Today I went by the Ducati dealer to test ride a Multistrada V4S.
I'd been thinking and wondering if the V4S might be the bike for me for a while. Ticks a lot of the boxes - newer tech than the BMW R1250GS, a Multistrada that finally seems to be something that actually is designed to be able to legitimately do off roading (and some of the videos and reviews on them prove it is capable), and 170 HP doesn't hurt. I've always wanted a Ducati as a bucket list bike, although the desmodronic valves and V-twin were part of the appeal. The V4S removes both of those, having a conventional valve train (still revving to something around 10,500 RPM) and a V4 engine. However, they set the V4 to fire two cylinders at the same time to theoretically give it more of a feel of the V-twin.
Among the tech features I really liked were the highly adjustable rider modes (adjust ABS, wheelie control, traction control, etc. etc.), radar cruise control, blind spot detection, and a much nicer and newer looking TFT than what BMW is using, which now you can tell is a previous generation.
Initial impressions seeing the motorcycle in person were positive. Although they come with very much road tires (I don't even think you could call them 80/20s, and I wouldn't accept delivery until appropriate knobbies were added), the spoked 19" front/17" rear wheels on the one I test rode were at least an important step in the right direction. Panniers were very much road oriented, although the upcoming Rally model will have aluminum cases (which I also don't like due to the risk of a bad leg fracture if they fall on you). And on opening the panniers, it was immediately noticeable that the right side one had virtually no space in it. The reason for this is that it had a cutout for the exhaust (which had heat shielding, which really wasn't very attractive when you looked at it). So a negative there.
Aesthetics are fantastic on the bike, but it was also obvious that doing a valve adjustment on this engine would involve a whole, whole lot of parts to remove to get at it. One thing Ducati advertises is just how long that interval is, now something like 36k miles, so you won't have to do it for a while. Lighting was very impressive, and the buttonology on the handlebars was attractive and intuitive. I'm not a huge fan of the BMW "wonder wheel" that's on the modern GS bikes and definitely gave the Ducati a one up on that.
Another thing I found that they did very right immediately was the windshield. Not only is it easy to adjust up and down one-handed, but it is also at an angle and location where while standing on the pegs you can look down and see the ground without the windshield in the way. This isn't the case on most adventure bikes, and I wish it was. I run my R1150GS without a windshield for this reason (although I can put it back on in about 2 minutes if I want to).
After signing papers on waiving liability they pulled the bike out and told me the desired route for me to ride, and off I went. It was a short ride, basically a 3 or 4 mile loop that they said you could do twice, so I did that twice.
Once on the road, a few things were immediately noticeable. It's not horrifically top heavy, but definitely mores than a GS. The engine really does not like to be under 4,000 RPM. Below that range you can feel the engine pulses, but it feels not like a V-twin and instead like it's missing (it's not, but it feels that way). Better fueling could maybe help that, but above 4,000 it's very smooth with little visceral indication of any sort of V-twin sound. Under heavy power the mirrors vibrate. The engine sounds like a racebike as you get it up in revs, but that's not where you spend any significant time with 170 HP. On such a short test drive there wasn't much time to play with the different modes, but overall found the throttle more sensitive than it needed to be, especially at low RPMs. With throttle by wire I don't see a reason why it needed to be so non-linear. And, to my surprise, I couldn't get the front wheel off the ground (granted I didn't try hard, but I tried enough), something I would've thought that engine to be easily capable without trying. And yes, that was in a mode where wheelie control was off (at least according to the display). I couldn't see the blind spot detection doing anything and tried on several occasions to make it think I wanted to change lanes into somebody. Maybe it was too smart and knew I wasn't actually changing lanes into someone, maybe I was looking for the wrong thing, but I just didn't see it working. To my surprise, the very high revs on the highway (something north of 5k RPM for 70 MPH) didn't feel buzzy, but it definitely felt higher than what it should need for the bike.
So in the end, I thanked them for the test ride, said I would consider things. But the more I thought about it after the test ride, the less I liked it. It's a beautiful bike, but it also seems a beauty queen that lacks it where it counts. The power is usable but essentially useless. The horsepower is all up high and for being a bike with nearly 1200ccs, it wants to be revved like a 600cc sport bike. I personally didn't find the personality of the engine to be very appealing, something that I was disappointed in. The transmission and quick shifter were great, but the fact that they're attached to a chain drive and that 6th gear on the Ducati is about the same as 4th gear on either my R1150GS or a new R1200/1250GS seems rather silly to me. The Triumph actually revs lower on the highway I think. It had its good parts, but there were also some details that didn't make sense on a bike that costs that much.
I rode the Triumph there and rode my friend's R1200GSA on the way home, and thought that given the choice of the three, I would pick the Ducati last. So I didn't buy it, and I won't.
But my friend also rode the Triumph (both on the road and around the property) and had the same opinion I did on the Michelin Anakee Wild tires, which is that he wasn't impressed. I think I may replace them early. They don't really do the on-road portions supremely fantastic, and off road they aren't as confidence inspiring as they could be. I'll get a set of the same Mitas E-09 tires I'm using on the BMW for it, and might do them over the winter.
