1260 1260s - 1,500 Miles Completed. Opening The Taps.

I would never have believed they were so different before I got my bike, and yes Jap bike are extremely consistent, but in my so far limited experience I completely get what you say. I will be doing a bit of steady band stretching this weekend
Your analogy is a bit like me really - it takes me a good hour of stretching, groaning and a few cups of tea before I start working properly

 

RM: I think some of your logic around being patient with allowing the bike to bed-in and 'align' with its traits, might well have relevance here, as I do believe the bike felt slightly and I do mean slightly different during my return trip to Bristol, now with almost 1000 miles on the clock. Or was it the RM 'power of persuasion' ?...…..

Several runs planned in the next 2-3 weeks or so, to get this thing set-up, before I head over to Haute Savoie, with lots of other Multi buddies, so perseverance seems to be the key to this and seldom do I give-in easily.

Watch this space as bike and new owner "gel"!

 

I test road the 1260 for two days 160 miles yesterday. I found the throttle off snatch very uncomfortable. During a double bend S it snatched off and it was alarming. I couldn’t take a pillion with it like that. Ruined the experience for me as I have a very smooth engined 1200 2014 plate.
Blade explained it was Euro issue. The chain was oiled but rusty and at 1250 miles it hasn’t had its oil service.
Utterly disappointed. In slow traffic it was much worse which was bizarre as the engine chatter was better with the DVT etc.
What do I buy now!

 

RE my previous postings on my concerns on the difficulty of selecting neutral. When I took delivery of the new bike it was difficult. Having a damaged and weak left hand it was worrying. The dealer assured me it would improve with mileage and I was encouraged by what I read on this site. Have done some 300 miles now and already it is improving. Apart from that I can see and feel improvements over my 2016 bike (15k miles). Going to Misano again in Sept. for the GP but will inform progress on neutral issue as I clock up some miles. Very happy so far!
On another issue did anyone try to buy tickets online for the Ducati grandstand at Misano? I had terrible problems last year and had to get the dealer to sort it. This year impossible! I tried for more than 6 weeks, so did my mate. Refuses to accept our phone numbers even trying every international combination. It is managed by a useless outfit called Vivaticket whom I phoned and got nowhere. I just wanted to buy two tickets!!! Finally gave up and used another site and got tickets for the Grandstand on the start straight, Took me 10 minutes!. Wrote to the Managing Director at Bologna and got a phone call from one of his girls who apologised and is going to investigate.
Will let you know outcome if any!!

 

Hi all

Gonna add my 2 cents. Finally got my 1260 over the weekend. Not surprised to see @Veetwin had his already!

My experience so far is largely that of his. I had a fairly fresh pair of PR5s to swap over, but thought I would keep the Scorps 2. They seem pretty good and steer quick enough. suspension is more pliant than the 1200DVT. Having ridden all MTS 12x0 since 2010, thought I would share my thoughts.

The engine to me seems to be the best charateristics of all the Multis I have ridden. The 1st was a bit of of a disaster in terms of low speed fuelling. It really needed the full system. I use a bypass pipe with the carbon stubby. Was a riot! Still rough at low speeds. But the kick was incredible. Even spat out fire. Noise was deafening. But was definitely the most fun. Engine braking pretty much compensated for a near-to-useless rear brake (even with bypass pipe). I hardly touched the brakes at twisties. My IAM observer loved the overrun growl when I back off near country road junctions. He thought was a great safety feature!

I used a full system on the 2013 and 2015. Noise was louder but less aggressive than the bypass pipe. (well, if does have some sound deadening!). Power delivery was smoother with less abruptness. The 2015 was however the least entertaining. Without the Termis, the midrange was pretty lame. Improved a little after. But you can't feel the 160bhp until you get to triple digits. Sport mode didn't feel too different to Touring. I always wondered if the upmap did anything. Compared to the 2013, the full system wasn't transforming.

Fastforward to the 2016, its like full circle minus less the annoyance. You know how one looks back with rose-tinted glassses? I was starting to miss the fun of the 2010, well guess what, its here! Without all the annoyances of poor fuelling. I thought it was to do with the full system, but my dealer confirmed for the 1260, they have dialled up the engine braking back to previous. Can be aggressive when you're used to the 2015, and I felt so when test riding. But after a day or two, I've gotten used to it. Low speed filtering this morning was great. Not sure about the 30-40mph hunting. I did find it hard to stick to that speed when going through some twisties when I left the dealer. Had to hold back.

The midrange is great. Sport and Touring are pretty mental. The engine just wants to keep going and going. Yes, really just want everyone out of the way. 2015 was more sedate.

So some other points referencing previous comments.

DQS. Takes a while getting used to. Upshift best used when opening throttle. Well its for faster pickup anyway. Those who are used to clutchless shifting will understand when's the best time to use it. Same principle. Just much faster. The MTS uses Ducati's "touring" gearbox. There is a huge jump between first and second ratios. And many have recommended against clutchless shifting between the first two gears. Definitely not smooth when poodling along. Much better at higher gears. Was bit puzzled with downshifts ntil I read the manual. It only works when throttle closed. Again. the DQS is not an auto. Its just doing what your foot and throttle matching had used to do. Like it though. Still yet to test it on some twisties, but reckon it gonna work well for those mid-corner correction.

Exhaust valve. Only had one for the 2010 for about a year. Yes, it was stuck. Gunk buildup in the pulley wire, stopping the valve from being opened. Sprayed lots of ACF 50 on it and regularly after every wash (not that regular) and it never came back. Yet to know regarding new bike. Used it twice only so far.

Cold start issues. Had it with DVT. Not when really cold. But kind of mid season or rainy. Tends to cutout. Handful of gas solves it. But can be unnerving. Not sure with new bike.

Chassis. Well that's the biggest revelation. It works. Really just works. I only really went for the new bike as I wanted to improve confidence with Pillion. Have to say. Steers really well with. Even better without. I also always felt the bike is more balanced with the heavy collector box placed low and in the middle of the bike. Acts like a mass dampener to the rider. With full systems, you get more top heavy. With the 1260DVT, I can definitely keep the stock exhaust. But the overall chassis tweaks cannot be underestimated.

I thought I would expand on that. So what were the tweaks? There are actually three rather than the two tweaks always mentioned. Longer wheelbase. Longer rake (1 degree) and the subtle one; riding position. The first two has been expanded upon, but the last one less obvious. With every Multi, Ducati tweaked the riding position in terms of shaping the seat and tank. the seat is definitely narrower compared to even the 2015. I feel more "plugged in". Makes a difference to short-legged riders like me.

The chassis tweak mainly helps in improving high speed. As we know, a longer rake means greater offset distance with contact patch (you get the idea). So the self-straightening road forces have higher leverage, and therefore stronger. The downside is it takes more steering effort to lean the bike. A longer wheelbase again means more balance in a straight line, but a wider turning circle. That's the theory, but in real life, there are other factors.

So I'll start with the obvious pluses. the older 1200s always feel uncomfortable above 100+, especially with crosswinds. With the 1260, there's a bit of lift, bit of wobble (but controlled), then stops and doesn't get worse as the speed climbs. Thaat's with threepiece- albeit empty luggage. 2-up was great too.

What about steering? Well paradoxically, despite the slower geometry, it turns better. On twisties and low speed Uturns. Why? I have a few theories.

I feel the old Multis have a split personality. It starts off quite slow and manageable, but after a certain angle, it leans quite quickly and suddenly. And is worse without the counterbalancing collector box and if your tyres are squared off. Dun even go there with 2-up and luggage. With the new steering geometry, its more controlled. So I feel more confident leaning over. The wide bars make steering effort minimal anyway. So in effect, its like using lower gears to spread the engine torque over a wider rev range. Makes it more controllable and makes you more comfortable exploiting it.

And that is why paradoxically, Ducati insisted it doesn't detract from its cornering ability. It'll be a hard sell to say its better. And probably on the track, its less flickable. But in real-world riding, where one doesn't do knee downs at every bend, it actually works. Hard to tease out at press launches. but I think my experience will bear out as more gets used on the road.

As I said, I've actually pulled tighter turns in the carpark today. And its not all down to new tyres as my old DVT had a fresh pair of PR5.

So yes. If you've stuck with me this far, the marketing hype is real. It is a big step forward. Its not two steps forward, one step back. It has given me all the things I loved since the first 1200 and negated what I don't. And advanced in other areas.

Better DSS, DQS, riding position. O, have I mentioned the new interface? Finally not endless scrolling to change modes. Dun get stuck with music player when you engage it anymore. BT pairing now much better. The DVT was a temperamental affair. You need to pair up with a headset etc. Now you can pull up call history and diall from the handlebars. Fantastic when you miss a call or need to call up before arriving somewhere. And yes, the phone works without needing to pair a headset first. We accidentally called the dealership while I was shown the controls. They were tickled by this new feature.

Took a while to figure out the cruise control as unlike most systems, the "+" button doesn't set the speed. Its the "-". I'm sure with experience, I will figure out the logic. Suppose it to avoid confusion with the "resume" function. Minor things.

Now waiting for keyless fuel-cap to arrive. Yea, love it. Lost my old fuel cap hence couldn't transfer old one over. But has never let me down.

Just a work of caution to those picking up new 1260s, its not easy to stick below 6k revs...

 

Regarding the engine braking. I found it very aggressive when I first got mine, but had nothing to compare it too, with my 1260 being my first MS and first Ducati. Now I am finding it less so, due I think to a combination of the engine loosening up (2000 miles so far) and me getting used to the bike. Everything seems to be slowly smoothing out.

My only issue with the bike is that I am still getting a weird small surge in revs after changing down at lower speeds, with both manual changes and occasionally with the QS. The dealer said they could find no faults, but it has continued. Clearly there is a fault of some kind. I turned the QS off 500 miles ago and it hasn't happened once. I know Rainman had the same thing and last I saw he seemed to have cured it by doing a tyre calibration. I tried that but it made no difference. Has anyone else had this problem?

 

the DQS will adjust engine rotation speed to match wheel rotation. At the gear box level, its about matching the rotation of the output shaft and the respective gear. As you are down shifting, for the same rotation speed, a lower gear will need the engine side to rotate faster. Only by matching speeds will the gears then shift. Its the basis of clutchless shifting. Much easier to do when upshifting, but harder on downshifting. The DQS only engages when throttle is fully closed. you can still do it manually when throttle opened, but will be rougher and stresses the gear box more. Unless you're skillful of course.

 

I have no problem at all with the DQS itself, it upshifts and downshifts as it should do. The small engine surge occurs mainly when I do a normal, with clutch downshift.
To be clear - Not using the QS, I pull in the clutch, downshift to the next gear down, let out the clutch (as anyone does on any bike) A split second after the clutch is fully out, the engine briefly revs itself. The bike, for that second, surges forward with no input whatsoever from me. This happens at least two or three times every ride, often more. For whatever reason when the QS is turned off it never happens.
What I do know is that no bike, QS or no QS should rev itself (other than a designed blip as with the QS auto blip) without the rider twisting the throttle.

 

Good to see that you have a 1260 @lokyc !

Now have 6,100 miles on my 1260 in 3 months!, its been round Thruxton and then to France Belgium, Germany and Spain.

Main points so far - well NOTHING has gone wrong at all - it is a great "do it all" bike. It has used no oil (unlike my DVT) and the last 3,000 miles have been hard miles. It handles just as a Ducati should and is rock solid at 120+ (in Germany), no weave, no jitter on the bars or front end instability. At high revs the 1260 motor does have more vibes that the DVT and I may well fit heavier bar ends to see if that helps, only noticed on high speed Autobahn / AutoRoute type roads when holding higher speeds. Interesting that it at 80+ cruising with panniers and top box it gulps fuel (saw 35.5mpg readout on one uphill section in 6th!) and I got better MPG by using 5th rather that 6th.

One other oddity and I don't know really know what happened but at one point the when the engine and gearbox was very hot on a quick ride up and down in the Picos, gear selection got very lumpy and neutral was very hard to get at stops. This was using the QS and I resorted to using the clutch instead at one point. Shifts were lumpy both up and down with the QS. Next day it was fine again, very odd.

I had Road 5 tyres fitted from new and the front was toast at 5K miles and had to be changed in Pamplona for a PR4, the rear has lasted 6.1k and is now just about legal and gets changed this week. The front Road 5 tyres are very good in the dry but seem to wear fast when they get to end of life. Hot weather and fast roads may also have been a factor. The rear is also very grippy but you can make it move under power. I will go back to the well known PR4 tyres as I trust them in the wet and will decide later on what is next.

The 1260 is (IMO) the best Multistrada so far and I am looking forward to many more miles on it.

 

@Groundhog Ahh I see. You're right. Shouldn't happen. Not something I have experienced this far. My first guess would be a gear-position sensor problem. The DQS got confused there is a gear change imminent after it has been completed. Must be similar to the DVT. I remember when it was in an independant's garage for some work, we reset the service light and he accidentally reset something else, the GPS had to be recalibrated. Didn't even know it was possible or necessary! Must be to do with the IMU. So perhaps try that first with your dealer. Must be done with their diagnostic/service terminal.

@Veetwin Wow, envious of your mileage. Alas I think these days I'll be doing like 7k a year! Been getting annoyed with the PR4s. The PR3s used to feel great all the way to 7k. Remember turning them to slicks on the way home from Scotland. But the PR4 fronts wear out real quick and square off early. Partly down to the rubbish London roads and numerous speed humps i bet! Road 5s seem all right. Think I did about 2.5k on them before trading in. It was suppose to provide more consistent wear. Overall though, aside from being slightly squirmish when carrying pillion, I actually like the PR3s best. I'm thinking of sticking with the Scorp 2s for now as they seem to provide the right amount of carcass rigidity for the weight of the bike. Wet performance should be similar to the Angel ST of which the compound is derived from. The tread is also more road biased than the Scorp 1s. And yes I'm already seeing wear patterns to the edge of the rear...

Hmm as for gearbox, suspect as its still quite new, needs bedding in. When it gets hot, the metal expands and probably becomes even harder to shift smoothly. All part of running in!

 

Cheers lokyc. What you say seems like a possibility. I've turned the DQS off for now. Actually as fun as the QS is I'm enjoying riding the bike 'normally' with that old fashioned clutch thingy I'm at the dealer next week having the touring pack fitted so I will mention it again and see what they have to say!

 

Touring Pack fitted? That's interesting. I got mine bundled (with the extra cost of course) and all came as one package. Guess my dealer knew what most customers wanted and had spares ones lying around

 

Yes, I've been waiting 6 weeks for mine, and the comfort seat I ordered at the same time not due in until July!

 

As Peter Egan said about Ducati...Why doesn't it come with the comfort seat and sell the discomfort seat as a $300 option?

 

Why on earth would anyone want a comfortable seat as standard?

 

Most Ducati riders don't go beyond the local pub to pose or the dealer for warranty work, how much of a comfy seat do you need?

 

One of my work mates has a two year old Suzuki GSX-S1000 and in that time has done 190 miles...Yes, One Hundred and Ninety! He keeps saying he can't wait to run it in and show me his racing lines and wheelie skills....Mmmmm
He laughs at me for being fussy about seat comfort for my 10,000 miles ish a year. He must have a very local pub. I obviously have a lot of pubs to visit

 

If you don't mind me asking sir as I'm unaware, how comes you do so much mileage, are you ex navy and have a wife in every port?