Apologies in advance for this as I realise a lot of people may roll their eyes at this. I have bought a 2013 Multistrada S. It is my first Ducati. I moved from a BMW F800st. On the BM, I could quite happily sit at 30 in traffic in 3rd gear and the bike never complained. On the multi, at 30, even 2nd gear feels like the bike is complaining. Once the road opens up and I can get up to 40+ there is no problem and it is a joy to ride. Is this normal? I feel that riding the bike is hard work at low speeds. I can’t imagine how people use this as an off-road bike.... I would feel happier if I knew this was pretty standard and not a problem with the bike.
That’s just an issue with big twins. 3rd gear in 30 is an absolute no. I’ve been riding twins for years now as I much prefer them to other engines and the low speed thing is just part of the package. It can be tuned out to varying degrees but will never be as smooth as other engines.
My 899 goes through some villages and doesn't leave 1st gear, my 848 was the same and the 748 which I seldom ride. Seems unnatural at first but going in to 2nd too early and the bike doesn't like it and its not afraid to let me know. Just go with the gear both you and the bike agree on
The gears on the ducati tend to be a bit tall and depending on your riding style and type of riding you do the most you could also go down a tooth on your front sprocket. I did this on my 12' monster and couldn't be happier. I have a 16' multi and just keep it in 2nd great at low speeds and it seems to do just fine although it may jerk a bit if I go too slow. Haven't felt the need to adjust the hearing however I have never taken it truly off road nor do I plan to.
Thanks for the replies. I thought this might be the case. I just have to get used to keeping it in a much lower gear than I normally would. Seems to be a little more forgiving if I keep it in urban mode for, well, urban riding!
2nd gear or even first if you feel unsteady. Of course you can also ride along with the brakes on slightly too maintain control. An old man many years ago told me "...the only stupid question is the one you don't ask..".
Learn to use 1st gear, the clutch, and the rear brake for heavy traffic work - particularly when moving off from a standstill or slow manoeuvres.
I thought it was only me, but that's exactly how my 2013s felt like, and I worried sometimes when I was pulling away, that I was either about to stall or I was about to pull an unwanted wheelie. To be honest, I only really got over this when I bought a DVT instead. I didn't try going up a tooth on my rear sprocket though.
The minimum non-snatch speed is quite high on Mk 1 (2010-2014) Multistradas, especially considering that the overall gearing is high for relaxed touring. On the Mk 2 (DVT 2015 on) Multis, non-snatch speed is much lower even on standard gearing. They're all like that, sir.
My 749 before engine changes I could drive it in 3rd gear, since the changes it can only be ridden in 2nd... The multi it's either 2nd or 3rd but the guy I bought it from dropped one tooth at the front sprocket rather than the rear sprocket like most folks do... It's very rare to get to 30 in my town most motorist drive at 25mph, it rare to get in 4th gear in car... The only I dislike about the multi atm is that snatch in power at low speeds compared to previous models of dukes
If you get rid of the cat (and the exhaust valve) and replace with a decent decat pipe and exhaust you will find that it runs much cleaner at the bottom end. Have your ECU remapped and it will be much better again 30mph in 3rd is no problem on standard gearing on my Mk1
If you get rid of the cat (and the exhaust valve) and replace with a decent decat pipe and exhaust you will find that it runs much cleaner at the bottom end. Have your ECU remapped and it will be much better again 30mph in 3rd is no problem on standard gearing on my Mk1
Drop a tooth on the front sprocket also helps, it accelerates even quicker and what's a few mph off the top speed...it's already illegal!
I was getting fed up with city centre riding and commuting into London when I had my 2013s in Touring mode all the while - switching modes while filtering got old fast, and it felt a little bit toothless when the road opened up and you got the chance to give it the beans with the lower horsepower mode - I completely accept it might be all in my head, but when I changed the setting on Urban to 150 low, it was like the low rev fueling had improved but kept the power as well - like I’d discovered a new bike. Only use that and Sports now. Give it a try, ymmv, but it worked for me, love it again now.
Go up 2 teeth on the rear and that helps a lot and on my DVT means I can sometimes be in 3rd around town. But, Ducati engines don’t like pulling from low revs. Not that they can’t, but many suspect lots of 2k big fistful acceleration in higher gears counts towards big end failures.
