Having moved over from the Aprilia Tuono I have to say I'm a bit disappointed with the brakes on the Multistrada. To my mind most of the time the front brakes only really just feel "adequate", and the wet performance is pretty poor with a horrible judder and squeal. The rear brake is practically useless (no change from the Tuono there). It also feels like the brakes always need bleeding, even though the dealer did them a couple of weeks ago, it feels like the first pull doesn't really give full pressure and it need another pump to feel solid, but there is still a lot of lever travel. The brakes do work OK, they are progressive and the anti lock has helped me on a couple of occasions but it feels like I need to pull a lot harder than I want to sometimes especially if I need to stop in a hurry (which results in a tightening of the rear arse area). I still don't know if the back brake upgrade has been carried out (I suspect not). My dealer is currently ignoring my emails and last time I mentioned it he told me my back brake was as good as they get. However having tried one on another owners multi (and their demo bike) I would say mine is a lot worse. I'm starting to lose confidence in these guys already... (P&H) In contrast the Tuono front brake was as solid as a rock and the bite was almost immediate, albeit with no Anti-lock safety net. Is this down to the type of calliper, the brake lines or the master cylinder? What would be a sensible upgrade path to try, changed pads, braided hoses or master cylinder first? I'd be tempted to change the callipers if this would have a big impact for road use, I'm not looking for racing performance. I'm not sure what the issues would be with the Anti-lock? Do callipers and master cylinders from other Ducati's fit straight on? These are the babies used on the Tuono
I'd try 07 compound Performance Friction pads.......95 compound would be good too, or the DC compound from SBS, tho these do need warming on the road........
I have had 2 Tuonos and now got the Multi, the front brake on the MTS is the best brake I have ever had and it took some getting used to to not throw me over the front! I have got ABS and never had an issue, the rear brake is ok on mine but not brilliant. Have you setup your front supension? I have read some other threads that reducing the dive really helped the braking.
I've had the suspension set up already. It might just be an issue with the lever pressure, as I say it needs a lot of lever travel and has a sponginess that makes me feel uncomfortable. The Tuono (2006) were as solid as a rock, the previous Tuono I had (old style) did not seem quite as good as the 06
I'll be fitting a set of M4 monoblocks on Friday. No problems with sponginess or travel, but the brakes haven't got the grunt I would like despite new pads and several checks by the dealers.
Twin, totally agree with your comments in fact I am a little disappointed with the MTS in this area. The judder and squeal in the wet is most unsettling. I will have mine looked at. Had back brake upgrade carried out which has slightly improved things but i doubt I could get the abs to kick in with it still. Let me know if anything is sorted with yours.
budha - you might benefit from cleaning the rotors/disks ;-) Build up of brake pad material on the rotors and or glazed pads would account for the symptoms you describe. Scrub the rotors with a kitchen abrasive pad (sponge with green abrasive bit) and detergent, rinse and dry....or you can find a proper tool something like this: http://desmotimes.com/product140.htm Doodle - lots of photos and notes as you go please! ;-) Have you had custom/braided brake lines made up?.....I think the OE hoses play more than a small part in the softish feel at the brake lever.
TBH the OE hoses aren't bad...they're a mix of steel hard line and flexi line that appears to be made of a super tough plastic, about as good as one can expect under the circumstances. What probably has a greater effect is the sheer volume of line needed due to the location of the ABS unit - you're looking at 3m of brake line between the M/cyl and caliper. I picked up a spare line from a breakers in the US, cut into the hardline and flared it to accept a union. Then make up a flexi hose section to join this. You need the caliper banjos to be 20deg, this is the same for the new crossover line that you will also need (although a line from an 1x98, Streetfighter or 848Evo may also work). Snells are doing the fitting/bleeding at the same time as the rear brake upgrade.
This brake discussion is a bit puzzling as my front is exemplary - I ride with two fingers on the lever (have done for years - cuts reaction time on the road) and two fingers will activate the ABS at a push. I only used two fingers at trackdays (hard to break the habit) and wasn't outstopped too often. I must admit that I am not impressed by the look of the rotors. They have a very patchy look, like the surface is full of hills and valleys. But they work. I'll give them a good scrub just in case (good suggestion). As for the spongy feel. Here we come to Ducati quality control. I have tried the feel of many other Multistradas and they vary a lot. Mine's OK (ABS bikes are rarely as solid a s non-ABS. I've tried some that I would be worried about. I suspect that it could be the same problem I had with my rear brake - ineffective bleeding on assembly and dealers don't seem to do any better because they won't persevere. My rear was the usual pathetic stopper oft complained about. I blitzed it with repeated bleeding and all sorts of techniques (different positions for the caliper, left overnight etc.) and on the fourth attempt I got a huge bubble out of the line. Problem sorted. With a set of EBC pads and DOT 5.1 fluid, it is as good as can be expected from the size and caliper, will activate the ABS and I haven't had the so-called upgrade. In fact, I don't trust the dealer to install the upgrade without getting back into soft pedal territory again. Perhaps you should really persist with bleeding before spending too much money. And don't anyone settle for "it's as good as it gets" from dealers on the back brake. I've proved it can and will work properly.
I've already had the rear fluid done with 5.1, pad change will be the last resort after the "upgrade". I have no concerns about ending up back with a soft pedal as mine has been fine since Snells bled it through at the beginning of last year. As for the front brake upgrade, there's a variety of reasons behind it, as already alluded to above. As previously mentioned, ABS bikes will always be worse...your average normal setup has maybe 1m of brake hose between M/cyl and caliper. A typical underseat ABS install will double or treble that, not to mention the effect of the ABS unit itself. Even with the best will in the world, that is going to make quite a difference.
Thanks for the details on the brake line upgrade....I had a feeling it wasn't a straight forward job. "I picked up a spare line from a breakers in the US, cut into the hardline and flared it to accept a union." - I wouldn't be brave enough to do that, I guess you have the expertise/experience to be sure that the 'join' will be safe/sound?! DOT5.1 Not to be confused with DOT5........which should not be used!! ....once upon a time there was a lot of confusion over the spec of brake fluid being used! Ducati response to rear brake issues (apparently) - Ducati.ms - The Ultimate Ducati Forum What made you guys go for DOT5.1 over a decent spec (race) DOT4? http://www.castrol.com/liveassets/b...ING/local_assets/downloads/t/TDS_RESSDOT4.PDF Motorcycle Info Pages - MTS1200 Service & Maintenance > Rear Brake Bleeding
The line mods were done by Earl's up at Silverstone - I have neither the tools nor the experience to do that one myself. The 5.1 reference was aimed at differentiation between normal DOT4 and fluid of higher boiling point...poor parlance on my part. My normal choice for this is either Motul RBF600 or Brembo LCF.
Twin4me Are you on the latest settings for ABS sensitivity, there was a updated setting issued which made a big difference to the feel of my bike? I have also come from two Tuonos and was initially disappointed with the brakes but after the ABS update and the rear brake recall I am very happy with the set up (all the power of the Tuono but with more feel). Paul
Hi Paul I'm really not sure what setting I am on, however I've requested the back brake recall being done (it's almost useless as it is), so I will try and find out when I get this done. Doodle I'd be interested to see what the new callipers are like, I'm thinking of something similar myself. The more I use the bike the more sure I am that it's air in the system somewhere, combined with poor lines. The squealing pads are dreadful in the recent wet weather, I've found that after heavy rain they will still squeal the next morning until I do a series of hard braking runs to dry them out. The ABS has kicked in twice during emergency London braking, so I know it works. Don't get me wrong the brakes DO work pretty well, it's the sponginess and the additional lever pressure you need to build when you first start to break that I'm not keen on. When you really pull hard they will work, it just feels like there's no much in reserve at that point. On a second note, I did have a go at bleeding them myself in the Winter but it just spurted fluid all over the garage floor from the banjo bolts when I loosened the bleed nipple. What was I doing wrong?
Always found the front brake on the Multi to be great, it does squeal a bit in the wet but still works well and I have provoked the ABS to kick in........ Probably saved me when my talent ran out riding the Isle of Man mountain course early one morning last year. The back brake is a different story; crap from day one and was returned to the dealer twice in the first 3000 miles to be bled when the pedal travel got longer and longer. The third trip back to the dealer resulted in the upgrade being fitted which gave a slightly better back brake but not one I felt I would ever be able to provoke the ABS. At 7500 miles the dealer has again bled the rear brake to try and reduce the travel on the brake, it's not like I use the back brake much but be nice if the thing worked at least as well as the rear brake did on my 1979 FS 1E. For me it's the only thing that lets down a great bike.
The dealer spent some time trying different things with the front brake to try and cure squealing and judder/vibration, ended up with replacing disks as they had warped, i still have some squealing when wet but that tends to be more noticeable at low speed,
Update time. Not really had much of a chance to ride since the job was done (I've been suffering with a particularly nasty bug) but the hurried ride home gave a good test. The front lever feel is different, more progressive. You can just keep squeezing and squeezing on until the back end lifts or the ABS kicks in. Power is definitely increased, the same stopping effort takes a lot less lever pressure, so it's achieved what I wanted. Doesn't honk/squeal so much in the wet either. All in all very pleased so far.
