Just back from renting a Multistrada 1200 in Rimini. Motorrent are the people - more at Benzina: Italy by Multistrada
The criticism of the electronic remote ignition key system is pretty dim-witted. You really haven't thought this through, have you? Engage brain before publishing!
Why? He's just recounting his experience which in turn has formed his opinion. He's far from the only person who thinks the system isn't for everyone either. I didn't like it when I tested a multi last year either. Maybe with more than a few hours to get used to it I'd have fallen in love with it, but on the short acquaintance that I had, I wasn't a fan.
My mate's had his Multi for 18mths and he can't stand the keyless ignition. For the reasons this chap mentions and also because the ignition doesn't always recognize the key. He thought he was going to have to leave it in France the other week. Can't see the point in it myself either. I think Pete's having a bad day. He can't alwas be this rude can he?????
The keyless system is a neat little feature imo, surely the whole point of it is to reduce the talked about fumbling every time you get on the bike. Put key in a specific pocket and forget about it, no 'fumbling' for it every time you stop for a break and set off again.
Work for me, 6 weeks into Multistrada ownership. Does help having a car with keyless ignition, so it becomes second nature. The only gripe I have is there is no way to attach the key to a fob. Maybe a small key holder/ pouch could be made as an accessory? I have contacts to make such a product. If any other Multistrada owners are interested, I could get a batch made. Let me know.
I have drilled a small hole in the corner of each of mine, so it can be put on a keyring. Better to drill in the top right hand corner, near the red Ducati shield, which location is well away from the electronic parts. It would be better still if Ducati drilled the hole to begin with. In the real world nearly all cars have had remote central locking for quite a few years now, and a lot of cars have quite sophisticated and convenient proximity ignition systems. Bikes have fallen far behind, and progress is long overdue. It is good that bikes are at last starting to get something a bit more modern than poking a shaped bit of metal in a keyhole, and it's especially good that Ducati are right at the forefront as at 2010. More power to their elbow, I say. I have found the Multistrada system wonderful. It's reliable and highly convenient, but like all gadgets only if you understand how to use it. The writer of the Benzina piece reminds me of a person who has been given a smartphone, or an iPod, or a computer, can't puzzle out how to use it, so criticises the device as useless. The criticism applies more to the dimwit himself than to the device.
If you have to "puzzle out how to use it" then the feature is a failure - it should be intuitive. If it ain't then the designer needs to think again. End-of. (the keyless ignition on my wife's Landrover Discovery really gets on my tits)
Really. This is fascinating. So you are saying that everyone in the world, including idiots, can understand how to operate an iPhone, are you? This is one of Apple's more florid delusions taken to a new extreme.
