Just had a phone call from the workshop, the Multistrada has been out on a road test. Brand new Supercorsa SC V3’s probably aren’t the best tyres for a chilly morning start and the 200/60 rear tyre made the front end feel a little heavy and tippy at slow speeds but warm tarmac and a suspension set up might put that right. The quick action throttle requires a bit of finesse if you don’t want to wheelie at an inopportune moment but I think we all guessed that might be the case. Brake set up is aggressive and the front is capable of locking up. Engine map copied from my other Multistrada works really well and losing the headlight totally, appears to help the airflow to the air box. Power delivery is buttery smooth and acceleration is sharp with +2 teeth on the rear sprocket. Still waiting on a replacement screen but that’s about it done and ready for collection. Leaves me to play with some stickers and tart up a couple of areas of flaking paint. Not sure if I can find somewhere to have a play before heading out to Almeria but will check the exhaust noise to see if a sneaky UK day is possible. Andy
Not been down since before Christmas but hoping to feel well enough to venture out of the house soon. Andy
Managed a brief look at and sit on the bike before getting the request to head home to do a COVID test yesterday. It looks very purposeful but I’m still undecided about cutting the cast plastic rear grab handle/plate mount off as it gives anyone recovering the bike from the gravel something to grab hold of I also need to come up with a deflector to stop air coming up the inside of the nose cone/screen through where the headlight unit was. The headstock felt very light and a bit of head shaking was noted when the front end went light on the test ride so a steering damper has been ordered. The Scott’s rotary damper marketed by WRS in Italy is currently the sensible option for the 2010-2014 Multistrada. The Ducabike fitting kit mounts on the petrol tank fixing points for the petrol cap The race team have agreed to do a noise test for me so I should get a heads up if a UK track day is on the cards. Now just got to wait the self isolation period out before getting some pictures. Andy
Puig headlight protector knockoff, secured inside rather than outside? here You could find a local body shop place to put a bit of fibreglass in the gap. Then some headlight stickers.
Noise test carried out today, 100/101db static @ 5000rpm. Looking good for a day out at Brands Hatch Andy
It’s not finished yet still waiting on the steering damper to be manufactured and despatched from Italy. Current “finger in the air” estimate is mid to end of February, WRS are not the best at communicating order progress. Andy
Got a message too late to organise collection this afternoon but it’s finished. On top of a full Desmo service, the bike has : Re-mapped ECU Öhlins front fork full refresh EVR wet slipper clutch and EVR plate set Oberon clutch slave cylinder TRW racing rear disc Brembo HPK Rear Brake m/c Brembo Sintered rear brake pads Brembo Sintered front brake pads (SR) Custom front and rear brake lines for ABS delete Domino QA throttle and new cables RK Racing 520 chain SITTA 520 lightweight rear chain conversion kit 15T F, 43T R JMT Lithium battery Scott’s rotary steering damper WRS PP front screen Performance air filter R&G Engine case protectors I supplied Rebuilt eccentric hub and rear axle Racing clutch and front brake m/c’s Brembo M4 calipers (off a 1098R) Panigale 1200S rear forged Marchesini wheel, 200/60/17, Supercorsa SC, SC1 fitted Hyper SP front forged Marchesini wheel, 120/70/17 Supercorsa SC, SC2 fitted Öhlins Mechatronic SCU Radiator guard Starting kerb weight 220.3kg Finished kerb weight 194kg Got a couple of small cosmetic jobs still to do, took the steel engine plates off but it looks odd so need to look at a 1 piece plastic replacement and I need to fill the gap in the nose fairing where the headlight used to be. Pictures to follow once I get the bike back home. Andy
I’ve just contacted the Bureau of Meteorology, the provided the following forecast: smiles for miles! A full fat engine, - 26kg, sexy suspenders, what’s not to like? The great thing is it’s an absolute sleeper….great fun!
Needs a paint job. Pikes peak from that period would be good. And dump the rack and seat and get a seat pod fitted.
If I removed the passenger grab handle, what do I use to help drag the bike out the kitty litter ? I did consider it but it’s not a show stopper. Andy
Had my first track days on the bike so time to look at what worked, what didn’t work and what didn’t add value. Weight loss definitely worked, the bike was very flickable. Yes, the light weight forged aluminium wheels were the major contributor to that but any weight reduction is a big positive. Clearly the ECU re-map is a no-brainer and the quick action throttle worked really well with the re-map. It's always going to take time for a big twin to spin up so don’t expect JIL4 acceleration but the shorter throttle action is definitely a positive. The EVR clutch performed immaculately, never a rear lock up despite some pretty abusive down shifts. ABS bypass is for me the way to go, pulling down from 150mph for a 30mph 90 degree right hander is a big ask. The Brembo M4’s were immense and although the Brembo SR pads wore out in 300 miles, the SBS pads I was fortunately able to scrounge from another rider, were not as good. I experienced quite a bit of judder under heavy braking all day but the pads still pulled you up. The Öhlins SCU is the only way to go with the stock electronic forks, they never bottomed out under the heaviest of braking and the suspension was absolutely consistent in every corner throughout the 4 days. The Gillies foot pegs took a bit of punishment (not quite as much as my toes sliders and boot sole) but I think well worth the money. If I’d spent less time on track, I probably would have had time to adjust them. The rotary steering damper worked very well. I had a couple of head shakes under heavy braking for the Almeria flick flack before the long triple apex right hander onto the back straight but never missed it (unlike some). Using the Pirelli Supercorsa SC 200/60 rear was not the best choice. No problems with it, just that the Metzeler Racetec RR in a 190/55 turned in much quicker. I also found it difficult to get the best pressure for the Pirelli whereas the Metzeler was more forgiving of a pound or two either way. Almeria is an abrasive circuit (as @Advikaz said) and the Pirelli paid for my inexperience. The Brembo rear caliper and pad upgrade turned out to be unnecessary. I doubt I touched the rear brake 2 or 3 times on track. I had confidence to trail brake with the front brake so the OE caliper would have been fine. I’m a 3XL and 6’4” so climbing all over the bike is a challenge on the best day but the Multistrada saddle does not help you slide your arse from side to side in any way. In fact it’s so arm chair like, it's a hinderance. By the end of day 3, I got my head around moving my upper body a lot more and my lines improved on day 4. The biggest overall difference on the Multistrada was my physical comfort, no aches, no pain and I was able to look through even the tightest bend for my exit point, every lap throughout a session, even when I was stringing together 20 to 25 laps. It has taken me getting on 20 years to find “my” track bike but I have now and I’m absolutely chuffed to bits. The lesson here, is it doesn’t matter what you ride on track, if what you ride gives you the most satisfaction. Andy
I should have said, once I figured out I could go faster in 5th than 6th, the guess/choice of 15F/43R sprockets actually worked very well. I was able to use 3rd to punch out of most bends and I was comfortable reaching 150mph (indicated) by the 200m board on the back straight. It won’t be the right gearing for outright top speed on the Hanger Straight at Silverstone but I’m okay with that Andy
Love the feedback. Re climbing over the bike: I always found (TS and DVT models) it badly upset the bike if you try to do in anything other than a straight line. Chicanes were better approaching hanging off the side of the last turn or even just staying central. Sounds like you may have same conclusion
12 months on and another outing at Almeria. The bike is still awesome and great fun to ride but I thought I’d post a couple of changes that I think are warranted and relevant. Before leaving for Spain, I upgraded the front brake pads for a set of race pads from the Italian company, Braking. The braking performance was a huge step forward and I’ll not use Brembo SR’s again for the track. Sadly, I can’t find a stockist of this race pad in the UK but I’m going to try Z04’s and SBS DS2’s over the coming track days. I anticipate both of them to be equally as inspiring. One potential downside with later and harder braking is heat generation. The front discs are a very fetching shade of blue now. I had been looking at brake cooling ducts as mentioned in another thread but almost all the ducts available commercially either replace the 5mm caliper mounting spacers for 330mm discs to mount to the duct to the bike or, as in the case of the CNC offering, only direct air at the disc and not the caliper/pads. After mentioning my dilemma in passing to a knowledgeable friend, I have now invested in a set of JPB (Jason Pickford Brakes) ventilated, Ti pistons for my M4 34 calipers. Boys and their toys Hopefully I’ll have the mod done in time for Silverstone. The final change has been driven by the shipping logistics rather than performance. I’ll be fitting 937 Monster handle bars which are 60mm narrower and shouldn’t therefore try and poke holes in the curtain side of the transport truck Andy
