Thanks Marc, great info. I find my Enduro is a bit under-sprung when we are fully loaded. On my old 2012 Multi I have fitted a stiffer spring and a bit of extra static preload. So maybe the Rally with its different range of settings might actually work in my favour. I generally always ride in touring mode, swapping as necessary between 1 helmet (me ) and 2 helmets with luggage Do you use the metal panniers or plastic ones ? I use the plastic ones on my enduro as i prefer the more streamlined look, plus they are a lot lighter. I assume the V4S/Rally ones will be similar.
Fanous, thanks for your reply. picking up on a couple of things: phone pocket move sounds good. I assume there is also a power socket up the front as I use the ducati tank bag and charge my phone in it on the move. Interesting there is more room for the passenger. You say the seat can be moved forward & backward too ? Not heard about that before. Quite a few nice things here, i clearly need to visit the dealer and have a fiddle with one. One other question i am keen to rresolve. I have a topbox i currently use between my 2012 multi and the 2021 Enduro. I am hoping this will fit on the Rally too, any idea if it will ?
Yes, you can make the older topbox fit. My friend with my old V4S did exactly that. Seems somebody makes an adapter. Ducati in their literature claimed to have made the seating area longer for the passenger. The truth is they meant to and never did it. They added a 25 mm spacer to the tail light assembly so they were planning to make the seat frame longer probably by the same 25 mm but when it came right down to it they didn't. The seat frame which they call a hand hold, is identical right down to the casting numbers between the V4S and the Rally. I don't know what happened at their end. I can only guess that somebody came up with an issue and they canned the idea after having already ordered modified tail light assemblies. They did move the mount for the aluminum top box back 6 mm so that is at least something if someone was going to use that mount and box with a passenger. My dealer was advertising the added length as well until I showed him All of the V4S bikes have had the ability to locate the passenger seat in two positions. This is to go along with the high and low setting of the front seat. When you raise the front seat it mounts further back so they made it so you can move the passenger seat back the same distance. The phone pocket not only has a USB plug in it but it is also equipped with a fan in the cover to keep the phone from overheating. V4S owners can also have the fan cover for free with the caveat that the dealer install it which in my case cost more than the cover was worth. The Rally pocket is quite a bit bigger so larger phones that wouldn't fit in the V4S might fit in the Rally. The bash plate on the bottom is not only bigger but is made of thick aluminum that might actually prevent some damage wherein the V4S piece is made of thin sheet aluminum more for style. That is if anybody is daring enough to even venture off-road with this $30K behemoth In the States all the bikes came with the big aluminum boxes mounted to a frame assembly. I took all of it off for now. My wife and I will do another round the country ride this year so these big ones will come in handy. I'm still running the original plastic top box. I mounted a rack to the top of it which worked out well during the last couple of trips with her and all her "stuff". Marc
They definitely did something in the rear for the passenger. I couldn't use the steel frame to hold my panniers from standard V4. Had to be Rally specific. Power socket, you have the USB in the phone pocket on the left, round socket next to the display on the right, and one more under passenger seat.
If you remove the Rally pannier mounting frame and buy a set of the lower aluminum bag mounts that attach to the passenger pegs part#s 86611951A and 61A, 83019871AA and 81AA the plastic bags mount right up Marc
No, it’s thirstier . But what the hell, open it up and it’s worth it . I get 240-260km before the fuel light comes on and welcome a stop to stretch my legs then anyway - average speed here in ROI not on m’ways is about 60kmh so we’re talking 4hrs in the saddle before refills. The only time it might be an issue IMO is if one were trying to cross France or Germany for example via autoroute/autobans, then you’d be stopping every 2 hrs or so to fill up, but motorways are boring, it’s better to take other roads.
Thanks Paul. It is exactly that, France / Spain and not using autoroutes but being selective with the D roads, so can still crack on. We came back up from Troyes a few weeks back and could easily cruise at 85 to 95mph through the countryside (despite the speed limits being lowered local cars were still doing similar). My Enduro will easily do 260 to a tank even at this pace, but we do still stop roughly every 90 minutes for a coffee. I read a review last night that the person was only getting between 105 to 145miles to 17 litres on a V4S. 145 is roughly 38mpg, which is acceptible. 105 is ~28mpg, which would drive me nuts. I have a test ride booked next weekend on the rally, see if we like it (our touring bike so wife needs to be comfortable). Also have a test of the ktm 1290 super adventure S. Like for like spec wise it is £7k cheaper, and way more economical to run. I don't think she will be as comfortable though. If we choose the KTM it will be the first time in 20 years that a Ducati is not our touring bike...
Don't have your hopes hight for the KTM. I was well displeased after riding it. Maybe once they put out the new one, which would share the engine from Duke 1390 - that one I think would be interesting. As for the seats, put some money aside and have their seats redone. The factory foam is too firm, if you ask me. Sussex motorcycles about £300 for both?
Re: hopes, its part of the reason for the test ride for both of us. If either of us don't like it, its out. We would buy their heated 'ergo' seats as i hear the standard seats are very firm, spending money on comfort is a no brainer One things for sure, I won't be buying a GSA1300
I had my seat done at Sussex motorcycles, much more comfortable. However they are less keen on working on the heated seats, they will do it but don’t guarantee it will work as well as they have to put the heated element inside the foam.
I also had my riders seat reprofiled by Sussex Motorcycles, to get the best comfort they recommended removing the heating element as it is quite hard and doesn't flex much. I agreed and I don't miss the heated seat at all, IMO there is no need as the heat from the V4 engine is more than enough to keep your lower body warm .`
Yeah I had the same heated seat talk with them in Sussex Motorcycles. Instead of using two inches of memory foam, we settlet on one inch, then heating element, then one inch again. Comfort wise, I'm happy. Does the heating still work? Yet to be discovered. Was not cold enough since the work to find out.
I had a spare seat so I got that one adapted, let me know if the heated seat still worked for you as I might get the other one done as well
In case anyone is interested I have an Air Rider seat cushion for sale https://www.ducatiforum.co.uk/threads/air-rider-seat-cushion.100164/
John, do let us know how you find the Rally after the test ride - I'm reluctantly coming up to changing, having kept my original 1200S for its unmatched "Jekyll & Hyde" character. But it's a bit long in the tooth now and I wouldn't mind something with a bit more relaxed touring character, and the big tank is something of an attraction.
My V4S is going in for some bits and pieces in a few weeks, Ive requested a Rally as a courtesy/test. I can cope with the poor consumption, but a range of 150-180 miles even on E5 is a PITA, it certainly is to me.
Well, i had the test rides today, and i have to say i am pleasantly surprised. The following are my notes and thoughts. We rode the 1260 enduro to the dealers (snells). I reset the trip before heading off so i could get a real world mpg figure for this ride. Its 27 miles from home to there, and is a mix of A,B and dual carriageway. It showed 37mpg on arrival. Took the Rally out for an extended test ride, roughly 2 1/4 hours. South to meon, east along the A272 to chichester, north east on some B roads to Alfold, up the A281 to Shalford, then west again to Alton. I reset the trip when roughly near our road. It was reading 41mpg at that point. From there back to the dealers riding same style and pace as I did before, and it showed 40mpg. Wasnt expecting that ! Other observations on the bike: We were able to fit our existing top box to the bike, so thats good, just need a new bike specific mounting plate. Despite specs the bike feels lighter to pick up off the stand than the enduro. The pillion seat is wider than the enduro pillion seat, but is harder so will need a bit of work to be comfortable. Pillion seat can be mounted in 2 positions. Wife tried both and prefers the front one, which is most similar to the enduro. Riders standard seat is higher than the enduro even in low position. The 'low seat A' makes it the same height. Slight bum ache set in after around 90ish minutes. The feature to soften the suspension when stopping was great, i used it when in towns too. I didnt feel any major heat soak, so the side vents do their jobs well. The quick shift works great, and gives less of a jolt on change compared to the 1260 at most revs. The screen does a better job of moving the air with less turbulence noise than the enduro, but could still be better. Gearing wise, 6k in 6th on the enduro is 100mph. on the Rally it is 90mph. That means i found myself riding up a gear in most places, and when crusing at higher speeds it will be at higher revs, but it didnt seem to adversely affect the fuel consumption. Pretty much every time we were riding under 4k revs the mpg figure went up, so clearly the rear cylinder shut down is doing its job. Overall impression riding wise, it was better than i recall the V4S being when i tried it. Sure it doesnt have the noise of the V2 1260, but it does have the torque, and it has a noticeable power surge above 8k rpm. People say its a rocket ship, but I'm not convinced its any more quicker than the enduro, i could ride both equally quickly and safely. other things to note: this is yet to be proven but i think the tpms, hands-free fuel cap, and tank bag mount off the 1260 enduro will all work on the Rally. Note they have different part numbers, so until i try this i can't be certain (in pictures i have seen the filler might have a longer tube on it). We then rode over to another dealers to test ride the ktm 1290 SA-S, and did a ~2 hour ride. My impressions: the seat is narrower but harder for both. after 30 minutes we both had bum ache. The bike rides great, pulls well, is a bit vibey up the revs but to be honest i preferred the Enduro & Rally. Oh, and for our test ride it returned 40mpg too ! The total trip on the enduro for today was almost bang on 100 miles, and it showed 38.1mpg for that. I'm sure if you read all of the above you already know what the outcome is going to be
Hi Ethel, I still have a 2012 mts 1200 too, which is a keeper. Its the last of the ohlins bikes, and pre any wheelie control etc. It is just more raw in its power delivery, and whilst its retired as our two-up touring bike it still gets used if i want to go for a solo weekend blast. If you can, try to hang on to your bike and add another. Some of my friends also wished they had kept their pre-dvt 1200s.
