Ducati Multi Strada

Wot's this then?

In case you hadn't noticed, the Rally or All-Road class of big motorcycle - essentially designed to handle tar and unmade roads with a degree of confidence, has slowly but surely grown in importance on our local market. Thanks mostly to the Paris-Dakar Rally and its successors, these machines have been enormously popular in Europe for years. Despite the fact they suit our conditions far better, they've been very slow to take off here.

BMW has long been the class leader, and its excellent R1150GS is the top-selling Australian model for that marque. Across the entire range of brands, there's a fair bit of variation, with twins dominating, but triples and a fair smattering of singles in the midrange classes. There's also lots of different interpretation, with some brands opting for a strong dirt ability and others a heavy street/sports bias. Ducati's Muiltistrada falls into the latter group.

The powerplant is an interesting variation on the company's stock-in-trade air-cooled two-valvers, this time a 992cc fuel injected gizmo that claims 84ps at 8000rpm (not far off redline) and a mid-range-oriented torque figure of 8.5 kgm at 5000rpm. The gearbox is a six-speeder with chain final drive.

Holding all this off the ground is a steel trellis frame - variations of which are typical of Ducati's air-cooled machinery. Wheels are cast alloy running 17-inch rims in 120/180 widths, which means you have a lot of options when it comes to choosing rubber.

Claimed semi-wet weight (battery plus most fluids, but no petrol) is 200 kilos - light for this class. Instrumentation includes an analogue tacho, plus a digital speedo cluster which incorporates a sophisticated trip computer. You can add the in-house GPS navigation system as an accessory.

Wot's it like?
We've ridden a lot of Dukes over the years and would rate this as the most user friendly thing we've so far ridden from the factory - even more so than the Monster series, so long as you can cope with the tallish 850mm seat height. Steering is ultra-neutral and there's no quirks in the controls, all of which are light to operate.

Engine performance is very lively, with plenty of midrange and a respectable top-end. Though this bike had sod-all in the way of running-in, the gearshift was reasonably slick, certainly better than usual for this manufacturer.

Suspension tuning is very much tar-oriented. There's a respectable amount of travel, but the combo of the spring/damping rates really suggested this would be most at home carving up your favourite sports road.

Braking from the four-piston Brembos is strong and predictable.

Ducati offers 'comfort' versions of the separate rider and pillion seats, which is just as well. Standard, it makes sense as a sports bike or commuter, but longer distances will have both occupants looking for something much softer. The pillion scores good legroom, though keep in mind this is a very compact motorcycle, so two large people are going to struggle for space.

Finish is generally good, if not perfect, and we particularly like the light and chuckable manners, combined with an easy-going ride position.

Price is around $18,500 plus ORC. Our thanks to Ducati Noosa for the ride.

Story: Guy Allen