Multistrada V4s For A Total Novice?

1. Multi V4 is tougher than most to wheel around due to high bars. Getting on the centre stand is super easy
2. Works well IMHO
3. I feel some fuelling issues with slight hesitation now and again. Very very difficult to clean, some bolts and nuts corrode. Many of them are made of standard Ducati steel plasticine alloy.
Maybe look at the smaller 900? Multi ?? it’s quite the leap you are making..then if you have the money to spend and maintain it, what the hell

 

Its 240kg , so it must be heavier than your 650SV. I have had mine for 2 years, and there is no corrosion that I can see. It looks as good as new. (i do clean it after every ride). The fuelling on mine is perfect; no hesitation at all. The adaptive cruise is also excellent as is the blind spot detection. The suggestion to maybe look at the smaller 900 may be sensible in the power department as its a big jump in performance to your 650. But the 900 is no lighter than the V4, and doesn't have the toys you were asking about. I have done 16000 in mine. Best bike so far that I have ridden.

 

I got a Multi 1200S as my second bike about six months ago, after passing my test and getting a Monster in June 2022. I do love my Multi, but I have thought to myself several times that I did the right thing by getting the Monster first, as I've found the extra size and weight something new to contend with. I'm glad I didn't have the Multi as my first bike. I've also kept the Monster after initially deciding to sell it because I like it's small size! I also have an inclined driveway and it can be a bit of a maul to move around - however it's not a dealbreaker.

I test rode a Multi V2S in the summer and didn't find my 1200S to be much different when it came to moving around (I put it in my garage 'just to see what it was like'), and they're both big tall things. That said, you'd probably be fine if you did it as youre first bike - you'd just need to be a little more careful than if it was a smaller bike. I'd keep that V4S in low power mode for a good while while I got used to it!

 

Welcome and enjoy.

I can't comment on the Multi, but the suggestion to get something a bit smaller to start with is not a bad idea, funds permitting.

 

Great name!! We have a dog called Obi, and the can we have in that room is called the obi-cam-kenobi

It’s worth trying a monster. And with leather not textile jackets touring at 80 plus is easy with that kind of bike.

Multi is heavy, but not cumbersome like a GS. If Ducati isn’t a must have, maybe a 900 tracer would be perfect: light with enough power and a tall screen.

I think you’re being totally sensible in how you’re approaching this: power isn’t the issue imho for new riders really: its size and weight and getting used to how to manoeuvre big bikes on and off them. Saying that, if your 20 stone and 6’4 the multi will be a breeze

 

Welcome aboard.
Imo you would have little problem managing the bike, in all aspects. Though..do you want a tall heavy bike? Adaptive cruise, no interest, though cruise control is really useful. Having recently gone from a large motorcycle to something much lighter and more compact, I have to say it was the right direction to go in.
. Having owned multiple GS, Multi 1200, Superduke GT, S1r etc etc, I would say you can tour on anything upright that will take luggage. The lightweight bikes are more fun.
950 Multistrada…Superduke GT? Also, do you want 35mpg? Because this is what most v4 motors are getting these days.
The higher power bikes these days are all smooth and predictable for power delivery, with switchable power maps, so no need to be terrified by the KTM.

 

The V4s can be sensibly ridden in lower engine modes & can be a hooligan in sport if you so choose . As others have said it’s a tall bike heavy and manoeuvres in tight awkward terrain may be a challenge as it could over balance if your on dodgy footing and at full lock ( the wide tall bars can make the reach long at full steering angles. My issue is with my V4 is where do I go next after it’s gone I rarely get the same bike twice (he says ignoring the superlight & 916 in the garage) & I’ve massive suspicion that the V4 mutley range is due a refresh / replacement at the end of the year (age of model & 1500 trade in offer are key indicators that’s is a run out year) & I think I’d want less weight in my next ride .

 

Especially when fuelled up, with luggage etc. Multistradas carry their weight quite high. Not really an issue once underway but manoeuvring in the garage or at very low speeds you feel it significantly more than you would with a naked or a sports bike.

 

I can thoroughly recommend the first Multi indeed Viv, but i think it would have to be in really fine fettle/low mileage now to appeal to Joe, plus access to new parts mostly dried up. It sounds as though Joe will get something more up to date.

 

I assume that you have checked that you can insure a V4 Multi ?

 

I’d be more inclined to get a new GS tbh. You’re a new rider, 170bhp is at the top end on an adventure bike. And as said, the weight is high up.

I passed my test, picked up a brand new 600cc Yamaha thing and hated it. Two weeks later I was riding a new GS to Scotland on a 3000 mile trip round the UK and absolutely loved it.

Over half a dozen GS’s later and a few hundred thousand miles of experience under my belt, I then moved to Ducati, which was the right move.

Buying an upright super bike immediately after passing your test is lunacy IMO, but each to their own.

 

I think it all depends on your riding style and physique. If you're a gentle giant you'll be fine with a Multi.
If you are short and apt to push on (hooligan style) then I would suggest getting a lot more road time under your belt on something a little tamer.

 

Physique is key. The V4 Multi is a big lump to move around.
That said, you can get the seat low and the weight does dissipate a bit once on the move, but you can’t hide 240kg of weight.

 

These bikes while amazing are insanely powerful, way too much within reason for UK roads and you can get yourself into serious trouble very easily with inexperience. While the 1200/1260 is light for its class, if you really want a multistrada you will probably be better served by the smaller engines. Note that the v4 is heavier than the 1260 and some people (including me) prefer the twins.

I spent around 15 years riding 600s/800s (got my A age 24) before getting a 1260s which was my first ducati. I could have saved thousands by getting a 950 instead and would have been totally fine but just wanted a big twin, I enjoy the theatre but it's totally unnecessary on the street. I also had plenty of experience handling (and occasionally dropping) less expensive bikes before subjecting a £20k+ machine to my hamfists. Tall bikes are always a handful moving around until you really develop a natural feel for balance of the best part of quarter of a tonne of metal that only wants to fall over when it isn't moving, and this is not about your height size or strength but rather a skill you have to be able to exercise without thinking.

Get some time (years) enjoying and learning on smaller bikes before dropping this kind of money on a Ducati and then hating yourself for damaging it would be my advice. The best thing I did in my motorcycling career was achieve a RoSPA gold - totally transformed the way I ride and it took me several years to be ready to even train for that. Maybe you can do all of this faster than I did, but going from a 125 to a superbike is a recipe for disaster. Even after very many years of riding big bikes, the multistrada terrified me at first.

You might like me be amazed how much more performance you can get out of the 600-class of bikes after your A training on the Suzuki (i got a Triumph 675 which was massively quicker than the 600 I trained on and in itself probably too fast for a first bike). I still have a street triple and it's the only bike I can properly rag on country roads as by the time i get to the top of 3rd on the multistrada it's stupidly fast for a pubic highway.

On the adaptive CC point, riding a bike is not like driving a car. Anything that gets in between you and full and proper attention and control of the machine and your surroundings is deleterious. You need to unlearn the cager thinking - if on a bike you can't maintain awareness without developing a reliance on flashing LEDs you are going to end up in an accident you can't walk away from. I'm sure some people love the warning lights / Adaptive CC, but I don't live to ride in queues of traffic on motorways which is the only scenario in which (IMHO) either of these technologies make sense and even then only barely as a slight convenience at best (over normal cruise control) for the radar cruise. I'd go as far as to say that blind spot monitors are potentially dangerous on motorcycles outside of the 99% of time when they are useless.