Evening all, Joined up as I'm seriously looking at an MS - selling the tiger 800 roadie I've had for a year I've had a few bikes and my favourite was a Mille - love v twins! Bought the tiger so the missus could come out now and again, yet still be fun. Missus finds it harsh and I found it to be just lacking in grunt. Tried an explorer, but it was a bit heavy and cumbersome - cant believe how much lighter the MS was when I sat on one Got a test ride next week,but in the meantime am interested in any general pointers - ie any niggles. I recon this is gonna be what I'm looking for- no aspirations of going off road - got a beta 450 enduro (ktm rfs engined - proper giggle!) for the real trails round the peaks. Am hoping it's sports bike like, but pillion friendly too. How do you guys find it? Thanks in advance Paulo Oh yeah, is it normal for a dealer to ask for £10 for a test ride? Rang another and no problem - sorry, but If I'm gonna spend £12-14 grand on a bike, I'm sure as hell not gonna pay £10 to make my mind up!
Never ever had a dealer ask money for a test ride, I would definitely not do business with such a dealer. Well you're asking for advice, mine would be: Buy it! I used to switch bikes every year, or atleast every other year. This one is the only bike that's running on 3rd season for me now, doubt I will swap bike until they come out with a radically changed MTS1200, or maybe a R1200GS with 150+ BHP from a boxer, and light as a feather.
Paul I don't think you will be disappointed! It's a great bike and mega comfortable too! Can't comment for the pillion though as I have never sat on the back of one! But the pillion seat looks large enough compared to some of the postage stamps around. Niggles Now pls don't be alarmed as I believe all manufactured products have niggles and it's easy to loose the perspective eg one drop doesn't make a flood! The early bikes had a problem with low rpm surging/ fueling, this was sorted with an ecu update. Dash board lights, a secondary glow is present on some ie when one light is on the others glow faintly. Mine has this and I am still contemplating if I should fix it or live with it! DES error on the rear shock ie the electronic Ohlins shock can/ does malfunction, mine has been repaired 2000 mies ago! Paying for a test ride BMW park lane charged me £20 for a test ride, but gave me a years subscription for bike magazine! Not good I know, but I did want to make a balanced decision so didn't have a choice other than going miles away! Recommendation Would I recommend this bike! For sure! It's absolutely fantastic! Light, mega powerful, super comfortable! If I had to do it all again, I would probably consider the non Ohlins version as Ohlins have let Ducati down! Also I don't adjust the ride settings half as much as one thinks one will! It's mainly always in touring mode one up with luggage( I'm a fat boy) or two up on the odd occasion I have a pillion! (I need to go have a bigger spring fitted) Hope to welcome you to the club soon!
Paulo, I came from a Sprint St and got my multi in April this year, having a Duke before dont believe all of the stories you hear about them, modern Dukes on par with any other bikes for service costs and faults, forums will for the most tell you all the bad points. I went for a non Ohlins version, and ended up without ABS, and was 10 months old. Compared to Tiger power will be like chalk and cheese, both bottom end and top end power avaliable all of the time, very comfy ride, sprint was ok for 200 mile trips with a modified seat, multi stock seat has all day comfort, screen takes a bit of playing with to sort or plenty of after market versions that fix it. Pillion wise my mrs prefers it to sprint, seat angle not as severe as ST and a lot wider and padded, she liked it better than GS one. Best advise test ride one, you wont be disapointed
Came to the Multi from several Blades, wanted sports bike fun with more comfort for longer journeys, and to keep the mrs sweet as she comes along a lot too. The Multi ticks all the boxes ! Yes its had a few niggles, but as already been stated what new model bike doesnt..? Go for it !! You wont regret it ! And welcome to the forum !
Funny that...me too Boomer! I had a Firestorm (tweaked), then a Fireblade, but swapped it for the Multi so that the Missus could/would come on the back. She loves it....nice big comfy seat and a top box to lean against....lovely. I leave the top box on all the time (I'm lazy), so imagine the faces of the pocket rocket boys as I go whizzing past! Now the QDs are fitted, the bike is hilarious...it is so much fun. It's brilliant as standard, but a few tweaks and it's a truly sorted machine... I love it. Yes, there are some niggles, but that is what they are...niggles. I'd buy again in a shot, and have never regretted the purchase. You can't say fairer than that. ...oh, I have a Touring 'S' version...
best bike i ve ever owned.. not the most special one, not the most endeering one, not the most fascinating one and not the most exotic one... but by far the absulote best... i'll say it over and over again.. stable as a rock, turns on a dime, grunt to get you out of anywhere, kicks like a mule, comfy as any grand tourer.. and goes round a lot of bikes on the track... I drove over to Mettet, dropped the GIVI Trekkers, slapped on the NR's and hit the track for the first time in 16 years.. put both knees down in lap 25! tail braked on the ABS to the astonishment of some 848 evo's.. hit 210 kph on a 900 m straight with a Vstream grand tourer screen... on worn OE tires... put the GIVI back on an drove home in the pouring rain... the bike didn't flinch! unless you do want to go offroad adventure, nothing will beat this... so : jump!
Amazing!! we have very similiar tastes, i had a firestorm before the Blades !! Mrs much prefers the Multi too !! Sport S version with panniers for me!! :smile:
Very very interesting feedback chaps. Especially you guys having gone from blades to the MS I've got my eyes wide open here - no bike is perfect. I'll only be doing 3000 miles a year, all pleasure, 80% me gooning around, 20% sensible around with the missus on the back (topbox = backrest, as some have said ) I'm getting a sense that ohlins may not massively improve the rise overall - is the standard setup adjustable (me, me & missus, fullyl loaded up) electronically? That does appeal to me Either way, really appreciate the feedback and I'll keep you posted. Goin to the dealer in Lincoln, seeing as SMC have this stupid "pay £10" policy. I'm still stunned that they had the cheek to try and charge £10 for me to try a bike I'll be spending a fair chunk o change on!!
You can only adjust the standard bikes suspension manually A lot of guys on here seem to rate the standard version. I have the S sport with Ohlins, and love it, i find its great to adjust the settings on the fly, especially when the Mrs wants to join me for a ride out. also very handy when you want to load up and throw the panniers on and make a quick suspension change
Paul, i have just bought one from SMC and paid the £10 demo fee, but got £20 back once i had placed an order, TBH i have a very good buying experience from SMC, Tony Lembo salesman could'nt be a more helpful chap. Buy the basic ABS model and save yourself a shed load :wink:
The pay for a demo thing must be a new thing, i nearly bought a new one from Tony at SMC in April, and they never charged me anything, and i had it out for most of the day, just asked me to put in whatever fuel i used. Does this £10 now mean they give you still want you to pay for fuel aswell?
I'd agree with that. I do the same. What I find most useful, is when I'm doing 'mixed' riding....town to country to cruising to full in blasting about. Because you can change the settings and save them as presets, you have the ability to take in all sorts of roads and conditions, and you don't have to stop...town..urban. Bumpy country roads..touring...smooth country roads..sport...pop it on the motorway..touring. Stop, load up with gear...quick change to solo + luggage, then off you go. Having said that, people do rate the standard bike, and the standard bike wth abs. I honestly think that whichever you choose, you won't go wrong. They are all cracking bikes. Now, which should you go for? That depends on your wallet, and also if you will use the electronic wizardry on the suspension. The Öhlins is plush...really plush...best suspension I ever had, and my firestorm was treated to a full Maxton rear shock and fork revalve/respring. But ask yourself the following questions....(also based on what you can afford) 1. Will I use the electronic wizardry on the suspension? 2. Do I want lots of carbon as 'standard'? (remember you can buy it all separately) 3. Do I want all the touring gubbins (heated grips, panniers, centre stand) ...(still remembering you can buy these separately too) Once you've decided what you can afford, and what you will actually use, then you can decide. Whatever you decide, you won't go wrong. Personally, I would at least go for ABS, and again personally, I would go for either the Touring or the Sport, or indeed the Pikes Peak, although that one I'm not sure justifies the extra money. Choices choices.... Oh, and on the £10 fee....well, yes and no... Looking at it from their perspective, perhaps it is a way of seeing if you are genuinely interested. Having said that, I've never paid for a test ride in my life, and the other day I was talking to the dealer, asking how the Panigale was to ride (the QDs were being fitted), and he said "why don't you take it out for a spin?" ....er, ok...thanks. ))) Blooming marvellous it was, but it is very focused...not a commuting machine at all! ;-) Short answer is, don't let the £10 put you off. If the dealer is good, and you get a good vibe from them, and more importantly, if you think they will give you good service in the future...pay it....they will almost certainly knock it off the price when you buy....and you will buy once you try it. I think pretty much everyone here decided to try it, rode it, then instantly fell in love with it and bought it within 2 minutes of getting back!
Yeah, weird! I possibly would have gone with a Sport, but what they had was a black Touring coming in.... I would have had to wait a lot longer for a Sport so decided I would do without the carbon.... Must get myself a shorty screen though... The MRA X-creen double is good for longer journeys, but maybe less so for shorter/sportier ones... Now, Puig, VStream, or F.Fabbri...hmmm... ;-)
totally agree with david re the whole 'falling in love ' thing. it just took me a few weeks to think about spending that sort of cash on a bike . however, now, 9 months on from taking delivery of an s-sport, do i regret it???? the shortish answer is, IN 30YRS OF RIDING ALL SORTS OF BIKES,FROM A V-MAX TO AN R1 & EVERYTHING INBETWEEN ......THE MTS1200 IS,WITHOUT DOUBT, THE BEST THING SINCE SLICE BREAD. that is all
Guys Appreciate the feedback and as for the SMC thing, well too late. I wouldn't expect free fuel though!! Back to the topic, it's good to hear from you former sports bike guys. Sounds like about the best machine you can get that gives the big grins and is as flickable as a sports bike - yet the missus will love pillion Roll on Friday!! ;-)
So here's another tuppence worth! Electronic Ohlins are great! I have a sport with panniers (well only one now....lost one the other day but that's another story) and heated grips! Heated grips a must as I am from the colonies and a wimp when it comes to cold! The reason I suggested the standard with abs is simply because you can get a lot of extras with the difference in price tag....and I feel I don't get or use the settings that much! Enduro, only when it rains....never use urban, and sport for the track, but I haven't been there yet! So 90% of the time it's me and touring, and on the odd occasion it's change from rider to rider with pillion!
