Well this is my parting shot , sold the Multi and ended a miserable motorcycling chapter, Never again will I own a Ducati , what a bitter dissapointment , This should have been my ultimate motorcycle and unfortunately it was my worst ever by a long way , A endless tirade of niggles and major problems , A potentially brilliant bike , lovely handling , lovely power and stunning looks but the good stops there , in almost every other respect a woefully unreliable and undependable machine , now I think back even when it was free of faults it had a gearbox somewhere between poor and rubbish , false neutrals between 4th and 5th and another between 2nd and 1st , slow speed running was crap , rear brake was next to useless, erratic fuel gauge, and the chain adjustment procedure on a multi is one of the most irritating chores in motorcycling history Problems I had included the inevitable flapper valve issues , blown fork seals , random cutting out , groaning front discs , condensation in the clocks , intermittent failure of LH switchgear buttons and the final straw was a electrical system that couldnt keep the battery charged if you left the bike unridden for a week or more unless hooked up to a optimate , Ducatis have their quirks enthusiasts say ! , this isnt quirks , this is inherent flaws , totally unacceptable in any half decent bike let alone one that costs 15 plus grand , 2 different dealers checked my electrics and announced with a smile that everythings checked out ok sir , what a load of nonsense as something was quite clearly not ok , Its as good as calling me a liar , I bent over backwards to give that bike the benefit of the doubt for a long while but eventually gave up and had to admit id made a very big mistake indeed I dont belive I had a bad one either ! most if not all my probs seem to have been experienced by others to a greater or lesser degree , I probably had more faults in a shorter space of time due to the fact the bike saw a lot of bad weather in its first 3 months of life and it just cant take it , once the probs start they dont stop , they just keep coming , I wasnt prepared to keep it long enough to experience the melting cylinder heads or valve collets letting go and trashing the engine The bike is festooned with bad quality fasteners that corrode away very quickly , paint will blister on the clutch cover , centre stand rubber will burn away on a regular basis and the seat lock will eventually disintigrate and the rear tail section flaps up and down on its mountings and theres more I cant recall just now If your thinking of buying a multi ? Then Dont ! Or any other Ducati for that matter if you want a reliable bike , Its a turd in superstars clothing, and I had a 2012 model ! A thoroughly hatefull motorcycle that falls well short of the bar on many counts , Its a great shame and yes im bitter , I have every right to be too , Ducatis are everything they used to be , everything I had been told by others was true , Quite frankly there rubbish and I never want another , Ive lost thousands and thousands but its over now thank god Wishing you all a trouble free summer , Dave
Or, as an alternative, I have had Ducatis since 1983, 7 in total and have never experienced any of the problems you mention. I may be tempting fate but as far as I can recall nothing has actually gone wrong since 1991 .Sorry to hear about your obviously terrible experiences though.
Cant comment on multi's as i dont own one so you may well be correct , but i do not agree with " Or any other Ducati for that matter if you want a reliable bike " That phrase is simply not true and is clearly your dissappointment with your bike coming out.
Nobody could blame you for feeling that way if that's been your experience. I've had similar experiences with a cars built by a prestigious German manufacturer. Everybody raves about them but in my experience, they were the biggest pile of shit I've ever owned and would never have another. So I do understand what you're saying. However, I've had my Ducati for over 6 years and it's been more or less faultless. Better luck with the next bike
Such a shame you have had this experience. I am just starting my new Ducati ownership of a 2013 Multistrada. The best bike I have had the privilege to own and ride. I can understand your frustration and quashed hopes of the brand.
well that answer my question whether i should get one or not. the triumph it is then ,not going to take the risk
You need to check out the BMW GS sites before making broad sweeping statements about Ducati build quality and reliability. Before anyone says anything I've had 2 GS's and and 2 other Ducati's (a 748 and 996s) and had problems with both GS's and no problems with my Ducati's. I've bought a new 1200 Multi S Sport last September and love it. Most slagging of bikes and cars is done by people who are full of shit and who have never owned that brand. People moan about Ducati reliability but this is a fact, BMW get more warranty claims. If anyone is narrow minded enough to make a decision on what to and what not to buy just because someone moans on a website then it's your loss.
Dave how old are you? Your behaving like a child, brandishing all Ducati's as rubbish because you got a bad one, you were unlucky, take it on the chin and move on.
LOL I'll slag off Ducati's on the whole on a Ducati forum and expect sympathy??? close the door on the way out please
Sorry to hear you have given up on the marque, but fully understand that you had more than your fair share of problems, and it seems poor dealer service with regard to getting it repaired. I can't comment on reliability as my ST is my first Duke and other than the "normal" rectifier problem it's been fine! I had a chat with Carl Harrison today as mine is being serviced and he seems to think that it's been 4 years since it had a belt change so maybe I've been lucky! Now just to wait for my back to heal and I can get it back home and ride again. Good luck with whatever you replace it with and hopefully your current hatred of Ducati will wain and you try them again in the future. Chris
Im 54 , I base my opinions on comparing the Ducati with other motorcycles that I have owned that have been treated in the same way , The Multistrada was the most troublesome motorcycle I have ever owned bar none , it was also the most expensive , previous bikes were a mixture of large Japs and 2 Harleys , some new some used , nothing came close to the Multi on problems and gremlins , I have taken it on the chin and had been doing so ever since I bought the wretched thing , Im sure Ducati will continue too thrive despite my rants , however they have had a large chunk of my money and gave me a motorcycle with 1960s reliabilty in return , If I can persuade just one person not to buy one then that will be some small satisfaction
ok, you persuaded me not to buy a multistrada, hope you feel satisfied mate what ever your next ride is, enjoy and be safe
I shant be keeping the forum name and will slip away quietly in a few days time to reunite myself with most probably a large 4 cylinder Japanese bike that even on a bad day wont give me half the grief of a Multistrada
I object to a sweeping generalisation that all Ducatis are crap because it simply isn' T true. Having said that I recall the last few months of the Ducstisti site if you clicked on "new posts" all you got was pages of Multi owners whinging about this and that fault Personaly I don't think the Multi has done Ducati manyvfavours where reliability reputation is concerned
I pick up my 3rd Multistrada 1200 next Thursday. Ridden all the competition but nothing comes close as a complete package. Really sorry you got a duff one but I think you were genuinely unlucky. The best of luck in the future.
You wouldn't consider hanging around ... maybe change your screen name to Brian Multistrada 1200ST? Put all that bad stuff behind you, like?
