I have a 15 GS. It is different. Lower reving, great aero for the rider, good tank range, crap gearbox, good dealer/BMW backup and residuals. The paralever suspension makes it near unpassable in the mountain twisties. The Water cooled engine is a peach for a boxer....ie boxers are boxers.
I tested a LC GS against my 2014 MS I was very impressed overall with GS, but went for the MS, more power, feels smaller, better all rounder, cost more to service, it was Close, and tbh would have been happy with GS, it has some plusses over Ducati
Tough question. The boxer instantly punches from the apex which makes it fast A to B. Also it's very responsive at low revs in high gears. I need to run the multi in befor I form an opinion
When I tested a 15 plate GS Adventure I was very impressed with it. The only concern I had was that on a couple of occasions I found the bike straying toward the edge limits on corners when it was pushed. I know it's not the kind of bike for throwing around and I'm actually not that kind of rider but whether the cause was higher speed than it felt I was doing or the holding the line element wasn't as good as it should be I'm not sure. Either way I did have a couple of whoa moments. The MTS on the other hand was happy at any corner speed. That's just one of the reasons my choice was to plump for it. One of the other reasons and more importantly was its sex appeal :Hungry:
Picked up my 1200 DVT today from P&H. It's lovely! I had a super briefing from Kevin at P&H who took me through the whole thing in detail. The different config settings for wheelie control, traction control & ABS are actually pretty simple once you've tried it. The manual makes it look very complicated. Everything is superb. Throttle response is spot on for those who were wondering - I've left everything on standard settings for now. Even just going to 6k rpm you can feel the torque just ready to go all the time. Gearbox is lovely and light. I had two false neutrals going from 5th to 6th - the feel of the gear change between 5th and 6th is a little different to the other gears and I just need to learn nudge the lever a bit more positively as I was being overly delicate. Riding position is spot on. I could do with a slightly lower screen, maybe by just one inch, as if I raise myself up a bit the wind noise quietens down. I'm 6'2" by the way. Controls are beautifully light. The bike comes with very little preload so I wound that up to some random value just for now, and I'll go through the suspension settings once the first service is done (it's a standard model by the way). Handling and agility is very nice, and the steering lock is great for twiddling between cars. I've put about 80 miles on it today and I'm very happy. Not that it makes any difference to me, but I've never had so many "nice bike mate" comments from people in such a short period of time. It's a looker that's for sure.
I've had a few false neutrals on mine, always 4th to 5th. I'm going to adjust the lever down a tad, so I don't have to bring it up so high. It does seem quite a long throw. I'm on 520 miles now. Need to take the long way home as my 1st service is tomorrow
I moved the gear lever down a bit on the previous model, helped with the gear change and less false neutrals
Everything is superb. Throttle response is spot on for those who were wondering Great review. Could I please ask whether you could blip the throttle on a change down entering, for example a round-a-bout without dislocating your wrist. (Touring Mode).
I certainly didn't have any problems blipping on down changes or notice my wrist dislocating at any point. The throttle is lovely and light and very blippable.
So you quite happy with the base model then and not at all fussed with the fancy electronic sussies etc. My base is due here in a week or two.
Yep. Firstly, I couldn't afford the S, so it's a bit of a moot point. However, the base model is bloody good. The thrill is all in the engine and handling. I can't get excited about a colour dash or electronically adjustable suspension personally, and usually just set my suspension up and leave it. I think the base model is very well specced as is. I've added heated grips & a centre stand for practicality. If you could stretch to the S, it would be worthwhile getting the base model instead and using the difference in cash to fund several nice, long, fantastic roads trip around the Alps. I haven't tweaked my suspension yet other than preload, but it is very very good. Nice & supple & controlled. I need to put more miles on it over this weekend which won't be any hardship!
Only a small thing, but those orange reflectors on the forks are hideous. On a bike as good looking as the new multi they just look wrong. Anyone tried to taking them off yet?
I am very happy with my base model dvt. 2500 km so far with constant smile on my face. I got my touring back installed now. Heated grips are nice. They may not get as hot as 2011 model but ok. Easier to switch on anyway. I have been thinking about buying Puig clip on screen for touring use. That would be easy to take of in normal everyday use where I do not need that. Otherwise pretty happy with my 3rd Multi. I am happy with normal suspension. I but 3 clicks to both ends in front to make the front little bit harder. Rear is so easy to adjust even on move. The engine is so nice. Smooth but agressive top end. Cruise so nice too. Only concern at the moment is the news about problems with panniers some guys have had. I must be carefull with those.
Just picked mine up. Have a trip to N Wales to plan so won't post my thoughts till later. Just a quick thing about those reflectors. They are a Euro 4 requirement which the factory has to be compliant as it leaves the facility. You can do what you want afterwards and is not an MOT failure. They are simply stuck on with double-sided tape and easily removed.
Excellent news about the reflectors, thanks for the info. I guess Ducati don't appreciate the direction over installing the reflectors, hence the double sided tape! All I need to sort now when the bike arrives is getting the boxes painted the right colour, and correct what can only be described as not one of Ducatis better design decisions......lol!
I had a full day on my new DVT today. This included a ride up to the very excellent Bike Shed show in central London, then back down to Surrey and some twisties, and some high-ish speed motorway-ish A3 dual carraigeway inbetween. Firstly, a couple of specific small changes I've made: The clutch lever is too high for me and needed rotating downwards. Otherwise I end up with nasty tennis elbow. To do this, I removed the left hand switchgear (5mm and 4mm allen keys), and pulled out the locator pin with a pair of mole grips after wrapping some tape around the bars to avoid scratching them. Then, reinstall and rotate down a bit, making sure everything clears the bodywork on full lock. The pin came out quite easily. Job done. I've removed the rear fender thing. Three bolts and it's off. However, there's naked alloy where the bolts go in so I need to coat it (nail varnish top coat??) and put some rubber bungs or plugs into the holes. I adjusted the gear lever downwards a bit which has made a big difference, and the up changes are much more positive as a result. Secondly, there is a lot of wind roar from the screen. If I stretch up an inch or two, or shrink down, it goes away and is much quieter. So, I've ordered a shorter MRA screen which is apparently 38cm instead of the standard 55cm or so. MRA's UK distributor doesn't list them, and you can't buy direct from MRA, so I have ordered one from here. On the motorway (A3), the bike is fine, smooth, comfortable. Aside from the wind roar it's spot on for me, and quick as you like. In town, congested riding, filtering, playing chicken with buses, it's very manouverable and well balanced. My Super Tenere and GSes always felt top-heavy when going very slowly, but the Ducati is excellent. Smooth and with excellent steering lock. In heavy traffic, stop start, it got a bit warm between the legs but nothing too bad, and once moving even slowly it was fine. Through the twisties it is just fantastic. Still running in so no going over 6k rpm, but even so it's astoundingly good. Particularly good is the flip left-right handling, the bike is extremely nimble. It also lays on its side very nicely and gives you loads of confidence to just keep leaning. So, all good so far! Love it.
