Hello everyone, I`ve been searching on here now for a couple of weeks to see what you guy`s n gals think of Multistrada`s or MTS i think you call them? I`ve been looking at the usual culprits, MTS 12/1260/Tiger 1200/XR1000/GS1200 so talk me into buying a MTS by telling me all that goes wrong with them The last Ducati i rode was in the 90`s, a 900 Paso(remember them?) so maybe not the best Ducati but after a couple(loan bike till my ZZR11 was ready) of days with it i actually liked it. I`ve read for weeks on the GS`s(not as reliable as they say) XR1000s - definitely not as reliable as you think either, Tigers fair a little better from what ive found so far. I have joined the other Forums to get some info on the bikes i like so now its the Ducati`s turn. In the beggining i kinda thought Hmmm Ducati...service costs/reliability etc but they all seem to be very close bar the old GS, which if your old school you can do a lot yourself!? So i want to hear the good bad & the ugly(especially the ugly) on owning a MTS 1200/1260 PLEASE. I know most of you love the 1260 a little bit more than the 1200 but it`s the more reliable of the two im after. I want Cruise control so that rules out early one`s & i don`t know the difference between a standard & "s" version skyhook suspended one. I`ve seen all the youtube`s on them, just never ridden one. Looking forward to much banter & jovial opinion`s if you can spare the time.. Previous bikes if you want to know, KH`s /LC`s/GS`s JAP/CBX`S/ZX10`S/ZZR/CBR`s/Daytona`s
I had a 1260, it was great, now got V4PP. The chap I bought the 1260 from bought a XR1000, he wished he'd kept the 1260. Defo get an S, Skyhook is very good
I've got the 1200s on a 17 plate. Overall it's a great bike and far more fun and practical than I thought it was going to be, especially fun in sport mode. From what i understand it's a little more raw than the 1260 which personally I like and it has definitely become my go to option. I class it as a sport tourer rather than an adventure bike and kind of see it as a bit of a modern, uprated and refined Gen 2 Tuono V twin from a grin factor perspective. I had to get the seat altered as for me the seat position was a little uncomfortable (the curve pushes you forward into the tank) and a little low, I'm 6'1". Luckily I found one on here that had been raised and flattened out and now it is all day comfortable used in conjunction with a Cool Cover. Don't bother with the phone connectivity, I find it's fairly rubbish. The drain hole by the rear shock blocks constantly so I reamed mine out to 8mm which has improved it but not stopped it from happening, it does make it far easier to clean out though. If I think of anything else I'll add to this later but hopefully it gives you a bit of an insight. Photo taken before the seat change. New seat
Have had four MTS - current one is 1260S. A brilliant do it all bike. Honestly don't think there any downsides; does what it says on the tin, commutes, tours, tracks... you wont' be disappointed.
Agreed Ivor, but they all are within a few kg. I tried the Tiger 1200 recently & the 900 Tiger. The difference was 60kg! give or take, so the salesman told me. Trouble is even though the body is now over 60 ,the brain is still 18 so i want the power/thrill of the 1200+ & i`ll somehow work out a way to move it around as i get older. No good buying a boring "to you" bike is it!
I'm 64, had mine about 4 years I think, came off a succession of sports bikes, no going back for me still use a 1199 on the track
I've been humming and harring about swapping a couple of the stables sport bikes for a Multi 1200/1260 for years and the thing that stops me is the weight...and especially if it is high up...I sold my Ktm 990Adv for this very reason. So...a good question is...are there any good ways to lighten them?
Putting the weight aside, the telling thing is I'm not going back to sports bikes on the road, once the multi is moving you don't notice the weight, even with my 90+ kg added to it, I'm just careful moving it around
As a tall rider 6ft 2 and in my 50's it works for me, think my sports bike days are limited tbh, so plumped for a 1260s which gives you plenty of room for 2 people and luggage if reqd. Suspension on the S is the Skyhook system which was one of the main reasons I bought it after having my teeth rattled out on the Monster, its superb and tuneable if that's your thing. Sport mode is ballistic a deceptively fast bike and can keep up with Sports bikes without feeling like your wringing it's neck. Mine has the full Termi exhaust system which let's it breath and sounds ace (another reason I bought it) Custom mapping is in the basket at the next service. The seats aren't to everyone's taste but that's personal to the rider. Regarding the looks, it's a personal thing, I love it and a tail tidy helped the rear end. Plan to do some touring this year heading to WdW in July.
I have had three, all 1200s, starting in 2011. Several continental tours, including riding to WDW three times. Some track days and sprints. Too old for that now, at 75. But the Multistrada is a great bike with wonderful feel and real adaptability. Not so good for short legs -I'm 6ft 2 so OK - and desmo valve services are an expense. Overall it was the right decision to buy.
Morning Ive got a 2020 Multistrada 1260 enduro Does everything i need and far more, im 5ft 9in on a good day and can manage the height and weight without too many issues
I really loved my Multi V4S as a do it all bike........quick as anything and handled really well and did what I wanted to do riding wise (touring etc). However I got rid after 15 months as I found it too top heavy for me and I was always scared of dropping it while moving it around (I didn't but I felt as though I could have a couple of times). But as has been said before that weight disappeared on the move. Instead I bought the Diavel V4........just as heavy at 240kg but because the weight is low down it's far easier to move around from a standstill........and it is as quick and handles as good as the Multi too. Plus it's good for touring and just jumping on it for a weekend blast if that's what you want to do. My two penneth worth........
The thing to bear in mind with the Triumph 1200 is it's not just heavy(ish); it's top-heavy. When you have a test ride it's worth noting how much petrol it's got in it. It it feels heavy with a quarter of a tank it'll feel a real lump when brimmed and loaded with luggage. Weight disappears on the move but it's still a factor. I faced the same dilemma a good few years ago. My choices were between the 1200 MTS, 1200 Tiger, 1200 GS and KTM 1190. I liked both the Triumph and the BMW. The Tiger was silky smooth and supemely comfortable (for me). The GS was just plain all-round competent, but a bit too "polite". It came down to the Skyhook 1200 Multi and the 1190. Went with the 1190 in the end. The Multi needed a degree of fettling. The seat, as others have mentioned, was restrictive and cramped. My left foot fouled the centrestand pedal and the fueling was far from smooth. The 1190 felt rawer and less sophisticated than the other contenders but it was a scream straight out of the crate and needed nothing doing to it. I've still got the KTM ten years later and it's coming up to 60,000 miles, 58K of them done by me. Funnily enough though, it's been joined by a 1260 Diavel. If the 1260MTS had been available and/or affordable at the time (I can't remember when they came out - I bought the 1190 in 2015) knowing what I know now about the 1260 DVT engine, I think I may well have bought one. The looks would be the least important factor for me. The Multis are not 916 pretty but they aren't that bad and they bling up well if that'syour thing. I didn't think the 1190 was much of a looker either but I learned to forgive it that once I found out how well it rode. All in all, if I was in your position now I'd buy a 1260 MTS.
1260s I bought new at the end of 2017 (without a test ride) and have not looked back it clocked round to 53,500 this morning.
I sold my MTS 1200S not so long ago. There are a lot of things to like about the bike. Standing up straight, power of a superbike, handling of a superbike too. You can have fun and cross continents with the same package. Effortless to drive compared to sport bikes. Now why did I part with it? (and going back to an ST4S) - I wasn't riding that much and it was starting to depreciate quite a bit, while the STs have hit rock bottom - I like working on my bikes and the idea of having a naked bike is that all is very accessible. Why a why Ducatis have not carried on the brilliance of the design on the 916 (the fairing and tank drop in 5 min and ready to work), I never know. Maintenance like clearances and fuel filter are major work stripping the front beak to lift the tank. But arguably, the intervals have got longer too. I have been swearing a lot about the fairings of the ST but I think that it is not as bad as the MTS.... although having acquired a new shape ST, I found "interesting" that I had to strip the screen to remove the front fairing .... - There are many electronic things that are good for riding, but there are many more things that can go wrong, and it is not cheap once they do. The 1200 dash is known to be a problem, and many of them would have been changed with a mileage reset. It got fixed with the next version. - The wind protection is actually quite average even with a tall screen. Some wider screens help. It's a trade off being sat up right, but I preferred the package of a sport tourer that protected better - It is wide / wide handle bars making it difficult to filter. And well, going into London with it.... it is not designed to run at 20mph, definitely not. - For the Mrs to get on as a pillion, you need a step ladder - They are high for the rider and higher for the pillion. - The tank range is ridiculously low for a tourer and all this power is quite hungry on fuel, meaning that although you can cross continents, you will be stopping to refill a lot. - If the ABS light stays on, it is generally not a big problem. The way the plug to the front sensor has been arranged at the connector to the front one, means that the cabling eventually wears out. simple soldering typically fixes that. - The MTS1200 (not sure about others) is known to have weak main bearings. If the maintenance is not done regularly and the oil-filled well (no overfilling), the big end bearing can be damaged and go. If they do, it is a big job to change them. Not sure if the 1260 is affected the same. - After all, I do not need all this power on the road, and I am after the simplicity of an analogue bike that I can service myself with the tooling and knowledge that I have accumulated over the years. ST4s fits this need better than the MTS for me. But not everybody wants to put their hands into the desmo engine. If I was going for an MTS again, I think that I would go with the 1260. I think that they are more sorted and at some point they increased the capacity of the tank.
One other thing I have just thought of is the unreliable fuel sender unit. They fail a lot. I revert to old school and reset the trip at each fuel stop and will get it replaced at the next service. Hopefully at some point in the future Ducati will actually produce a reliable version.
My advice would be to customise to suit you. The screen type and height, handlebars, seat type and height, various guards, luggage, exhaust, cat in or out, all dependant on your riding needs and wants. There's a ton of advice on all this on this forum, personalise a terrific bike. They can be a little top heavy stationary, apart from that, stick it in sport and smile.
