[Axe77]

Model: MY 2016/17 Multistrada 1200S (Regd Feb 2017)
Bought used: March 2022 @ ~53,570 kms
Current odo: ~61,200 kms (as of April 2023)

What’s Hot:

• The bike!: In totality. Its red, its hot and comes with a generous dollop of chilli pepper fire every time you whack open that throttle.
• The engine: 160 PS power & 136 NM torque. Liable to cause random giggling when you twist that wrist at any speed.
• The look: The bike just refuses to throw up a bad pic, even in the hands of a talentless bloke like me who sucks at photography.
• Build quality: Really good, surprisingly. For a bike that’s on the other side of 6 years & 60,000 clicks, the bike still feels pretty well put together.
• Tech & Electronics: Loads of tech including the DVT engine, IMU, switchable ‘on the fly’ riding modes, electronically adjustable Skyhook suspension, DWC - the level of variables are just mind boggling.
• Stock headlights: Fantastic. These are the first pair of stock headlights that actually made me realise my Clearwater purchase was virtually superfluous. I’ll anyway transfer the Aux lights to the next big bike so no problem there.
• 17” wheel: Makes for an incredibly sporty ride. In the right hands (not mine), can give proper sports bike a run for their money. Off Tarmac though, I’d definitely be a lot happier with a 19” / 21” front wheel.
• Changing riding modes: Can change through its riding modes on the fly while riding and the mode remains the same even if the bike switches off. An incredibly useful feature specially when going through varying terrain.

What’s Not

• It’s Hot!: I mean … the engine heat. Its definitely a notch higher even by superbike standards. This is not a bike you want to get stuck in traffic in.
• Versatility (lack of): Harks to its overall sports tourer DNA. It is much more of a couple of tricks pony than an out and out all rounder, as much as they call it “four bikes in one”. I felt the Tiger was far more versatile - in particular when its off tarmac.
• OEM accessory prices: Cost a bomb. I’ve mostly made do with high quality aftermarket brands though with the added advantage that they will be portable to my next adventure bike.
• Desmo costs: Again, super expensive but they’re once every 30,000 kms and my running really isn’t going to be high enough to warrant doing this twice thankfully, in my likely limited tenure of ownership. And if I‘ve enjoyed it long enough to experience this twice - well - it’ll be well worth the joy it gave.
• OEM hard panniers: Pretty crappy. I’m just not a fan of the whole side opening oval format of side luggage system and much prefer the conventional top loading rectangular boxes or semi rigid saddle bags in comparison. Personal preference really.
• Low speed driveability: Can be a tad snatchy at low speeds, specially if you’re in a higher gear than warranted, although the DVT has made it much smoother than previous iterations of the bike.
• Key’d fuel lid: The bike has keyless ignition but the fuel lid requires the key. Terribly annoying. Converting the petrol lid to keyless is an eye wateringly expensive accessory (thankfully I have this accessory on my bike).
• Some rattles: Its a bit rattly in some places (I think rear foot pegs) with passage of time).

I’ve kept this review relatively brief since I’m conscious its a 2017 bike that’s now a generation older, with a substantially different V4 that’s taken its place. But I nevertheless did want some place where I can post any updates on the bike and also provide the readers a reference point of what it is like to own this beautiful machine and also hopefully what it takes to own a well aged Ducati in India. With that caveat out of the way, here goes:

The purchase

As I had mentioned in the postscript to my Tiger ownership thread, I really had no specific plans of buying a Multistrada. I had the occasional itch to buy a second bike and I was seriously considering a sparingly used Ninja 1000 in early Q1 2022. But the MTS 1200 purchase itself was entirely happenchance.

I heard of an MY 2017 pre-owned 1200S that had come to Ducati Mumbai and decided to check it out. There was an instant connection within just a short test ride. It had fairly heavy miles on it, was out of warranty and was within nodding distance of its 60,000 km second Desmo service. So the process was run carefully with detailed questions to the service team as to the approximate upkeep costs it was likely throw up in a 12 month time horizon. The team, both sales and service, were wonderfully helpful and responsive and I finally mustered the courage to buy an out of warranty, heavily run Ducati. What gave me some confidence was that no corners would have been cut in its maintenance and upkeep and it was genuinely a first owner and well looked after machine.

I had a half used set of Michelin Road 5 tyres thrown in, which I installed fairly quickly replacing the existing Verdensteins, as well as a spare set of front brakes which came in handy since they were due for replacement by the time the bike had reached its 60k Desmo service.

All in all, the bike never even got listed on the used market and between Ducati Infinity and me, we settled on a sensible price for the bike, in what was a pretty short negotiation (if I can even call it a negotiation).

And there began the journey with the Multi. At the time, it was sharing space with the Tiger 800 and it made a lovely combination. For any of the rough stuff, the Tiger was always the default choice but for anything that’s tarmac biased, the Multistrada was just STUPIDLY FUN and soon became almost my default choice for the road biased Sunday runs.

The wonderful 10 months that the Tiger and the Multi shared garage space.

For those of you familiar with the opening bits of my Tiger review - Yes! I did have to say sorry again and it took a fair bit of effort to make it sound like I meant it. Happy to report though that by now, my wife has more or less given up on me on the motorcycle fronts so at any given point, if I want to run a two bike garage, its met with almost no resistance barring the mandatory token indignation.

A pic right after my first test ride of this 1200S. The wide grin in the picture says it all - I knew that moment, that barring any fatal finding from the service team, the deal was done as far as I was concerned.

Dealership experience

In one word: superlative. I’ve had a great experience on every front with Triumph and the experience at Ducati has been no different - even better, if anything. My brief interaction with the sales team was excellent but the service team has been absolutely brilliant. They’re competent, extremely customer centric and if the product fits my needs / budget, I would never hesitate to buy another Ducati from the Mumbai folks from a peace of ownership perspective.

The presence of a south Mumbai service centre is also very convenient and many folks (as did I) take delivery of their Ducatis at the conveniently located service centre.

Delivery day picture at the service centre. The mind is already racing through all the mischief I’m going to get to with this devil.

With that said and done, let me come to the bike itself.

Riding ergonomics and comfort

The bike is extremely comfortable for long hours in the saddle. My bike came with an aftermarket shorter windscreen which is any way something I prefer and had installed on the Tiger as well, which can be manually adjusted up and down as needed. I find the wind buffeting adequate with this screen and much prefer it to the stock taller windscreens that one needs to look “through” instead of over - specially for shorter riders like me.

Both rider and pillion seats are of generous proportion and despite being a heavy full size ADV, the reach to ground is relatively manageable. I haven’t tinkered with the riding geometry in any way. The seats are a tad hard but not to a point of being uncomfortable. The rider seat is sort of scooped nicely low so you do feel like you’re sitting down into the bike as opposed to riding on top of it.

What does NOT work for me at all are the stand up ergonomics. The entire posture is altogether awkward and I just don’t feel at home while riding standing up. This is in complete contrast to the comfort and ease I felt in the Tiger while riding on the pegs. Its also a big reason (17” front wheel aside) that I really don’t feel happy riding off tarmac on the bike. I should add though that from an electronics front, the Enduro mode works very well even though I generally just tackle such terrain sitting down. Its the standing ergonomics that feel out of place to me.

This click captures a particularly awkward standing riding posture on my part. Somehow on the Tiger my stance felt much more at ease.

Engine & performance; Braking

In a perhaps debatable view, this third generation of the Multistrada is hands down an iteration that is one of the best in its own right. It is the penultimate (barring the mid life update to 1260) of this particular L Twin variant of the litre class Multi before its migration to the V4. The 1200 sports the (then) updated Desmodromic Variable Timing (DVT) equipped engine boasting 136 NM torque and ~160 HP of power. At the time of purchase, the bike was sporting a +4 sprocket at the rear which gave it an absolutely manic bottom end pull. When it was time to change the sprocket (done at ~60,500 kms), I actually dialled this back to a +2 sprocket over the stock size.

I’m not one to judge a bike exclusively by its spec sheet and while the bike’s spec sheets are impressive on all fronts and by any measure, the effect of those horses have to be experienced first hand. The engine has a charm of a previous generation, before BS6 came in and before Ducati made every generation progressively more civilised and refined. It has an absolute raw ferocity to it when you twist the throttle, whether you’re accelerating from 20 to 80 or at any triple digit speeds. Twist the throttle in the right gear at virtually any speed and the Multi responds with utter ferocity, leaping forward with an urgency that takes some getting used to.

The brakes are excellent high spec Brembos (M50s I think) and do a stellar job of bringing this beast to a stop in any urgent braking situation. Again, top spec components here on a top notch bike and no complaints whatsoever from the entire braking performance on the bike.

Suspension, handling and related tech

An excellent suspension set up with that sweet 17” wheel aiding crisp handling.
The bike comes equipped with its trademark Sky hook suspension with four riding modes that can be switched on the fly (a HUGE advantage - on my Tiger, every time we went off road, I’d have to pull over to the side and change riding modes keeping the bike stationary while doing it).

The bike has Bosch IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit), a height adjustable seat which I keep at its lower setting, cornering ABS, multiple customisable settings for Ducati Traction Control and Ducati Wheelie Control which I’ve detailed out in the images below and different engine maps which release or restrict the full power depending on the riding mode selected.

While you can customise how you want the suspension set up in each riding mode, I’ve actually left it at its factory default settings. Additionally, you can also select four different options that further tweak the suspension a bit. These are solo rider, rider + pillion, solo + luggage and pillion + luggage. This plays around with the suspension firmness a bit. Sometimes, if I want a minor tweak to the suspension firmness, even when I’m just riding solo, I might set the option to pillion / pillion + luggage.

The controls described above

Engine heat

As I mentioned, engine heat is definitely pretty high and while its never presented an issue while touring, get stuck in a traffic jam and it’ll remind you that you’re on an Italian exotic. Stay stuck in traffic long enough and its definitely going to sacrifice a fair share of your favourite swimmers in the process. Having said that, I’ve never had the bike shut down on me due to the heat the occasions I’ve been stuck in bad traffic. Overall, this is not a deal breaker issue by any measure for me - its hot for sure when stuck in one place but overall liveable.

Cockpit, controls & tech

Intricate, detailed beyond belief but slightly contra intuitive to use the way the controls are set up. It took me a bit of time to figure my way around navigating the myriad menus and sub menus because of the way the buttons and knobs to navigate and select settings is configured.

The bike comes with 4 riding modes - Urban; Touring, Sport and Enduro. Urban and Enduro mode restrict the power to a ‘modest’ 100 bhp while sport and touring unleash the full 160 horses available at disposal. Each of these modes can further be customised for Engine map, DTC (8 levels), DWC (8 levels) and ABS (3 levels). It further allows for specific settings for the Sky hook suspension for each of the 4 riding combos (solo / pillion / with luggage). I’m not proficient at advanced calculus to work out the effective number of combinations possible but suffice to say I’ve trusted whatever the Ducati factory engineers deemed appropriate as the default setting for each of these modes.

The bike also has numerous display modes, which customise the level of information that the extremely informative screen throws up. In the ‘default’ display mode, the bike has a lovely custom manner of displaying the power / torque delivery depending on the mode selected. Note how it has that steep climb in the sport mode in contrast to say the Enduro / Touring mode. The screen itself is a colour scheme but clearly of a previous generation, with the colour display in later Ducatis definitely seeming a notch crisper in display. The readouts are clear regardless and extremely informative.

You can set different levels and styles of display through this control


Typical display when set in the "Default" mode. Note how the RPM meter launches differently in sport mode compared to other modes in this display style.


The default settings for each of the four modes across the different metrics can be viewed here.


The multitude of settings that are possible. I've set out below a sample using the Sports mode for illustration here.

Fuel efficiency and tank range

The Multi does have a bit of a drinking problem – it typically gives me barely 16 – 17.5 kms to the litre where the Tiger in contrast almost consistently delivered 19 – 21 kmpl. Fuel stops as a result are a bit more frequent - I’m typically looking around for a bunk every 200 kms with the need to fill up max by 225 / 230kms. Fuelling up at the 225 km mark would typically lead to an approximately 16.5 - 17 litre full up. Again this is not fatal in itself, but given that a lot of my touring happens with ‘all ADV’ groups, I do need my refills a bit sooner than the other lads.

Luggage setup

• SW Motech tank bag
• SW Motech Sys bags L (semi rigid side panniers)
• SW Motech top box (38 ltr).
• Kriega bags: set of US series 30 / 20 / 10, used as required

I’ve discussed the luggage system itself in sufficient detail in this post. Coming to my preferred usage format for the varying luggage solution, here goes:

In-city:
SWM tank bag & / or top box, if and as required. The top box is most handy if I’m taking the bike for a morning run and want to leave my helmet, wallet & some overclothes locked inside.

Outside the city: For short morning rides outside the city, I now prefer to remove the top box altogether - the SWM tank bag alone serves me just fine. If needed, I latch on the Kriega US 10 on the rear Alu rack which has my basic toolkit and tyre inflator.

Longer Touring: My preferred set up is just the Kriega US 30 bag for luggage, possibly combined with the US 10 for tools. If travelling longer / with more luggage, I’d combine the US 30 / 10 along with the Sys bag side pannier set up. My preference now is to only try and use the top box for short in-city distance.

My brief trial with the Kriega side OS side bags, before I ultimately purchased the SWM Sys Bags


Standing at the Grand Hyatt Goa lobby from an office trip earlier this year. This is my single preferred set up now. Side saddle bags with the Kriega US bags on the tail rack in one or more combos depending on luggage required.


What the full SW Motech set up looks like with the top box. If a lockable top box is critical, this is an alternative to the above. Note the cable lock running across the side pannier now. Those are the Steelcore locks that I picked up subsequently.

Living with a 6 year, ~60,000 km run Ducati

So how’s the Ducati been in the little over one year and 7,000+ kms that I’ve had it. All in all, remarkably reliable. Other than basic pre-ride checks that I’d subject even a newer bike to, I would not hesitate to take it on a long ride in a heartbeat. Its been utterly reliable, the cost of upkeep - predictable and barring some nominal niggles I have no complaints whatsoever.

Isolated Issues and niggles

• Horn switch: Was a bit sticky at some point. Needed some small spray or something which the service centre sorted during a routine check up.
• Rattly rear foot pegs: Unfortunately one of those Ducati things. Over a period of time, I think the bolts get a bit loose, causing the foot peg to rattle. Since I almost never have a pillion, I’ve just zip tied it for now.
• DSS error: The bike has three sensors and if any of these go kaput it can throw up a DSS error. I did get this once but it was likely only some muck or something interfering. I got the sensors inspected and cleaned up and the error has since gone away, never to return in about 2000 kms since.
• Side stand: My side stand gave way while I was at track day at the MMRT. Had to manage with a paddock stand for that weekend and got a new side stand installed once I was back in Mumbai. Quite a harrowing experience while it was gone, but overall the part was made available very quickly - literally within a few days. Didn’t break the bank either - cost less than 5k IIRC, give or take.
• Minor rim bend: I had a very minor rim bend that was causing a very slow leak in the front tyre. I had the rim straightened out through a trusted third party vendor who a lot of Ducati owners have used. This has happened in my Tiger too and so far no issues since the repair.
• OEM luggage fit: Completely unhappy with the OEM hard side pannier setup. It had come a little lose I guess with the amount of miles on it. I could have gotten it fixed with some minor jugaad solution but since I’m anyway not a fan of that style of luggage, I simply went and installed side pannier mounts from SW Motech and installed the 2022 released version of the Sys Bags L set up. I am really very happy with this purchase and look forward to moving this to the next big ADV as well.

Major maintenance: 60,000 km Desmo + chain sprocket

The bike underwent its Desmo service at a little under 59,000 kms if I recall correctly. The overall cost was about ~ Rs. 61,000 after they threw in some discounts. Of this a little under 16k was on account of labour and ~45k was towards parts. This is definitely well within the amounts I had anticipated and budgeted towards this major service at the time of purchase.

The other major spends were on a new set of tyres and a new chain and sprocket (went +2 on the rear as I mentioned earlier). Both of these were done at a little over 60,000 kms. The tyres cost ~Rs. 40,000 (Michelin Road 5s) and the new chain & sprocket cost ~Rs. 26k give or take, including labour.

Overall, these are within the amounts I had estimated as I mentioned and other than specific accessories (most notable being the Clearwater Aux lights and the luggage system) I have had NO unusual expenses in the last 13 months of ownership - this, on a bike (to reiterate) that's done 7,000 kms under my ownership at the 55 - 60k kms mark on the odo. I'd say this is impressive for the privilege of owning an exotic Italian like this.

Closing Notes

Really nothing further to add on the review. I’ve left a ton of pics in the next post from the last 13 months and will continue to post updates on this bike from my ownership hereon. Hopefully, they will mostly comprise only ride updates because the bike really hasn’t thrown up any drama on any front whatsoever.

I’m conscious the review itself may have limited relevance since this particular model is no longer on sale new. But it’s definitely showed me that owning an old, high mileage Ducati is far from fatal, and with the right checks and balances is something one can definitely consider, as long as one is mindful to the general upkeep costs of course. At least for me, it’s definitely broken the whole reliability question mark over Ducatis. While they have got a reputation to be cantankerous beasts, they’re definitely build more solid and reliable than they’ve been given credit for. In my immediate riding circuit itself, is a same generation Multistrada 1200S that’s done well over 75k kms - a substantial portion of those with two up touring - having traveled extensively to the far corners of the country including the North East. It continues to do similar duty, having been to Spiti / Ladakh just last year at the hands of the most amazing riding couple.

There is no doubt that the current generation of Multis are fantastic and are an engineering marvel in their own right. But I feel truly blessed that I got a chance to experience this specific generation for how it is and what it represents - before the Ducatis became a bit more civilised. One that won’t hesitate to snap back at you if you’re being silly - playful to the right measure but demanding respect every step of the way. It has the sophistication of modern day machines combined with the inimitable charm and the raucous roar of a prior era.

Waking up at 4.30 am to go for a Sunday ride has never been this easy. Its certainly more rewarding than ever with this beauty of a beast. For all my riding compatriots on the forum, thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed the brief review.

In the meantime, ride hard, ride safe and Godspeed!

[Axe77]

Picture gallery: The Multi over the last year


At a dry lakebed from earlier this month. Can't wait to experience the same spot when its in full monsoon splendour.


The bike has a drinking problem and the rider a caffeine addiction. A solo morning ride to Blue Tokai during the early months.


With a friend at Grounded, Bandra.


Have superbike. Will ride to Starbucks! This one is at Lonavala though, small mercies.


With a beautifully wrapped Multi for company here. Yeah, you guessed it - another coffee outing.


At its sole trip to the racetrack. The side stand had given way by day 2 which meant it was permanently on a paddock stand when not being ridden.


Again, from last week - a ride to Jawhar.


Chasing sunrises - across many different Sundays.


Some from long tours (Goa and Mahabi) and others from regular Sunday outings.


Some monsoon vistas and some city rides.


Random moments.


Equally at home with friends as she is at family get togethers. The lower pic is from the only “Ducati” ride I’ve done to date. All my rides are either with my local ADV group or with my colleagues who are fellow riders.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[mugen_pinaki27]

I must say, Sir, absolutely drool-worthy pictures of the Multi. Did you, by any chance, enroll in the TWO school when going to MMRT? Would love to hear your insights.

[Kalash_6324]

Inspiring thread and drool worthy pictures.

You mentioned you're on the shorter side and that made me curious.
I've always heard experienced riders say that our lack of height is only as big of an issue as we make it.
So just looking for your experience on that front.
How have you dealt with the height and heft of these machines or maybe you could share your moment of eureka?
Any tips or guidelines an aspiring rider on the short end of the spectrum should be aware of?

[bf1983]

Lovely write. I must say Ducati really know how to design bikes. I spotted one yesterday on palm beach road and my wife was wondering why I was gesturing excitedly at the Multistrada when we had passed a few superbikes on the way and I didn't really get excited at any of them.

And the Ducati red is probably the most eye catching red on any bike in my humble opinion.

You have already done a lot of trips on this beauty but I still wish you many more happy miles of riding.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by mugen_pinaki27

Did you, by any chance, enroll in the TWO school when going to MMRT? Would love to hear your insights.

Thank you Mugen Pinaki. It was indeed the track day run by TWO. I am a big fan of TWO (would rate them second only to CSS) and would definitely recommend a tutored track day for anyone who wants to be a better rider. I understand that schools like RACR are preferred much more focused towards folks with a racing mindset whereas TWO is much more focused on making you a much better every day rider using the track as the tool, although of course both can serve either purpose. I did the two day L1/L2 session with Anand Dharmaraj, Shumi and one more trainer at TWO (I’m forgetting his name).

Sometime in 2019 I had also done CSS with my Tiger. I’ve left a link of my detailed CSS review below if its helpful.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/super...ml#post4653183 (Review: California Superbike School @ MMRT Chennai)

Originally Posted by Kalash_6324

I've always heard experienced riders say that our lack of height is only as big of an issue as we make it.
So just looking for your experience on that front.
How have you dealt with the height and heft of these machines or maybe you could share your moment of eureka?
Any tips or guidelines an aspiring rider on the short end of the spectrum should be aware of?

Thanks Kalash. I’m quoting from my previous Tiger thread although that post is contextual to the specific questions that were asked there.

Indeed, there are several ways to get comfortable around your height and it need not come in the way of riding a bike you really want to ride. Of course, all things being equal, if there were a bike I could access ground more easily on, it would be a favourable factor. Most of the relevant points I’d have to say are covered below.

I think the main thing is getting your head around the fact that you don’t need to have both feet firmly on ground. Even if you can point one foot down - whether flat or on toes - you’re mostly fine. No doubt, weight adds another element to the challenge of a tall bike but these aspects are mostly surmountable IMO once you wrap your head around it.

Originally Posted by Axe77

I cant flat foot both feet but can toe / ball of feet both. The better approach usually is to have one solid foot on the ground. Regardless of height, with a heavy ADV, one should always be mindful while coming to a halt to road slant, road surface (slippery vs firm) etc. In no time this becomes second nature and muscle memory activity. I would highly recommend watching a recent video on Powerdrift on short riders and taller bikes. It lays down all the essentials beautifully. Lastly, ditch the fear that you may drop the bike. That’s OK! Happened to me a few times when I was newer on the bike but since then its only really happened in extreme off Tarmac situations. Never in everyday riding.

Originally Posted by bf1983

And the Ducati red is probably the most eye catching red on any bike in my humble opinion.

Thanks buddy. I completely agree with you - the Ducati red does look really good. The only other colour on Ducatis that I have found equally stunning is the satin white - I saw a Multistrada in that colour recently and it looked very nice.

[Dhruv Shetty]

Congratulations on the Multistrada and wish you many more Kilometres on the beauty.
This ownership review shows that a Ducati can be as reliable as a Japanese bike, it just needs the love and on time maintenance schedule. While reading through the review, it looked like you picked up Shumi’s Multistrada, had go to his Instagram account and compare both the Multis.

Cheers,
Dhruv Shetty.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by Dhruv Shetty

Congratulations on the Multistrada and wish you many more Kilometres on the beauty.

Thank you Dhruv.

While reading through the review, it looked like you picked up Shumi’s Multistrada, had go to his Instagram account and compare both the Multis.

Indeed, it is his and predictably used heavily but maintained immaculately as well.

[no_fear]

The original Ducati Multistrada was based on the Cagiva Gran Canyon, a very weird and convoluted model designed by Pierre Terrablanche. It was hated way back in 2003, and I had gone to the 2005 launch party in California for the 1000 DS Multistrada. The first models looked like lanky giraffes with fat heads. Pierre Terrablanche was so despised by every Ducatista.

A lot of riders were confused on what the bike offered. It was a cross between a tourer and a super moto, with very limited off roading skills. The seat was just plywood and the bike would tip over on its stand.

Fast forward 10 years, and the model has evolved into a head turner. It's an amazing machine, and shows how Ducati incorporated rider + design feedback for the bike's evolution.

Axe - the 1200 Multi is a killer machine and a hoot to ride. Enjoy riding the beauty for many many miles to come.

[iKrish]

Hi, I was just curious if this multi used to belong to Shubhabrata Marmar (Shumi)? Because this looks absolutely identical to the one he used to have.

[dkaile]

Congratulations mate on an absolutely "hot" bike. Wishing you many years of happy riding with it. How much damages to the pocket was this one, if I may so inquire? And how much did the Tiger go for?

Cheers...

[E30_325iSport]

Nice bike, I've recently got myself a V4s. I've experienced the L twin in my Monster 1200 I used to have, it had a certain bombastic character that's missing in the V4, especially at sane speeds.

[the_skyliner]

Congratulations, Axe77 on acquiring the most beautiful Multi there is. I am a big fan of how the 1200 looks!

It's simply gorgeous!

Loved the review too. Crisp and unbiased.

That twin engine is a riot at any speed and the power band is so much usable than say the Multi V4.

Multi 1200 is something I would have liked to upgrade to from my 950S but well Ducati decided to shift to the V4 and that's not the same.

Anyways, congratulations once again on getting the best Multi one can get and I am sure you will take good care of her looking at your Tiger thread.

Wishing you many safe and happy miles on it!
Cheers!

[Axe77]

Thanks everyone.

Originally Posted by no_fear

The original Ducati Multistrada was based on the Cagiva Gran Canyon, a very weird and convoluted model designed by Pierre Terrablanche.

Indeed No Fear. I think it really started coming into its own (in the looks department) from this 3rd gen onwards. The current gen which visually is still an evolution more than revolution is a proper head turner, even more so compared to my 3rd gen.

A lot of riders were confused on what the bike offered. It was a cross between a tourer and a super moto, with very limited off roading skills.

I still it’s still (even current gen) just about all right in the off-roading department. Its sort of physics defying in what you can do with a 19” wheel 200+ kilo adventure bike but for an off roading biased use case, this isn’t the one I’d pick.

Originally Posted by iKrish

Hi, I was just curious if this multi used to belong to Shubhabrata Marmar (Shumi)?

Yes. Confirmed that one post above.

Originally Posted by E30_325iSport

Nice bike, I've recently got myself a V4s. I've experienced the L twin in my Monster 1200 I used to have, it had a certain bombastic character that's missing in the V4, especially at sane speeds.

Haha .. indeed it is. I avoid saying this to not be misunderstood / trolled given the V4S is admittedly phenomenal and no doubt superior to the 1200S. But that’s the thing - the L Twin is bombastic and ferocious and brings a sense of drama about everything it does where the V4S is delivers stupendous performance in an almost understated effortless way. At lower speeds its almost like its trying to be Clark Kent / Bruce Wayne, not letting anyone know that its true identity is superman. The 1200? Its loud and eventful, whatever you’re doing with it.

Originally Posted by the_skyliner

That twin engine is a riot at any speed and the power band is so much usable than say the Multi V4.

Multi 1200 is something I would have liked to upgrade to from my 950S but well Ducati decided to shift to the V4 and that's not the same.

Thanks buddy. Yours and Narula123’s reviews made it so much more difficult to pen my own because everything you guys have already written almost exactly echo how I feel about the bike - in many instances, right down to the exact words as how I’ve described it to others offline.