Ducati Multistrada - UK owner's review

I thought I'd post a review of the Multistrada from an owner's point
of view as this is a new bike and there is little real-life user info
about it as yet.

I've not posted on this or any other newsgroup before, so as
background info, I'm 38, been riding 20yrs and owned a wide variety of
bikes, mainly Japanese. This is my first Ducati.

First, why a Multistrada? Well it wasn't the mostly enthusiastic
magazine reviews because I'd ordered mine before they appeared. It was
simply the only bike on the market that combined the features and
facets that I was looking for, namely, comfortable natural sitting
position, sports bike handling, good passenger accommodation and grab
rail, reliable torquey motor that could cruise all day at reasonably
low revs, motor power that is less likely to get me into trouble with
the law [I've lost count of the speeding fines I've had over the years
plus one short ban...], not too heavy [around the 200kg mark max],
decent fairing, and not a bike you see everyday. Oh, and reasonably
good looks of course [which I realise in the case of this bike is very
much arguable!]. And a price of around £7500.

I ordered mine in June 03 and picked it up in the last half of July.
I've just passed 2000 miles on it in my 6 weeks of ownership and have
formed some mixed opinions...

The first thing I'll say is that the Italians need get some education
at a Japanese engineering college and learn a thing or five about
production quality assurance. Yes of course they can turn out amazing
race bikes, but that's irrelevant if your day to day transport is in
the workshop and you're left wondering why you didn't buy a reliable
Japanese bike.

I mention production QA for several reasons...

1) When I returned my bike to the dealer for it's first service [600
miles], I met another Multistrada owner who'd clocked up a mere 200
miles. Why was he there? Well, some ace factory production technician
had neglected to tighten one of the clutch bolts resulting in it
coming loose and making soup of the clutch cover...

2) Having noticed an oil deposit under the bike recently, I found
[with the help of an AA patrolman] that the left-hand oil cooler hose
union was loose and therefore leaking. The locknut was tight against
the union nut, but the latter wasn't tight against the union. This has
to be another factory oversight. After tightening it all properly and
test riding, we then found that a second leak was evident where the
hose braid is bonded to the metal union pipe. In other words, the pipe
was faulty and the bike needed recovery to my dealer 100 miles away.
Incidentally, I have to praise the dealer here [ProTwins, Surrey, UK]
for offering to wait for my arrival late on a Sunday night and fix it
there and then by taking a hose off a new bike. However, be aware that
Ducati Assistance would only have taken me to what they class as the
nearest dealer. Fine, except I certainly wouldn't have had the repair
carried out on a Sunday night, and I seriously doubt if they'd offer
to remove a hose from new stock for me. So it'd probably mean a wait
for a new hose from Italy and I hate to think how many weeks or months
I'd be waiting for that to arrive... Anyway, my personal AA cover
meant I was able to get directly back to the dealer who did their
stuff without any fuss and I was on my way. The hose and union have
been fine since.

3) I'm told the Multistrada's ECU is even more advanced [pardon the
pun!] than the 999 in that it will keep itself alive from cold after
starting without human intervention. Or that's the theory. I've
noticed this weekend that it doesn't stay running even after several
attempts and needs constant throttle tweaking whilst cold to stop it
dying. It even died at a stop today when completely warmed up after a
100 mile journey. Another dealer visit for some attention...

I'll summarise the other pros and cons to prevent this being the
longest post in history...

Cons:
- attention to engineering quality as mentioned above
- clutch/drivetrain at slow or town/city speeds
- fuel gauge indicates empty when just under half the 4.2gal tank is
left
- seat itself is way too hard inc pillion
- no centrestand
- speed with which the motor gets hot in summer when in slow traffic
for example
- rear brake pedal position too low even at it's highest adjustment
- gearbox isn't exactly Suzuki smooth
- sidestand has been fine but looks a little flexible at times!

Pros:
- handling/stability is superb
- engine characteristics perfect for motorway blasting past 4-wheel
traffic and overtaking generally
- very good seat/bar/peg position
- ride height means plenty of forward visibility and fore-warning in
traffic
- rarity value [didn't see a single other Multistrada at the UK
MotoGP]
- pillion provision [girlfriend's happy...except for the hard seat!]
- gearing matches motor well
- looks [well, from the rear 3qtr!]
- stainless exhaust
- fuel economy combined with 4.2gal tank = good range at 150 to 200
miles

Tip 1 - get the dealer to drop the rear ride height to minimum [about
1cm lower than standard] with a matching reduction of forks through
the yoke - this tightens up the handling in my opinion and also makes
things easier when you're paddling the bike round a fuel-station
forecourt for instance.

Tip 2 - buy an Abus Granite City chain lock; it fits perfectly in the
glove compartment on the right of the fairing.

One last thing [yes another rant!] - there's a large catalogue of
accessories for the Multistrada. Fine, except shouldn't items such as
rider and pillion 'comfort seats' [identical to standard - they just
don't hurt] and a centre stand be fitted as standard instead of
costing over £500 extra?? And shouldn't the accessories you order be
available and even fitted when you pick the bike up new?? I can't
imagine that I'd have been too impressed when I bought my VW diesel if
the dealer had told me that the alloys, leather seats and air-con
"should" be ready for fitting at the first service. But clearly,
Ducati have different ideas. In my case, I still await a single
accessory to turn up and I've ordered panniers, aero-screen, comfort
seats, hugger and centrestand. For now, the girlfriend carries a small
rucksack and we travel light. And we stop every 60 miles to
re-acquaint ourselves with posterior nerve activity...

I know this has sounded mostly negative, and I am indeed angry with
some aspects of my short Ducati ownership experience. But I have to
say that all things considered, the Multistrada is a very good bike
and I've found myself enjoying each ride more than the last [quality
issues aside]. At the end of the day, what matters is the experience
of riding the damn thing and I'd rate it highly in this regard.
However, whilst riding today, I did find myself wondering if there are
any workshops out there who'd be willing to transplant a TL1000 or
VTR1000 motor into a Multistrada chassis...

Adrian.

 

AdrianM fascinated us all by saying...

Very interesting viewpoint on what seems to be a 'love it, or hate it'
bike

These people no doubt will, they did with the 916.

http://www.rhencullen.co.uk/newpage13.htm

HTH

 

AdrianM was seen penning the following ode to ... whatever:

Heh. You got the wrong Italian make for that...

So true. Thanks for the review!

 

Nice write-up, that. Thanks.

....and may you continue {usual disclaimers regarding the FFAQ apply}

 

<snip jolly good write up>

Poor QC is a shame because it certainly does sour what should be a
unique and pleasurable experience.


Triumph are, IMO, the same. They just can't finish properly.

 

Agreed. Good place, that is.

<snip>

Ultimately, you've confirmed just about all my initial fears about the
Multistrada, and reinforced my belief that it will be a total lemon for
Ducati.

Never buy the Mark One of anything, *especially* if it's Italian.

 

*Waves*

 

Bear :

Proper quality control requires proper organization & decent processes
which are followed.

And they're Italian.

HTH.

 

Paging Hog.....

It's the lazy bastard Wops screwing them together, innit?

 

This is so true.

 

[of Ducatis]

This reminds me of something (which I've no doubt posted before, but it
always makes me smile); 2001, Italy, Mugello to be precise.

Mr. Neal Champion, Mr. Andrew Bonwick, Suze and myself are sat in the most
unholy gridlock I've ever seen before or since. We are endeavouring
(along with Fwag, JC, Alex, Ginge, SimonB and Mark Reid) to gain entrance
to the Italian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

There are 30,000+ people on motorcycles all trying to get in through a
single gate. This, comes shortly after the same 30,000+ people on
motorcycles attempt to buy tickets from the three little wooden huts on
the outside of the circuit.

As Andy's 9R cut out for the nth time due to overheating with my Speed
Triple sounding decidedly ropey for similar reasons and Suze on her ickle
400 getting jostled, bumped and barged by bigger machines, I looked in
despair across at Mr.Champion. He caught my anguished, hot, bothered and
frustrated look and said, with a nonchalant shrug:

"Hey, has it occurred to you that the word 'fiasco' is Italian?"

 

I fort that too ;-)

 

Champ :

Nah, give it another <looks at watch> 6 years.

 

Good work, Adrian.

darsy - ukrm.net?

 

it's shite, isn't it?

Oh, you mean, stick this multistrada review on it?

I've meant to work on it recently, but been too lazy/busy - will try
and get something done soonish.

 

No, I think it's good. Really. I mean, I wouldn't comment on the style
(I'm style-blind, as well as colour-blind), but I think there's some
decent content there.

Yes, be nice to flesh out the Ducati section.

YYSSW.

 

I can't remember where I read it, but:

"In Italy, things are either perfect, or absolute crap." IIRC[1]

Which is to say, you put heart and soul into the really inspiring stuff,
and nobody gives a **** about getting the boring stuff right.

[1]I'll post the ref if I can find it.

--
Platypus
VN800 Drifter, R80RT
DIAABTCOD#2 GPOTHUF#19
BOTAFOS#6 BOTAFOT#89
BOB#1 SBS#35 ANORAK#18 TWA#15
"WOULD YOU KINDLY SHUT THE **** UP!"

 

Platypus was seen penning the following ode to ... whatever:

<goes off to search for a job in Italy>