WHOOPS... I’LL RIDE IT AGAIN
A bike’s most important feature is not the engine, suspension or brakes. Oh, no. It’s the whoops factor.
Let me explain. On some bikes, you get on, feel uncomfortable, wobble off down the road thinking you’re doing at least 100mph then look down at the speedo and find that you’re hardly moving.
On others, you jump on, feel at home from the word go, zoom off at what you think is an entirely sensible speed, then glance at the speedo and go: “Whoops”.
Which brings me, naturally, to the Multistrada 950, the latest incarnation of a growing trend by bike companies to bring out one good base model, then produce a squillion variations.
For the 950, Ducati combined the 937cc engine from the Hypermotard with the chassis from the Multistrada 1200 and bits from the Multistrada Enduro to offer the Multistrada experience for £10,995 – almost three grand cheaper than the basic 1200 at £13,795 and over five grand cheaper than the £16,595 1200 S.
Toggling between the four riding modes, Sport, Touring, Urban and Enduro, is a doddle using a switch on the left bar, and you can also change the traction and ABS settings separately.
Acceleration, even in Touring mode, is lusty enough to satisfy all but the most diehard lunatic, while Urban and Enduro modes reduce power from 113bhp to 75.
I tried both, got bored after 38 seconds precisely, and switched to Sport, which was like pressing the fast forward button and left me bombing around for the next hour going “whoops” regularly with a very large grin.
Handling, with a perfectly balanced machine which is 5kg lighter than the 1200, wide bars and pleasantly neutral riding position, is light and sure-footed from the off. And although with a 19in front wheel, instead of the 17in one of the 1200, very aggressive riders might find it not quite as precise, there’s less than a gnat’s whisker in it. So is it a poor man’s Multistrada? Far from it. The 1200, with 160bhp on tap and more gizmos than the Space Shuttle, is a glorious hymn to lunacy for those with deep pockets and an addiction to speed impossible to satisfy on real world roads.
For the rest of us, the 950 is an engaging, satisfying and characterful joy which would make any biker happy for the rest of his motorcycling life.
Test bike supplied by Millsport, www. millsportmotorcycles.com.