Regarding Servicing costs, BMW XR cost more to service over a few years and miles compared to a multi DVT, Costs are about the same for servicing, but as DVT is 9k miles and 18 k miles for Valves it works out quite good.
The dog is called a number of things - depending on the circumstances! Back to bikes, what about the Multi 950? The main problem I see with the new Multi's is the unavailability of the fastest colour....... And now MV have introduced it on the TV I'm running out of excuses! :
A useful discussion of this topic elsewhere, with photos: Looking for new bike - comfy, good for pillion and fun. - Page 1 - Biker Banter - PistonHeads The end result may be contentious, but I'd be interested to hear from others who have made the transition between Multistrada and the "chosen alternative" at the end of the post... I think someone who joined recently mentioned he had done this (in the Multi direction)?
I test rode the new 2017 BMW rallye And I feel that it is not an alternative. It is an excellent bike for sure. If I purchased a bike with my head and wanted more off-road capability then I would buy one. The Ducati is more sport biased and so this GS is not in the same category.
Maybe it rides well but that Moto Morini is trying too hard to look like a GS but failing badly, why couldn't they have done something more inspiring with the design?
I think some folk are missing something here. An alternative to a Multistrada largely depends on which Multistrada we're talking about. If we're talking about pre-Enduro models then the choice is very limited. BMW GS isn't a comparison at all as it gives away too much by offering off-road capability and therefore compromising things like tyre choices. The XR would be viable if you didn't care about having a V twin or not and get passed the vibrations. Remember, we're talking about a tall-sports bike and the Multistrada after all is the class defining bike. As for the Multistrada enduro, this bike is actually the alternative to a BW GS and not the other way around. Conversely the GS is the class defining bike in this case and if that was the type of machine you were after then the original Multistrada models aren't a natural alternative if you want to compare apples with apples. What some might consider an alternative isn't really an alternative for a lot of people who were attracted to the original Multistrada format. KTM SuperDuke GT is probably closest.
I came to Multi ownership after 6 years on an R1150GS and a diet of sports 600's before it. i test rode the XR1000 and GS1200LC and although i liked both BM offers i didnt like the feedback i got from the selling dealer. I was a paid up member of the GSer owners forum aso knew the problems with the GS and XR in engine paint corrosion and shaft drive failures on the new GS's ....when i mentioned them to find out what the warranty service would be like i got a blank denial of any issues at all despite knowing that at least 5 bikes were currently under warranty claims at that precise dealer I went to my Ducati dealer who i have known for years as they also have a Kawasaki franchise who have looked after me with my previous ZX600/636's despite having never bought a bike from them before I chose the Multi due to their feedback and they have looked after me very well with any issues i have had with the bike bearing in mind i bought it 3 years old from them. The KTM 1190R i toured with last year is a close comparison but the Multi was far better on big mile comfort, fuel consumption and just being easier to live with on big mile days ..... The KTM was better on the off road sections we ended up riding on and the luggage was harder wearing (not OEM but more enduro orientated that wouldnt fit the Multi GT)
So it's a bike with a 17" cast alloy wheels front and rear ... 21" front, 18" rear ... ok I'm now lost on where the comparison is. If you were comparing the KTM or the GS with a new Multi Enduro I could understand it. None of which is a surprise since you're comparing a road bike with an off-road bike.
To qualify as a multistrada alternative can we agree on the following criteria ?... Main It must be an upright riding position sport bike, with touring capability i.e. Fit panniers and top box Secondary Slight off road capability E.g. BMW s1000xr
Rather simplistic to differentiate between the bikes due to wheel sizes and wire or alloy. Both are V twins with 150/160 BHP, both have advanced electronics for better road going (semi active skyhook on Ducati, Cornering ABS on the KTM which is useless off road). Both are marketed as "adventure" tourers with adjustable riding modes including "Enduro" to take the bikes off road should you choose. Both are sold with road tyres (Pirelli Scorpion Trail are road tyres, not off road like TKC-80's). Both come with luggage options and power points for devices like sat nav. What was i thinking of comparing them at all ? Just as addition the GS also has the same 4 riding modes as the Multistrada just different names but they all do the same thing and give the rider options of Sport, Touring, Urban and Enduro or Dyna, road, Rain and Enduro. The KTM 1190 adventure R isnt an off road bike, a KTM 250 EXC is. The 1190 R, like the Multistrada is a road bike, but it has some off road styling and capability. The Multistrada also has some off road capability but is more sports styled as thats what Ducati traditionally appeal to, I have assorted friends who all have big ADV bikes, and some of them use them off road as well as many miles on tarmac and only 2 ride KTM 1190, most are on GS/GSA, Tenere's, Triumph and then like an idiot my Multi also goes off road (on road tyres) All of the above consider all 3 bikes as alternatives to the others as most test rode all 3 before making purchases (as well as the Africa Twin or the Tenere and Triumph Explorer but that concept will make your head explode ) We all have opinions on what is a viable comparison ........ just seems some of us have a wider interpretation
It might just be me, but the only shade of similarity I can see to a GS is that the tyres are black - perhaps that's how far they've failed to make it look like one. Others may suggest it looks like a Multistrada, or the Caponord, but the Granpasso model was launched in 2009, a year before the Multistrada 1200 first appeared, so one may be forced to conclude that when it was launched the design may have been more inspiring that it appears now
Erm, no! It's a fundamental aspect which defines a motorcycle's true purpose. Forget about engine type, power, electronics and luggage ... absolutely none of those things define a bikes capability. By your definition we could strap some Kreiga luggage on a Panigale and make a fair comparison. I've also got an MT-10SP and I can fit that out with luggage, satnav and it also has accessory power and I can use it for the exact same purpose of my Multistrada but thats where the similarity ends. Oddly enough, it's off-road capability isn't so far removed as the Multistrada's as it also has semi-active suspenion and a similar riding position but you just wouldn't take it off road like you wouldn't eat broken glass. The 1190 is an off-road bike fitted with road tyres because KTM know that 80% of their customers that buy them will never take them off road, and fitting them with road tyres does not make it a road bike. You could do the Paris Dakar on it if you really wanted. Go fit some Pirelli Rosso Diablo III tyres on a 1190 - it's not possible because they don't make them in anything other than 17", but they'll work well on a Multistrada. The KTM website also makes the suggestion that you could take the 1190 into the desert. Ducati wouldn't dare make that suggestion as they couldn't afford the legal bills that would result. When translated the words "Multi Strada" literally means "Many Roads" and the clue to the bikes real function lies in that last word. I can just imagine the battle between the Ducati engineers and their marketing w@nk3rs when trying to agree on how to pitch this new concept at it's launch. I'll bet their engineers were cringing like hell and were probably forced to put that "Enduro" mode into the electronics, because it's utterly ridiculous. Unfortunately I think you've fallen victim to the marketing morons. The (non-Enduro) Multistrada is a tall sports bike. At best it's has a "get out of jail" capability that will give you a bit more confidence to allow you to traverse an unsurfaced track which might link two stretches of tarmac, but otherwise you just wouldn't take a (non-Enduro) Multistrada off-road. It's no more suited to it than a fish is to riding a bicycle. OK, please re-read and re-digest this. I really don't need to add anything else. Not really. It's water off a ducks back to me. The reasons why people buy and ride their bikes are personal choices the reasons behind each are many and varied. 90% of the time they really make no sense at all and therefore proves nothing. I've owned several variants of the Yamaha R1 but I've never raced one, so I could hardly state the reason I wanted one was because I wanted go racing with it. I bought them because I like the style and enjoy the performance and handling ... which is exactly the same reason I bought my Multistrada as it is every bit as capable as an R1 on normal roads and when ridden every day within the laws of the roads we ride on - except it's a whole lot more practical. I have absolutely no intention to ride my Multistrada off-road, ever, primarily because I have no interest in riding off-road but not-least because it's just not suitable for that application. If it was then Ducati wouldn't have needed to make an Enduro version at all! Well I disagree. It's not merely a personal opinion, it's more a statement of fact based a fairly sound application of physical mechanics. You can always make a square peg fit in a round hole if you're determined/stupid enough but it does not define it as being the correct application for said peg. It's not an opinion, it's a plain fact, but you can do whatever you want with the bike you bought with your own hard-earned cash and thats completely fine and really none of my business - but if you want to bring that here and suggest that your own use case defines a bike as being something it's clearly not, then I'm afraid I have to take exception to that.
