Speaking as a Newcomer to the Multistrada but not Ducati, I was suffering the same as most of the others on here, i.e occasional wifeage transport but wanted to retain 996 performance. Multi did more than tick the boxes. Go for a basic model with ABS. even buying a new set of panniers / topbox, you will still have a few quid change from the price of an S to chuck some other goodies at it.
You gotta go for it Paul. Have had a lot of bikes and the best one, or maybe not the best, but the one I enjoyed the most was a barking mad TL 1000S, a good few years ago. I loved it because it felt alive with that twin underneath. You opened it up and it just leaped off. The Multi feels exactly the same but more so. Its so 'alive'. It feels as though there are always two of us. Oooer, sounds a bit weird, but I bet that's how your Mille felt. Ride one and you will understand Regards the pillion, we have just come back from Italy and I don't have any bruises in the side from Mrs Cad wanting to stop..........but I'm black and blue with her wanting to slow down )
Ha ha ha! Just read that thread - my Mille used to fire flames out of my pipewerx can with no baffles when it hit the limiter. First time it did it, my then blade riding mate nearly binned it. I can see the farkles list startin already...... On the subject of which, what are the typical mods? I'm guessing engine wise nothin is needed (had a PCV and remap on the tiger to make it a bit more, ahem, lively). And the ktm powered beta gives me plenty back wheel mischief in 1-5 no trouble, so I'm liking that feedback too!!
One thing to consider is if you'r buying second hand and its under 18 months old it would be worth while paying the £170 for the third year warranty if you'r not buying from a dealer get previous owner to apply for it before you transfer it into your name. (not that they ever go wrong).
Another question - why are some of you saying get ABS? are the (std) brakes a bit iffy?? Sorry - another question. Can you spec the ohlins on a standard? Might seem a daft question, but I'm more interested in the ohlins than ABS tbh.....
The rear was subject to a hush hush dealer upgrade if you asked them, the problem will be the same on all. I wanted an ABS to start with, coming from my Sprint that was an ABS, but decided to go down a less complicated route and went for a base model, peopl are having lots of issues with the trick suspension, and more electronic stuff like ASB may lead to expensive bills in the future was my thinking.
From 2014 all new bikes will be manufactured with ABS as standard (European regs) as all cars are at present. As well as being a safety feature having the ABS system adds to any resale value when it comes time to change. Hopefully you would never need to utilise ABS but its nice having it there. ABS is standard on the S £750 option on the base model.
Why would you not want ABS? ABS on motorcycles today works really well, I can't find a single reason not to get ABS. The front break is really good. The rear brake seems to be random, some really stinks, others are ok. I seem to be one of the lucky guys with a functioning rear brake. As some have mentioned, the Öhlins are excluse to the S version. Fitting them to a standard version I'm sure would be ridiculously costly.
