Trig - "I hate the fact that Ducati haven't catered for this market since 2007" Me too ! What are they doing these days? Bunging some panniers on a Diavel doesn't make a sports-tourer... Maybe we should all complain to Ducati ?
Ducati's opinion is that the Multistrada fills this need , a modern ST would be at least 11k i think anyway and that pus it into competition in the market with the Multi. I'd love to see a new ST, thought the Multi was going to be it but was not impressed when i saw one for the first time. I just upgraded my ST for a lot less money than buying new and that was that.
I loved the look of the original Multi when I first saw it ( yes, I know, I have strange taste ) - does anyone else remember the one Ducati had at the NEC show in bright KTM orange ? I had a test ride on one and was really impressed with the handling and the comfort - the fairing especially was very good - but it's a bit too tall for me, so I stuck with the trusty ST4. But surely the Multi falls well into the "adventure tourer" bracket with things like the BMW GS and KTM 990 ? A proper sports-tourer could be aimed at the GTR 1400 end of the market... Anyone agree ?
Lets kick off the wish list for the spec of the new ST then shall we...... #1 big high torque engine 1200cc ish tuned for mid range, so thats the 11 degree evo testa #2 200 mile range at the kind of speeds we like to cruise at #3 Built in sat nav as standard #3 Analogue clocks, don't mind if they are lcd display thingies but sweeping dials if you see what i mean. #4 True all day comfort for 2 people, well at least for a tank full in one hit #5 No heavier than the last ST4
Indeed, it is a labour of love! I was the same when I got the 4s, it took quite some time to get it right. However, I persisted and six years later still have it and will likely be keeping for a while. Only the Triumph ST 1050 comes anywhere close to the 4s in terms of performance, but I'm not sure I want one of them. A
Funnily enough we did try out the Triumphs but it was either £9k ish for one of those or a revamp of the ST for a whole lot less.
