Multistrada 2.0
MULTISTRADA 2.0
RIDING IMPRESSION
DUCATI REBOOTS ITS ALL-ROADER AND TOPS OFF ITS ELECTRONICS SUITE WITH VARIABLE VALVE TIMING
Luddites beware, the 2015 Multistrada 1200 and, in particular, the 1200 S are as technologically advanced as a motorcycle can be. You will rejoice in what the new Multistrada offers only if you are willing to trust the mechanical technology at work, and all the sensors, computers, and a nearly fictional point in the sky (for the S version).
The biggest news for the Multistrada is the Testastretta engine with Desmodromic Variable Timing, providing what may be the smoothest power delivery yet known to motorcycling. No surges, no leaps, no glitches, no steep change in the power curve as revs build; just smooooth power when you want it regardless of throttle position or twisting. DVT provides more power throughout the I,198CC engine’s rev range and 10 more horsepower at peak, for a claimed 160 hp at 9,500 rpm and too pound-feet of torque at 7,500 rpm. Yet, like all Ducatis, too low of an engine speed in too tall a gear is still not recommended, only less so. That’s okay, as it’s simply operator error.
For a motorcycle,
Ducati’s DVT delivers an unprecedented 45 degrees of variable timing of each cam, for 90 degrees of synchronized variance from +53 to -37 degrees of crankshaft rotation.
With DVT, cam timing is controlled by ECU mapping
Peter Jones
much like the EFI and ignition timing.
Like properly functioning EFI, you don’t notice its operation; power is just smoother, increased, and delivered more efficiently. The system also benefits from an 8-percent bump in fuel economy.
The 1200 features a Bosch Inertial Measurement Unit, Bosch-Brembo ABS 9.1ME Cornering braking system, cruise control, four riding modes, Ride-by-Wire Power Modes (PM), Ducati Wheelie Control (DWC), Ducati Traction Control (DTC), height-adjustable seat, and an LCD dashboard.
The 1200 S features those items but with larger brake discs, Ducati Multimedia System (DMS), Sachs Electronic suspension with semi-active Ducati Skyhook Suspension (DSS), full LED headlights with Ducati Cornering Lights (DCL), and a full-color TFT dashboard. Both versions have the thundering intake growl of this I,198CC twin, which is appreciated whenever you grab a handful of throttle.
There are four versions: Sport, Touring, Urban, Enduro, plus two nonpackage versions of 1200 and 1200 S that those are based on, for a total of 10 versions. Only the standard 1200,1200 Touring, and 1200 S and 1200 S Touring
are in the showroom; other packages are dealer-installed options.
Each version has four riding modes, differing in factory settings of level of rider aids. The modes are confusingly named the same as the four visually different versions: Sport, Touring, Urban, and Enduro. So you can have a Touring Package bike that you choose to ride in Urban mode and so forth.
The rider can also choose from the eight levels of DWC, DTC, and levels of Cornering ABS. The IMU measures yaw, pitch, and rate of change of each to permit maximum braking while cornering and signal the DWC to inhibit the bike’s ability to wheelie. On the 1200 S the IMU controls the LED Ducati Cornering Lights. The Brembo brakes are matched to a Bosch 9.1ME ABS ECU. Front braking of the 1200 is by radially mounted four-piston calipers and dual 320mm rotors; rear is 265mm single rotor. The S version has 330mm front rotors and M50 calipers.
All Multistradas have an electronic key that engages with the motorcycle if it’s within 6.5 feet. A conventional key opens the fuel tank and releases the passenger seat. For security there’s an electric fork lock.
BOTH VERSIONS HAVE THE THUNDERING INTAKE GROWL OF THIS 1/198CC TWIN...
The frame is a refined trellis design with a rear subframe of aluminum casting. Rake is 24 degrees and trail is 109mm. The single-sided swingarm is a one-piece die-casting, with welded-in sections. The Pirelli Scorpion Trail II tires are aggressively treaded for street and off-road riding. They’re sort of offroad sporty touring tires with long life.
The suspension is fully adjustable for the 1200, and all Multistradas have an improved 6.7 inches of travel at each end. The reshaped windscreen allows onehanded adjustability, and dry weight is at a claimed 460 pounds. The screen in its high setting effectively protects at least a 5-foot-io rider.
Wheelbase is 60 inches, and the bike accommodates out-of-seat riding for off road. The bars are tapered and rubbermounted. There are optional 12-volt power outlets and heated grips.
The Multistrada is tall, but the machine’s narrow center gives a reasonable reach to the ground. All the Multistradas we tested were excellent performing and smooth, and the body shape and peg placement make a standing riding position nearly natural.
The difference between the Sport mode’s full power and the Urban’s 100 hp is noticeable: In Sport, the bike storms forward with that wonderful growl, and speed increases mega fast and oh-so smooth. In any mode, the bike is equally smooth—a testament to some complicated engine-management programming. You can shut off DWC or DTC, but you can’t turn them back on while moving, so plan ahead.
On the 1200 S, the Skyhook suspension is soft for comfort, and Touring is the most comfortable roadgoing choice. But when corners are attacked, it goes all semi-active on you and the bike is well planted and weight shift is well controlled. All riding modes show a factory-set damping level of “Medium” on their menus. “Medium,” though, is just the baseline for where damping starts because, unlike preload, it’s not a fixed value that’s chosen. But each mode’s medium is a different medium, so, for example, Sport mode’s “medium” has more damping than Enduro’s “medium.” And, yes, in Enduro mode it eats ruts and bumps effectively.
Riding the 1200 Sport makes it clear
that it doesn’t have DSS, reminding one that manually adjusted suspension that’s at a stiffer sport-type setting is at that setting all of the time. But that shows how having DSS can be disconcerting because vehicles tend to tell us how to ride them by how they act. Because DSS in Sport mode makes the bike feel soft until aggressive cornering or braking, one might be less aggressive than with manually set suspension that asserts the sportiness of its setup. We might need to learn how to intellectually relate to bikes that are smarter than us.
In all, handling is neutral, braking is smooth, powerful, and consistent, feedback is nails on, and it has a power curve that only DVT can provide. There’s no immediate downside to the new Multistrada, but the spooky unknowable concern of reliability might spook some riders. Sachs Skyhook is everything it claims, even if it might be too good in how it eliminates the feedback that riders have learned to expect from suspension. But, oh, that full-throttle intake noise reveals that there’s still a beast inside. The next measure needed is a comparison. Stay tuned. EUM
DUCATI MULTISTRADA 1200 DVT
DOHC 90° V-twin
DISPLACEMENT 119 8 C C
IH=m!HH!H 32.5 in.
Hamman 5.3 gal.
HEEn-Enxznmaa 467 Ib.
rasa $17,695
