3500 MILES ON DUCATI’S MULTISTRADA 950 S
Already preferring the Multistrada 950 over the 1260, we thought this year’s higher-spec S version might be the perfect all-roads all-rounder. 3500 miles later we know the truth
BIGGER IS BETTER, right? It’s why mobile phones, TVS, and awful SUVS are forever becoming longer, wider and more bloated. Thankfully Ducati’s Multistrada 950 exists to prove that, as with courgettes and tax bills, sometimes smaller is definitely sweeter. Not that 937cc is actually small. 20 years ago this would have been a ‘big twin’, but in a landscape of 1200cc, 160bhp adventureinspired bikes it’s a middleweight. And in the tradition of the smaller Ducati variants, the 950 has a different character to the 1260. It turns more easily, has finer balance, revs more freely, while keeping its comfort, long-legged ability and presence. This year Ducati have an ‘S’ version. £13,501 on the road, it has semi-active ‘Skyhook’ suspension, lean-aware traction and ABS, hill-hold control, cruise, colour dash and cornering lights. In this Touring guise you also get panniers, centrestand and heated grips. In optional grey paint it costs £14,729, which is a lot of money – but then it’s also a hell of a lot of bike. The ultimate modern all-rounder? 3500 miles reveals all…
‘The refinement of the 950’s engine is breathtaking. Smooth and boasting tea-with-the-queen manners, it delivers silky fuss-free drive right from the bottom of the revs’
Engine and transmission
If your only experience of a Ducati V-twin was an air-cooled, two-valves-per-cylinder, Pantah-derived motor back in the 1990s, the Multistrada’s liquid-cooled 937cc, 113bhp, four-valve unit is a revelation. Lumpy at low revs, heavy clutch, vibrations and constant servicing? No, no, no.
The refinement of the 950’s engine is breathtaking. Smooth and boasting tea-with-the-queen manners, it delivers silky fuss-free drive right from the bottom of the revs, slides serenely through 30 and 40mph limits in a tall gear and whirs without irritation on a motorway. It’s also fast – hard acceleration in first and second gear has the electronics jumping in to prevent wheelies, there’s gutsy roll-on performance in the midrange, and plenty of top-end fizz. The opportunity of riding a 1260 back-to-back reveals there’s nothing in their real-roads performance; it’s only with a wide throttle and the tacho at the top of its register that the larger bike’s extra 43bhp is apparent.
It’s a self-servo clutch so the lever action is light. The six-speed gearbox has a short lever movement and precise action, though occasionally misses a ratio when using the quickshifter (see ‘electronics’). The engine’s oil level has moved slightly on the sight glass in 3500 miles, but not so much that anyone has reached for the top-up. Chain tension was tweaked at the first (600-mile) service, and now really needs doing again – which involves stands, C-spanners and turning the eccentric hub. Not as complicated as it looks (if you can bolt-on an end-can and swap brake pads, you can do this). Minor services are at 9000 miles, while the major is 18,000 and includes clearances for the desmodromic valves (opened and closed mechanically, not with springs) – that’s more than double the mileage than for Ducati’s air-cooled two-valve engines, further than Honda’s Africa Twin and the same as a BMW S1000XR.
Handling and ride
It’s 937cc, uses a 19-inch front wheel and has imposing adventurestyle proportions, yet the Multi’ tips into corners easily, slices through with a light feel and changes direction with the agility of a smaller bike. The profile of that ‘small’ 160-width rear tyre lets it roll into turns and rattle through flip-flop corners in a way that larger fat-tyred bikes can’t touch; despite its 17-inch front wheel, stubbier wheelbase and steeper steering-head angle the 1260 version can’t react this delicately.
Being an S means ‘Skyhook’, which isn’t the latest Bond film but Ducati’s semi-active suspension. It’s the best-yet version, without any of the mushy unpredictability the 1260 S suffers from. There are four pre-set configurations: Enduro, Urban, Touring and Sport. I’ve found Touring is best in most situations, with an impressive balance of control and ride comfort. Flicking into Sport delivers a tauter chassis – it’s not chalk and cheese, but you sense the Multi’ pulling itself together for action. You can then toss it about with sportsbike-like enthusiasm, which is great, although I can count the amount of times in 3500 miles that I’ve switched to Sport on the fingers of one hand.
Strong brakes, too. I never have more than two fingers on the front lever and they don’t seem to lose power in the wet, and the rear gives enough control for stabilising the bike on greasy, autumnal, rural lanes.
Electronics
How many gizmos do you fancy? There’s lean-sensitive traction and ABS, hill-hold control, cruise, keyless ignition, self-cancelling winkers and cornering lights, plus adjustable engine response and the aforementioned semi-active ride.
Ducati kindly bundle things into balanced settings; so Touring has a bit less stomp, smoother throttle and watchful traction and ABS, while Sport gets all the V-twin’s beans, a sharper throttle, stiffer ride, and rider aids that aren’t as keen to jump in. I’ll be honest – I’ve not used Urban because the fuelling is so smooth it’s redundant, and I’ve not used Enduro because I’m not daft enough to think I could pilot the 950 in muck. Get deep into the settings and you can configure each mode to suit your tastes (I’ve got Touring set-up with the full-fat motor). The two-way quickshifter works slickly with load and revs, but doesn’t always shift cleanly at low revs and part throttle. You need to get your toe away from the lever quickly as well, or the delay is too long.
A few times I’ve noticed the ABS going off-on-off-on when braking hard on polished wet surfaces, though never felt like I’d run on or I’d lose control. Traction has only been activated by hard acceleration (difference in wheel speed as the front tries to lift) or on purpose with full gas in crap conditions. Cruise is easy to arm and activate, though can only be deactivated with the brakes and clutch lever – unlike every other bike I can think of, rolling the throttle forward does nowt. Even after 3500 miles I’m still trying, though.
Controls and comfort
It’s a big bike, but quite a ‘fixed’ position – you sit close to the wide ’bar, almost supermoto-like, in quite a sculpted seat. Seat height is 840mm (not adjustable, unlike the 1260 but accessory seat +/-20mm available) and knees are quite high. Yet it’s extremely
comfortable, be it in town or on a 350-mile day, without any sense of sliding forward the bigger Multi’s can create. Mrs Armitage is impressed with the pillion accommodation too. Though staggeringly smooth for a big twin, there are a few vibes higher up the revs. Push the digital tacho near 10,000rpm with a wide-on throttle and high-frequency tingles reach the seat. It’s not a biggie. The racket from the screen is, however. The push ‘n’ pull adjustment is quick and easy, weather is deflected and water is drawn off your visor – but the bassy, droning wind noise on a motorway is disappointing. Lashings of info on the colour dash, from time, gear position, speed, revs and riding mode to fuel load, engine temp and the rider aid settings. You also select which extra info you fancy (two trips with average mpg and speed, plus range and air temp), with controls on the left switchgear. Switching modes and resetting the trip is a doddle, but the short-throw indicator switch doesn’t feel robust. The display changes from black-on-white to white-onblack in low light, and autumn’s long shadows make it a bit undecided and flickery. There’s also a lot of data, and even now my eyes don’t fall easily to the info I’m after.
Practicality
Rear preload is set at the touch of a button. Adjusting the bike up for a pillion, luggage or both requires nothing more than your left thumb. We approve. The modest rack isn’t the easiest to strap stuff to, lacking hooks and handy crevices. There are four plastic bungee points under the seat unit, but they’re a tad too far forward – your pack gets pulled into your back unless also tied to the rack. The headlight is fabulous on full beam; the cornering lights drop a weak blob of light onto the inside of a corner that doesn’t really offer anything significant. Being a Touring-spec bike means a centrestand, which is good for cleaning and lubing the chain, plus rigid panniers which are watertight unless you’re over-eager with a jet wash. Three-level heated grips too: these stay on whatever heat setting you had them on after the bike has been turned off. Instead, you fiddle to find the ignition key – the Multi’ is keyless and starts as long as the fob is in your pocket, but you need the key for the filler cap. Time to follow BMW’S lead, Ducati… Motorway cruising gets 60-odd to the gallon. I’ve averaged 50.4mpg over 3500 miles, meaning 221 miles from the pleasingly-sized 20-litre tank.
Quality and finish
It’s a fourteen-grand bike, and it’s reflected in the presentation and finishes. Paint has a deep gloss and has remained free from chips, switchgear is rugged, and all the controls and contact surfaces feel as good as when the bike was new. This doesn’t mean it’s perfect. Ducati say it’s a stainless steel silencer, but I’d be interested in the condition of the large under-belly collector after a couple of grotty winters. The rack marks quite easily when things are strapped on, and the left pannier can be a stubborn pig and refuse to cleanly slide onto its integral mounts. And the gear lever rubber is falling apart as well. None of these are deal-breakers, of course – just buy better luggage straps (Rok Straps are ten times better than scratchy bungee hooks) and buy a new lever rubber when it drops off (they’re a fiver).
‘The new Multistrada 950 S is an outstanding road-going adventure bike. Expensive, yes, but genuinely exceptional’