As above,took out a brand new 2014 z1000sx for a couple of hours. First impressions were nice and nimble,easy controls, fair bit of torque for an IL4. The front end felt well planted and very stable,rear same but as the bike had not had suspension properly set up it was a bit harsh and jittery for me,I'm sure that could be improved on. It has very strong top third of rev range grunt,and gets flat out in top without slowing down. In fact the acceleration from say 120 in 5th gear is quite frankly awesome. Front brake has superb feel,great firmness on the lever too . Seat is a good height for me,if a little firm after a whole day I would think. The gearbox is superb,very slick changes,clutch nice and smooth too. I enjoyed the ride, it had me thinking could I buy one, and did it make me have a huge smile,well not really but I was still thinking it was a contender five minutes after starting my multistrada ride, as this was very tall for me,clutch and gearbox and brakes crap in comparison. Then got to open country roads, gave it some wellie and it had me laughing like a hyena , superb flick able handling ,pulled like a train from low down unlike the kwacker, absorbed all the lumps and bumps with ease. I enjoyed the vision this riding position offers,and felt totally in control and at one with the bike after 15 mins. I rang it's neck, and I'm still laughing as I write this, at that moment it was simple, I must have one, I will have one, brakes clutch gearbox miles behind the Kwacker in quality , dashboard much better, handling better,comfort better,mirrors better,overall feel better,no question the duke has soul and charecter with flaws,but wins hands down in my humble opinion. Well done Ducati , I'm so glad that I rode them back to back,really helped sway things. So is anyone interested in my ST4s 2004 Senna grey 47000 trouble free miles,great bike indeed.
I had a similar experience on my multi today, I've owned since end of last year but the weather hasn't given me many opportunities to really have a play. today though the penny dropped and I rode it like a hooligan and had it cranked over further than I thought possible, bizarrely it felt like its meant to be ridden that way. ive gotta admit the suspension set up on my multi is one of the best road set ups I've ever ridden bar non. in fact I'd say its probably the fastest A to B road bike I've owned, not THE fastest bike, but if you need to cover ground quickly and at ease I'm struggling to think of another bike as good as the multi for the queens highways
