There's a new comparison on YouTube. Unfortunately it's all in Italian, but it does at least show the bikes together. The MTS is so much better looking.
I have to admit the Ducati does look a better made and thought about bike, you can tell that just by looking at the exhaust silencers, but did you notice the amount of camera shake from the Ducati on-board compared to the BMW. It's almost like my bike to firm, whereas the BM just seamed to glide over the bumps.
That definitely wasn't my experience on Sunday when I rode my pal's BMW XR. It was very jiggly indeed compared to the Multistrada. Could be anything to do with the many suspension settings though.
Just a quick recommendation for those of you trying out any BMW with DDC suspension, it's absolutely key to set up the sag to make it work correctly, understandably that's easier said than done on a test ride. However, when dialled in its a superb system although I'm still a good old fashioned prefer 'normal suspension to electronic for some reason.
I was going to ask the same thing. Frustrating to watch and not have a clue of the outcome. A bit like watching an episode of Lost.
Saw an Xr on the road the other day, boy that is one ugly bike, Then BMW's have never really been good looking bikes, most of them have wonky eyes !
Here's the link to the Italian comparison article. Google translate makes it readable. The Multi wins some categories, the XR others, but it looks to me like the Multi just edges it out. BMW S1000XR vs Ducati Multistrada 1200S - Prove - Moto.it
Up in the approach to the Stelvio at the moment and I have been seeing tons of the BM's, so I guess they have got something right, but to be fair, they have mostly been on German plates!
MMM.. up until very high revs it looks like the DVT has more power, I have to say unless I was riding on a trak I don't think I'd rev a bike as high as he had to rev the XR to get to max power. although for overtaking it may be nice to have a bit in hand.
I tried the XR a couple of weeks ago. It struck me as being a bike for people who want a Multistrada but who also, for some strange reason, want 4 cylinders. You have to rev it to 6k before it goes anywhere and the vibes are just tedious. I got off it after about 60 miles and for a good ten mins. everything I touched set off a weird vibration in my hands, as if I were holding a tuning fork . Felt very planted in corners, though, just like the Multi. Not for me. I'll take the KTM 1290 SA, thanks.
My XR-owning pal reports "tingling vibes through the bars at 70, fades at 80". I've seen similar reports elsewhere and it matches my limited experience on the XR which left my hands feeling like I had a nasty case of pins & needles. It'll be interesting to see if a solution comes up.
The solution is a light grip on the bars for me and to cruise at +77 mph or -69 mph......that's for me. My guess is the vibes are caused by the valve train and thus difficult to eliminate. There is, or was, a vid on uTube showing the valves at 12000 rpm rising to 15000 rpm for the S1000, it is astonishing how the motion becomes blurred and the noise reaches very high levels so the mechanical impacts are huge.
