First impressions seem to be good with the journo's, even with the 19" front wheel. Maybe we are wrong ??
The problem I have always found with taking decent street tires on gravel roads is that 90% of the time it leads to puncture's, yes having a bike set up like the multi is making it tempting to tackle dirt roads but you must have at the least a more dirt oriented tire and for the small amount dirt roads I would do its far to bigger compromise for me
Every video review I have watched has covered the 19” front wheel and it NOT negatively affecting performance of the bike. As if the riders could not tell it was a 19” vs the previous 17”. I’ve also messaged with someone in the moto business who test rode it a few months ago and spoke well of its on-road capabilities. My assumption is that this bike is so well balanced and capable that only the very best riders in the world will really push it beyond its performance envelope. The vast majority of us V4 riders/buyers will simply enjoy the very latest in Ducati innovation and on-road performance while this bike also expands in capabilities off-road.
My plan would be to order it with the spoke wheels and 50/50 or whatever adventure tires they come with and buy a separate set of alloy wheels with the best rubber i can find for them. Riding around home and adventure trips would have the spoke wheels, I would swap rims for any mountain carving trips. I only typically do two longer pavement trips a year, so not a lot of swapping required.
I was in the exact place as you prior to all the video reviews. Now that I’ve learned much more about the V4 on-road performance with its 19” front wheel, it’s not the negative issue I potentially thought it might be. Plus, I’ve also watched/read numerous glowingly positive reviews of the Multi 950 with its 19” front to have any concerns about it for on-road sport touring. Plus, like you I can now feel better taking the V4 off-road here in the Rocky Mountain west for those dirt fire roads that can take me deep into the backcountry for some remote camping & fishing. Seems like the V4 has not sacrificed any on-road capabilities in its expansion to cover off-road uses as well. In short, I think it will be a great bike (for me) for years to come.
I’m thinking I might do the same— have a pair of knobby off-road wheels and a pair of on-road sport touring wheels. How easy do you think it is to swap wheels? I haven’t yet tried that with a motorcycle like a Multistrada.
More involved on the V4 than the previous generations of Multistrada that had a single sided swingarm. On the plus side though, you won’t need a torque wrench that goes up to 230Nm. Andy
You have to come to terms that not one moto-jouranlists will ever criticized a new issuance. If they do, they'll never ever be invited to another grand opening in an (exotic all paid) X location. Not one of these reviews address; the over-weight, GS looks, lack of sport tyre choice, lack of Single Sided Swing Arm and lack of torque. It's not that it's not great, it's just not what I want.
I do really wish they maintained a SSA especially for a bike where you are more likely to swap tires not due to wear but due to application, if the bike is as multi purpose as the reviews say. My pani is the 1st SSA bike I've owned (first ducati in 15 bikes owned) and I loved changing the rear tire! Can't believe I'm thinking of another ducati when the closest dealer is 800kms away.
Having two sets of wheels is great. Lots of flexibility. They're not difficult to change but it's not cheap when you add-it all up. The only people I know that have two sets of wheels are serious track guys for wet and dry conditions. Here's what's needed to budget (at a minimum) for two sets of wheels: $500 502221752AA USED Rear Wheel Rim (double that if new) $500 50121603AA USED Front Wheel Rim (double that if new) $700 Pair of New Front Brake Discs $300 New Rear Brake Disc $200 (mounted) Front Tire $200 (mounted) Rear Tire $100 Rear Sprocket $350 Front & Rear Pit-Bull Stands ------------------------------------------------ $2850 + taxes You'll also need to budget for not-included wheel parts, torque wrenches and the whatnots which combined could be another $500. Moreover, you'll likely want a different set of apparel for going off-road.
An industrial strength tyre changer could be an alternative. You'll still need the tools and stands, the changer will be cheaper than extra wheels.
Tires may not hold up well to multiple mounts/dismounts on rims. I would not recommend swapping tires on a regular basis on a bike. Yes, an extra set of rims is expensive but I look at it this way: on a bike this expensive the extra cost is not that expensive percentage wise. Most people will spend that on an exhaust that only gives them noise, not enhanced functionality like the rims/tires. Also, if you buy used, the rims won't depreciate much from there so the true cost of ownership of the rims is not the full $1K to $2K
That's priceless. However, as you wrote, if you add the needed tires and stands plus the whatnots you're back up there in the $3k zone. https://m1mequipment.com/products/tc530-wb1030-tire-changer-and-wheel-balancer-combo Perhaps, the owner of this fine instrument, can re-coup some of the fixed cost by changing all the tyres of his Multistrada V4 riding buddies. Quit the day job, change tyres in the morning and ride all afternoon. I love it when a plan comes together.
Maybe the new V4 top box is big enough to hold that tire changer, so I can bring it with me. Change to road tires in the morning and when I approach a dirt road, break out the tire changer and swap to the knobbies. Sounds fantabulous.
@HoodooGuru, Truth be told, the Pirelli Scorpion Trails should work well for you for the amount of Off-Road you're likely to do. It's a big bike which you just can't throw around like you would on a 250cc in some of those Utah Jeep rock trails. Last thing you want to do is drop your new bike.
Yup. All good. Plan to not get too crazy with the off road stuff. Just the occasional fire road which is smooth enough from being well traveled. Not planning any enduro stuff that would require more tire.
Truth is though the SSSA on the Multi lost much of its plus point by having to remove the exhaust to get the wheel out.
But removing the exhaust is very easy and takes no time........ What you will actually need is an extensive bank account to pay for the damage when (not if) you drop it off-roading.
