.

Suzuki GSX-R750: At 50,000km all valves burnt and badly in need of replacement; big-end bearings worn; sixth gear about to collapse.

R1200GS: Catastrophic gearbox failure at 37,000km. (But the engine at 50,000km could be bolted back together without changing parts, despite wear marks visible on the big-ends.)

Among the most impressive:

GSX-R1000: valves and pistons spotless, hone marks still on bores, entire engine could be bolted back together.


Overall: Ducati technicians commented after the teardown of a 1098 that the bike had been used "primarily in short-haul operation", and from other comments it appears these test bikes do lots of commuting and are not spared during cold German winters. Tough tests, then. A high proportion of the bikes pulled down exhibited wear marks on the big-ends.

The other point worth making is about the small sample size: it is impressive that a magazine does this at all, but nevertheless Motorrad does it to only one example of each bike, making luck a significant factor.

Motorrad could have got one of the Multi 12s whose cylinder heads have failed, in which case the result would have looked rather different. They did not, and after reading all this guff my confidence in the build quality of the Multi has risen.

Thanks for the examples. My '06 Uly is now the "short-haul" bike, and every time the MTS1200S is started it is ridden for a "reasonably long" distance. Like this morning: yay, it's in the 30s out (not the 20s as usual)...great day for a 350-mile ride! Supposed to get up to mid-50s (deg F of course).

My winter commute (5 miles...bike never gets fully warmed up) has been hard on more than one of my bikes. Heck, it's hard on me...or rather, it used to be .

I'll have to admit that in my 43,000 miles of accumulated MTS12 mileage (13K on one, 30K on the other) the engine has been absolutely troublefree. That's why I'm hoping for 100K miles on the thing. Hopefully get well past 50K miles by the end of the summer.

Then next year if I (and the bike) can stay healthy I'll really try to do some riding...

--Doc

4,629rpm according to gearing commander.

http://www.gearingcommander.com/

This is encouraging and an inspiration. I need mine to last the duration.