[abhi_tjet]

A beautiful adventure tourer. Isn’t the previous line oxymoron?
However, leave it to Ducati to make even an adventure tourer beautiful, not brute but beautiful.



I liked a line in a conversation from one of the US based series where one of the character owned a Korean(Hyundai) car showroom. The gist of it was like,

I sell Koreans so that I can drive Italians.

There is something about Italians which despite their shortcomings brings a certain flair, certain oomph in their product. Ask me, I own a late 2013 FIAT Linea.
Ducati was a dream, a childhood dream, thanks to the movie Matrix. I have seen people of all age group, and gender ogling at my bike, making conversations, etc.

Triumph never managed this much attention, might be since it was a naked roadster.

During my college days, I de-stickered my LML Adreno FX and rechristened it as DUCATI, lolz.


It sounds embarrassing now but that sowed the seed of getting a superbike . A Ducati at that and hence the title.



This will be a longish thread guys and gals. Apologies in advance.
I have completed around 3 months of ownership and odometer has crossed 2000 kms. So, what better time to pen my thoughts and share my initial experience, likes, dislikes, and so on with the mighty Multistrada.



Likes –

• The beautifully calibrated 937cc Ducati Testastretta, L-Twin engine. Its butter smooth in operation, torquey and fun. It’s the most powerful in its segment and it shows while riding.
• The suspension from KYB/SACHS is sublime. It can eat rough road surfaces, imperfections, potholes, etc for entire 6 course meals without a sweat with 170 mm travel at both, front and rear.
• The handling is too good as per my limited skills. The 120 section front and 170mm rear does help a lot here. It’s a bit more top heavy than Tiger but quite less than my ex-Triple which means a great balance in handling and keeping a line during corners.
• The braking set up is good. It uses radially mounted Brembo 4.32 monobloc 4-piston callipers. Experience is more delightful due to Brembo MCS lever.
• Feature list on safety front is quite elaborate with Vehicle Hold control, cornering ABS with 6 axis IMU, combined braking, Ducati brake light, a comprehensively configurable ABS and traction control menu and more.
• All switchgear feels good to operate, a bit better than my Triple.
• The feature list is quite nice. Hydraulic clutch, Brembo levers, a comprehensively configurable rider modes menu where you can customize different engine maps, Ducati Quickshifter(DQS), ABS, traction control, etc. Self-cancelling indicators, ambient temperature gauge, battery current readout, etc are all standard.
• Seats/Ergonomics – The seating position and rider triangle is too good. Seat is spacious, well-padded and very comfortable for rider as well as pillion
• This thing is very fuel efficient as per superbike standard. It's quite easy to get around 20 plus kmpl easily. Considering the weight and bigger engine, this is a pleasant surprise.
• Last but not the least, looks. Do I need say more? It looks overwhelming with so many curves and beautifully designed parts. The headlight contour, tail lamp, choice of rims, the beautiful seat upholstery, switchgear, the Ducati red color etc. Its splendid.
• Its an attention magnet. People stop you for selfies, kids wave you as soon as they get a glance, parents want their kids/ themselves to be clicked with bike and strangers talk to you. Not a dull moment even when its parked. Triple just never managed this much attention.

Dislikes -

• There are many small parts here and there which have quite a lot of clearance gap. This wasn’t expected. Seems like, its same with all Ducati’s.
• Exhaust note is rather muted. My erstwhile bike easily used to get mixed in crowd due to its unassuming looks and color. But, it definitely sounded a lot better and announced its presence in style.
• Surprisingly, the knuckle guard is very flimsy and clearly a case of form over function. Barkbusters are like mandatory. This is the first item to be broken in case of fall.
• There are lots of weld marks on end can. Its unpainted as well which highlights all of them. Not sure why it can’t be painted in black.
• For a bike costing more than ₹1.6 million ex-showroom and touted as a tourer, not providing a Cruise control should be considered a sacrilege. I am more than happy with Halogen headlamps and LCD display console. I understand the absence of quickshifter in V2 variant. But no cruise control, come on Ducati!
• Lots of curves and shapes. The places which were smooth in triple are curvier here and hence more effort is needed to maintain. This point was in likes as well since these curves makes the bike looks ravishing but a pain in wrong places when it comes to maintenance.
• Heat - This bike is just not made to be stuck in traffic. If it will be used in such conditions frequently, one will definitely have a burn mark, especially on left thigh.
• You just can't park it and be done with it. It need a safe parking away from public stare. I literally stopped(gently) a lady who was putting her kid on the parked bike for a quick pic.

PS - Credits for all the beautiful pictures goes to bhpain sukiwa. He took a lot of pain to capture and process them. Pictures clicked by him can be identified through the watermark.

[abhi_tjet]

The backdrop
My prior ride was a BS6 – 2020 Triumph Street Triple R which I bought new. I had a wonderful time with it and was literally a ‘fill it, shut it, forget it’ experience for me. All my big bike experience is courtesy to that and my comparison in many aspects will mostly be with my ex-Triple.

After clocking in excess of 20K kms, I wanted to try different genre and an Adventure Tourer was top on that list. My first preference was on road touring. A bike which can take various dirt, gravel road, absence of tar on road, potholes without making me nervous about ground clearance or shocks bottoming out with 2 up and still easy, fun to ride.


Selling Experience –
Accordingly, I got my bike checked/evaluated at Superbike store shop at Wakdewadi near Sanjay Hyundai showroom. I heard good words from Triumph showroom (they too sell the bike to them) as well as some riders for that shop. I was given a quote by them which was a bit less than my expectation but I agreed since many people recommended the shop and I was ok to lose some amount provided the paper works transfer will be quick and clean.
However, after quoting the price, that guy never proceeded ahead and didn’t close the deal. On calling, he always told that he will transfer fund same day but he never did citing some excuses. After waiting for a month or so, I stopped pestering him and he too never contacted. Guess I will never know the reason. As per above experience, I can't recommend this shop to anyone. The guy goes by the name Gulzar.

After this ordeal, I thought of taking matters in my own hand and posted ad in various forums including team-bhp classifieds.
As per my selling experience,

• Generally, people expect a low run bike and are very surprised if running is more than 15K-20K
• Accordingly, they low ball you.
• 90% people do just time pass.

I logged in Facebook just to post an ad for my bike in one of the popular superbike classifieds groups. My ad got more than 100 likes but no decent inquiry.

It took me some time to sell my Triple, most probably, due to the mileage I clocked. However, I am happy that it finally went to a bhpian (I have mentioned this in detail in my Street Triple ownership thread)

Final wash before handing the bike to new owner - bhpian throttleking. I hope it’s serving him as finely as it served me


After selling the bike, I wanted to take it slow due to onset of monsoon and some other important things going on in parallel. However, that wasn't going to be the case.
Out of the blue, I got a call from Ducati Pune, just a day after I sold the bike. I was asked to come to dealership once for discussion and decide accordingly. Ducati guys had my number since I visited them once in early 2022 to check out the new showroom and model spread.


Contenders - There were 3 main ones.

Triumph
Being a Triumph owner, I was very much comfortable with them and my first preference was for Tiger. So, I visited Triumph first and below is how it went.

Out of a range of Tigers, Triumph Tiger GT 900/850 Sport was my first choice. I have test ridden Tiger 850/900 Rally Pro earlier couple of times. It is a fuss free bike which can take various terrain and uncertainty in road conditions with aplomb without breaking a sweat. So, it was just about the wait time and availability.

And that actually became the deal breaker.

Below was the status on various Tiger’s coming on Indian shores and my experience.

• Tiger 660 – Its availability was ok but after owning a Street Triple, this was kind of a downgrade. It could be a good 2nd bike. Since I was moving away from Street Triple, I wanted something at similar level, if not better.
  Don't get me wrong, there is no problem with bike. The engine is ultra smooth and rev friendly, suspension is plush as compared to Street Triple with better GC and more travel.
  I would have bought this if it would have been available in 2020, when I got my first big bike. Not now though. Street Triple spoils you in many good ways. It taught me that 118ps is kind of more than enough that you will ever need on our roads. You can’t go above 8-9K rpm in more than 95% times of your riding time in higher gears. Our public roads are just too much dangerous for that. But anything lower than that might not give you that rush.
• Tiger 850 Sport – I would have bought this. Its a no nonsense bike with all the basics covered. However, there was no confirmation on availability. It could have taken 3 months/6 months to arrive, there was no guarantee. Despite a modest power/torque figure, this is a proper tiger. That 82NM torque is generated much earlier in rev range, add a plusher seat which can comfortably accommodate 2 with luggage, this is a serious tourer.
• Tiger 900 GT - Again, there was no confirmation on availability. It could have taken more than 6 months to arrive. There was only one upcoming piece in blue color and I wasn’t fond of that. I could have gone with this as well otherwise. This is a higher version of 850 Sport with better power/torque figure which you cannot judge in regular riding. However, this will definitely help in case of higher payload and more demanding condition.
  This also got some feel-good features such as cruise control, heated grips, adjustable suspension among others. Looks like I have to wait more to experience cruise control in bikes (or even in cars). My Multistrada as well is devoid of this feature.
• Tiger 900 Rally/RallyPro - Same story with this variant as well. There was no confirmation on availability. Only the demo bike was available. I though never considered this variant because of my modest frame of 167 cms. A seat height of around 860 mm(21-inch front wheel) is too much for me. Also, it was going out of my budget by a fair margin.

With a heavy heart, I moved the Triumph out of my contender list. It was surprising since I always thought of moving to Tiger from Triple whenever the time comes.

BMW
I wanted to check 850 GS (GSA was out of budget) as well as F900XR. I took a short test ride in April of 850 GS when a rider buddy got one this year. Despite my apprehension towards parallel twin motors in these big bikes, I liked the initial experience.

Below was the overall experience while enquiring for various models–

• 850 GS – I called them and requested for a test ride, slightly longer one if they can oblige. I also gave them the reference of my rider buddy, talked about my last test ride experience to show them my intent of buying. After getting my details, they conveyed that they will update me on the same. However, nothing actually happened after that. One of the executives connected with me few days before my Multistrada delivery asking about whether I got a test ride. He again went into oblivion when I said no. And same thing happened even a month back. I got a call from BMW Motorrad feedback team asking about test ride experience. And again nothing happened after that
• F900XR – There was no demo bike and no test ride possibility.

And that was it with BMW Motorrad Pune.

Kawasaki
It is the wild card here since I didn’t exactly check with them during my latest bike search. However, I visited the dealership sometime last year to check on Ninja 1K SX and Versys 1K.
Below is the elaborated experience -

• Versys 1K – There was a demo Versys at the dealership. When I ‘boarded’ on it, I was like a 7-year-old boy sitting on a Bajaj Super standing on its central stand. Though the spec sheet says a seat height of 820 mm, this bike definitely need rider with long legs, at least an inseam of 33-34 inches, I suppose. It is quite wide at centre might be due to inline 4 layout. Compare this with 820 mm seat height of Tiger 850 Sport/900 GT where I can almost flat foot the bike. No OEM lower seat height option as well. I silently moved on to Ninja 1000.
• Ninja 1K SX – This is the only inline-4 bike I have ever ridden. I was obviously overwhelmed. Only main reason to let it go was low GC with 2 up. Secondary issue was, it is a ‘road’ tourer, good roads are important, you won’t enjoy if the road suddenly vanishes. The seat height(835mm) was again an issue here but with OEM low seat available, I overlooked that part. Considering the dearth of a 'budget' faired in-line4 in India, I definitely would love to own this bike or the upcoming ZX6R.

However, Kawasaki have weight issues. Ninja 1K tips at around 240 kg and Versys leads the chart with 255 kg. That didn’t help its cause anyways. To give a perspective, Tiger 900 GT weighs around 216 kg, 850 GS around 233kg and Multistrada V2 is at 222Kg. Even the Multistrada V4 and Big Daddy GS(new gen) weighs less than 240 kg. All kerb figures.

There was no more confusion now. It was Ducati all the way.

Ducati



Below is my experience of models that I checked out before finalizing.

• Multistrada V4 – I visited Ducati Pune in early 2022 to check out the models in general. They didn’t have the Multistrada 950 for test ride since this model was being phased out for upcoming V2. They accordingly sold the demo vehicle. They instead offered me the V4S for a quick ride. I suppose this is the biggest capacity bike I have ever test ridden. I have no words for the experience. Despite the intimidating stance and huge demeanour, it’s all sublime once when you get going. The throttle response, the turn ins were very agile and very confidence inspiring. I loved it. This experience basically set the mood for Multistrada V2 since IMO it will be more agile and flickable due to its lighter weight and me being sitting closer to the ground. The engine performance again though exemplary is something one can hardly realize/utilize and IMO 950 gives a good balance.
  
  A small clip of test riding V4. This was me first time riding a proper litre class adv
  

  https://youtube.com/watch?v=AJEt-W5g...D6SDzUtFfdthvV

  
  
• Multistrada V2 – Ducati Pune do not have the V2 for test ride. They have the Monster and Streetfighter V2, Scrambler 1100 though. Accordingly, no test ride before getting this bike. I asked them to show me a V2 in real at least if not for test ride. They would have requested their customers because 1 gentleman obliged and brought his grey V2S at the showroom for me to have a quick ‘dekho’.
  Meanwhile, bhpian the_skyliner, a proud owner of Multistrada 950S, whom I connected to get his view, insisted me to checkout his bike and take for a long test-ride. He was pretty sure that I will love it. I hesitatingly accepted his generous offer and took a quick short test-ride of 1-2 kms in his neighborhood. I will be forever grateful to him for his kindness and confidence in me that I can take care of his exquisite beauty. To give a context, we have just exchanged pleasantries before that in our local Pune biker group, I have never ridden with him, never one to one communicated with him. Still, the trust he showed in giving his bike to me was out of this world. Thanks a lot again, Sir.
  
  I suppose I have to give this credit to our wonderful community here on team-bhp because of which we get a confidence and trust which all members and mods strive to live up to.

The 950 experience – I have ridden the 950 engine in the Supersport form in 2022 when I went to check out Ducati bikes in general. I rode the Scrambler as well during that time. So, I knew that this engine is fun. I just wanted to check how much is the power delivery toned down in terms of linearity like Tiger.
Contrary to my view, this engine is as much fun in Multistrada 950/V2 as it is in Supersport. I was all giggles when I came back after riding the_skyliner’s 950S. I was extra careful with the bike since this bike has a seat height of 840 mm as compared to 830 mm of mine. I was in lower rpm(3k-4k) with gear in 2nd or 3rd most of the time, but the way the rpm climbs so easy in Multistrada along with the locomotive like push of torque is something to believe.


My Perspective

Between Street Triple and Ducati Multistrada in terms of Engine performance – Multistrada keeps me happy since there is no compromise in terms of engine performance as compared to my Street Triple. It makes equal or more performance figures(power/torque) till 10k rpm. I hardly went above 10K rpm during my ownership with Triple. All the time that I went above was when we start from still and I was never able to max out the rpm apart from initial 3 gears. I dare not to go near 10K rpm in higher gears. Multistrada is equally rev friendly as well minus the aural pleasure of Street Triple.

Between Triumph Tiger 900/850, Street Triple and Ducati Multistrada V2 –
Tiger, expectedly, is very unlike Street Triple. Despite bigger capacity, peak power is quite less though achieved earlier in rev range(-23ps). The positive torque delta (8 nm) isn’t huge since it need to move that extra mass (190 kg vs 217kg). Simply speaking, though both power and torque figure come early, it’s too linear to give you a rush. Coming from a roadster to Adv segment and want overall performance, I doubt if there is a better option than Multistrada V2. Despite being heavier than 900 GT by 5Kg, Multistrada’s bigger powerful engine is peppier/rev friendly and makes further 7 extra nm much earlier in the rev range.

Booking & Unboxing
I had a wonderful experience with Legacy. The SA Saima was enthusiastic without being pushy. With other contenders being eliminated, I made up my mind for the RED experience. I was confirmed a quick delivery since they had 1 unit of Multistrada V2 in stock at their Delhi warehouse. True to their words, within a week of part payment, bike reached at Pune showroom and a couple of days later, I was doing the unboxing.

Eagle has landed. I repeat.. Eagle has landed


Linea overlooking entry of its Italian buddy.

[abhi_tjet]

Delivery and Overall experience with Legacy Ducati

bhpian ricci graced us with his presence during delivery. Its a shame that I completely forgot to get a picture of us with bike


I liked the way Ducati Pune team consisting of Saima and Neil approached me. They were flexible and responsive to my requests. Apart from some delay in paying the BH tax which is not entirely in their hand, they kept the all the promises and met the overall timeline. The unboxing experience was superlative and the bike was ready for delivery couple of days in advance than my planned date.

On delivery day as well, everything went as planned and they were professional throughout. Overall, my buying experience was almost as good as my Street Triple delivery/buying experience.

Pricing –
Ex Showroom - ₹16,05,000
TCS - ₹12,000
Insurance - ₹47,000(from ICICI Lombard)
Road Tax(BH reg) - ₹25,000 (approx.)
Ext. warranty(2 years)-₹40,000
RSA (1 year) - ₹8,000
Total - ₹17,37,000
Ducati doesn’t provide AMC.


With bike and variant being finalized, lets delve into some finer details.

Engine and transmission


The 937 cc Testastretta 11° engine in V2 is an updated version of what was offered in Multistrada 950. It is smoother and lighter owing to new internal components. Similarly, few enhancements have been done in clutch to make it lighter and to make gear shifts further smooth and precise. I can vouch for these things since engine is extremely smooth with no false neutral or shift lever stuck in intermediate position.

Torque and power are available from word go and progress is strong throughout. The windscreen further masks speed and you are much faster than what the wind drag suggests. Before you notice, you are much closer to 200 kmph. So, keeping a glance on speedometer is beneficial.

With performance like a proper sports bike, Ducati lowered the guard with exhaust note in terms of acoustics. Or they did intentionally since its a tourer and not a track scorcher. They expect people to tour long miles on it and hence rather muted sound. It sounds ferocious when you rev it and take closer to redline, but on a settled rpm of around 4k-5k in higher gears, its rather muted.

Hydraulic clutch and lever from Brembo provide a very smooth clutch engage/disengage point and is a joy to operate.





The 113 PS and 94 nm makes sure to never have a dull moment in your ride despite the weight. Here, weight is in comparison with Street Triple. In terms of adv’s, Multistrada is the lightest bike (222 Kg) in its segment barring Tiger 900 (217 kg).
A minimum of 70 nm torque is present throughout the rev band from 3k till 10K.

Ducati Quickshifter(bought as an official Ducati accessory) works flawlessly and shifts are smoother and better damped than my earlier bike.



Be prepared to experience some fishtailing if moving right hand aggressively on wet surfaces. The default traction control level is on the naughtier side with 8 different settings and doesn’t cut power quickly like Triumph.
Also, it runs hot in traffic, much more than my triple. Since I am almost always in riding gear while riding this, I have saved myself till now. Otherwise, a regular jeans just isn’t good enough to suppress the heat. It will make a mark for sure... on your body.

Difference in riding modes namely, Sport, Touring, Urban is minimal(apart from ABS/TCS level) in terms of throttle response during lower rpms. In higher rpm where Sport/Touring modes will redline happily, Urban will sound harsh. I haven't tried the Enduro mode yet.

Fuel Efficiency
Engine has a nice dual nature where it can go calmly with speeds around 90-110 kmph extracting best economy. Riding this way can achieve a mileage of close to 23-25kmpl. Also, it can be fully maniac if you want to be and give the sports bikes a run for its money.

Looks –
Ducati’s are beautiful and Multistrada is no exception.



Right from the beautifully designed beak which also acts as air intake..


to the beautifully sculpted fuel tank,



the half fairing.., The V2 sticker also helps in breaking the bulk of red color. Just compare this with 950. You will understand what I am referring to


and the slim muffler


Its all a very cohesive design.

The twin pod headlamp complements the front fairing stupendously along with the smoked visor from WRS (bought as an accessory).



The knuckle guard though flimsy to touch looks beautiful with integrated blinkers. The brilliant LED's adds to the overall bike’s look when viewed head-on.

The made in Italy but flimsy knuckle guard. Barkbusters are a nice investment.




The gorgeous tail light with separate led's for brake lamp


Ducati doesn’t want you to see the cylinder block. Its all covered.


The mirror stalk along with mirror is a beauty. I used to think that the stalk of my Street Triple was nice. But one look at Multistrada’s stalk, borrowed from Multistrada V4, it surely is a piece of art. Not just looks, the mirrors are bigger than my Triple's and really provide a very good field of view as well.




The beautiful Ducati logo - rear


Front


Attention to detail - the key slot is also red


They have even given grooves at the axle area of rims which looks beautiful but is a pain while cleaning.
Further, these are so glossy that they are already filled with swirls.




There are quite a few parts which have huge clearance gap. Luckily, all those doesn’t come in sight at first glance since they are mostly under body parts.

Like this, Isn't the gap huge behind tail light?


Ergonomics and comfort –



Coming from a Street Triple, this is a sofa like place for both, rider as well as pillion.
After unboxing, when I first sat onto my Multistrada, I felt at home right away, the riding position, the placement of foot-pegs, everything just comes naturally. There is no shoulder pain even after long rides of around 400 kms. I haven’t tried more than that yet. But I am pretty sure that it will be equally comfortable.



Just look at the seat width! Please excuse for the dirty pillion seat. Just couldn't clean it up


Its same for pillion. The perch is at height, so climbing and getting off is still a bit of task, but once there its like a big wheeled Activa with a superlative suspension which doesn’t let any jolt come to the pillion. Pillion sits relaxed. There is huge space to move around and relax/straighten the knee a bit during long rides.

Multistrada branding on the beautifully upholstered seat


On bad roads one can easily stand on pegs and ride the bike. You get proper support from the fuel tank and pegs. I used to do this on Triple as well but there is a different level of comfort on doing this on Multistrada. Its like made for this.

Ride and Handling
As mentioned by many auto journalists and reviewers, it’s a sports bike with relaxed riding position than an out and out adventure tourer.




It manages to do almost everything what my triple can as per my limited skill.
The ride is flat and you can cover the distance without bothering on minor imperfections. Suspension for V2 variant is fully adjustable as well minus the electronic adjustment capability.



The SACHS rear suspension is a beauty. Ducati, weirdly, doesn’t provide info on front suspension OEM. I once read it on a website that its by KYB. I am not sure though but it does the job splendidly. The 170mm travel at both front and back makes sure that it never bottoms out provided that the preload and rebound damping is adjusted thoroughly. Adjusting rear preload is very easy due to remote preload adjuster.
The 48mm forks (widest in its segment) aren’t just for looks. They do the job in damn good manner. The bike leans very comfortably into the corners without any hesitation. Me being lefty, I am more comfortable on left corners than right. The regular flowy ones are ok but the tight right ones need to be taken with a bit of caution since you sit a bit high and relatively straight. So, ergonomically it is quite different than triple to me yet.
The bike's weight(222Kg) also comes into play since you are slowed a bit. Overall, this can handle way more than what I can throw at it.

The electronics are more configurable in Multistrada and hence this bike can become more hooligan than my Triple. In the default setting, even in Touring mode, the Traction control is not intrusive and lets you play around. This gives you a heart in mouth situation(I had a few) if you aren’t in sane speed in tight corners on a wet day in a place like Tamhini or a newbie. IMO, this isn’t a newbie friendly bike. My Triple was better in this regard. Ducati is rawer and lets you make mistake instead of immediately correcting it (like Triumph).

Due to bike’s tall stance crosswinds affect the bike more and one needs to be careful.

[abhi_tjet]

Brakes and Tires
As per brochure, “The front braking system counts on Brembo radially mounted, 4-piston, monobloc calipers, a radial master cylinder with adjustable levers and two 320 mm discs. At the rear, a Brembo floating caliper acts on a single 265 mm disc”



The Pirelli's are Made in Germany unlike the ones for my Triple. Those were from China.


I am used to this unit (Brembo M4.32 4-piston radial monobloc calipers) since similar spec was on my Street Triple. The difference here is that Ducati is having a bigger disc at both front (+10 mm) and back (+45 mm). There was no learning curve as such for applying brakes. Its as sharp as the Triple. Extra safety net comes from the Cornering ABS function. Further, it has a combi braking set up, meaning that use of front lever will also apply rear brakes proportionately. However, vice versa isn’t true.

The tires - ‘Pirelli Scorpion Trail II’ does their job nicely in highways and broken patch nicely though irrespective of weather condition and at the same time look good.

The Brembo MCS was new for me. One can instantly feel the difference and it gives a better progressive feel when you apply pressure.
Both the levers(clutch & brake) are adjustable for reach


Features, Instrumentation, Electronics
This is a feature loaded bike and covers mostly all the necessary bases. Apart from a stupid omission of cruise control IMO, it ticks all the boxes for me. I am happy that all the safety tech is standard on both variants.



LCD screen is very functional and informative. The digital engine temperature readout is another nice touch. The basic information such as speed, rpm, fuel gauge and current gear are all visible in a quick glance with big enough font. It also even shows if DQS is enabled in a particular riding mode along with traction and ABS level.

Trip 2 is only for calculating distance. Average/Engine running time/Instantaneous FE etc isn't shown


Trip 1 has the usual stuff


Menu options to check battery, rpm, etc.


Engine map customizing option. Likewise ABS,DTC, DQS and other stuff can be altered as per preference


Units can be customized for below items


Various riding modes. Service due icon visible as well since it wasn't reset that time as mentioned earlier


All the main items such as switchgear, remote preload adjustment lever, clutch-brake lever, key insert area, grips, fuel cap are nice to operate and touch. It feels like a proper premium product.

The direction button is used to toggle between various options. Also, mode button below is used to select the choice. Alternatively, can be used to change riding modes. One can also see the outer edge of 'pass' button which is implemented properly unlike Triumph.


The fog lamp button is dummy. In neutral, bike can be started without pulling clutch


The self-cancelling indicators along with ambient temperature and battery power readout though not a costly addition is very helpful in day-to-day riding.

Ducati provides huge configuration options. One can enable/disable DQS (Ducati Quick Shifter) independently in various riding modes.
Likewise, various power and ABS mode, traction control(8 levels) can be configured in all the riding modes. In Triumph, only Rider mode was configurable.

Blinkers can be used even when ignition is turned off. A very helpful feature I must say since it will consume the minimum battery. On most other 2 wheelers including my erstwhile triple, as soon as you turn ignition on, DRL’s along with low beam light will be switched on and there is a risk of battery drain.
Hydraulic clutch though may be more complex is a joy to use along with Brembo lever and gives a nice progressive feel while usage.

Safety
There is a combination of 4 safety tech features which Ducati terms as ‘Ducati Safety Pack’. It includes - Cornering ABS, Ducati Traction Control, Ducati Brake Light (It flashes on panic braking), Vehicle Hold Control (It’s basically a hill hold control feature which will put brake on around 30 sec so as to help in starting from incline).


Accessories
Below are the few items I have added. All except Barkbusters and DQS (Quickshifter) were bought via Lanesplit, Delhi.

• Barkbusters - The first accessory to be put on the bike and it is a must to protect the flimsy OEM knuckle guard and indicators present on it. The dealership as well as bhpian the_skyliner vouched for it.
  Bought it locally in Pune for ₹10K.
• Ducati Quickshifter (Up/Down)– Ordered through Ducati Pune and got it installed along with other accessories during 1st Service.
  Price - ₹27K after a 10% discount
• Radiator & Oil Cooler guard from CNC racing.
• Smoked visor from WRS.
• Crash bar from SW-Motech – This is the stuff which marred my otherwise splendid experience in getting stuff online. First of all, it came quite late due to some goof up by manufacturer/distributor in sending supporting custom documents to the Lanesplit guys. Secondly, after the wait of almost a quarter, when the product came, it had a small gash which seems to have originated when it was shipped to distributor. Looks like nothing much can be done on this and as updated to me by Lanesplit team, SW-Motech doesn’t ships the crash bars with much protection. Someone should tell those fools that item itself need to be protected before it goes on bike even if it’s a crash bar.
  
  Few pics of crashbar after installation. This item wasn't the part of photo session since it came late
  
  
  

The last 3 items bought from Lanesplit set me back by around ₹54k including delivery charges. Above prices doesn’t include the installation expense. Apart from Barkbusters, all the other items took their sweet time to arrive.
IMO, all above items are either for protection or stuff which will enhance the riding experience.

Rides –
I have done quite a few and all of them were fabulous. Loved every minute on the bike

My first ride on Multistrada was to Wai.



Rode to Bhimashankar with my best half as pillion.


How long can I resist Tamhini?




Amby Valley route was beautiful during monsoon.




Veer dam rituals.




Rode to Varandha ghat with wife as pillion after service. Got the service indicator icon reset after this.


My wife is standing behind the bike at this moment. The bike completely dwarfed her(She is around 5ft2in)


Rode solo again and did the Dhom Dam circuit, Wai.




Group ride to Buvanchi Misal, Lonavla.


My maiden group ride with Ducati Pune to Kaas/Bamnoli which marked the completion of 2000 kms on odometer


And planning for numerous more

[abhi_tjet]

First service experience –
Got the bike’s servicing done in August last week. 1st service is at 1K kms and I reached there 25 kms short of that figure. Ducati have a peculiar condition that they can’t reset the alert until its popped. So, I visited Ducati 3 times for 1st service.
I wasn't aware initially that i will have to do so many runs to get the bike serviced. On reaching (for the 1st time), I came to know that the technician isn’t on time and accordingly they won’t be able to deliver the bike same day since I also had to get the accessories installed through them.
Accordingly, visited the next day(2nd time) to collect the bike.
And for the 3rd time again when bike went past the 1k mark to reset the service indication.
Apart from this, the experience was pretty much smooth. Service manager Ram and his team is pretty much accommodating and quite friendly. I hope it stays like this. 1st service is pretty much SOP and it was all fine. One point is that the wash facility isn’t present at Ducati service. They have a separate place at F.C. road for that which is quite close approx. 1-2 kms.

I had to pay around ₹10,500 for first service. Bill also shows the amount for DQS. Accessory installation charges were further ₹3.5k. Moreover, since all items came at their own pace, I paid ₹750 twice, once for Barkbusters and then for crashbar installation.


The DQS, it comes with a factory warranty of 2 years. IMO, its manufactured by Domino for Ducati since it has a domino logo


Bike all set after first service



Noteworthy points/Trivia/Quirks –

• The bike most probably has more logos of Brembo than Ducati.
  
  There is a Brembo logo near front sprocket cover. IMO, its related to hydraulic clutch
  
  
  
• Surprisingly, very less visible parts are from China. Its mostly EU manufactured.
• This might be common with all adv's, I suppose. The suspension compresses once pillion sits. This makes it slightly tricky sometimes to put away the side stand since it rubs with the ground and you have to tilt the bike towards right to complete the operation(put away the stand). It becomes more cumbersome if the ground is rather flat than sloping on left.
• The big windscreen doesn’t let the wind towards helmet and hence more fogging during early morning rides. A pinlock will be a wise investment. Also, makes you sweat inside gears more. I am feeling it more migrating from roadster.
• Wife is very comfortable as pillion. In one of the rides, she felt so relaxed that she was almost asleep. She told me about the same and we took a quick short break immediately before continuing. One can't never imagine this happening on roadster/supersports. Need to invest in communication device ASAP.
• The bike can be locked with handle pointed to any of the directions. Thanks to bhpian sukiwa for asking this impromptu while having the photo session. We would have never known. Triumph couldn't be locked with handle towards right.
• Parking light is yellow led. Number plate light is led. Triple had a bulb.
• Bike can be started without clutch if in neutral.
• The front seat doesn’t have any separate locking mechanism. It sits on couple of grommets/stoppers from pillion seat to secure it in place along with a groove towards fuel tank.
• The headlights, when low beam is on, weirdly condenses the high beam area slightly around edges and vice versa.

Stock exhaust sound of V2

https://youtube.com/watch?v=9kG_Vl3w...UZo5hZkroZlv8C

The milestones have started coming, 1k


2000


Ducati provided a proper toolkit, not just a few allen key spanners. Looking at you Triumph


12V socket and a USB port under the seat. One more 12V port is provided besides display console


Ducati merchandise received complimentary. The claim on t-shirt was made by a childhood friend and I no longer have that


The crudely done weld job to accommodate central stand. This is at couple of places on end can.


IMO, not the best looking angle, too much wires, mechanical parts visible. Triumph was perfect in this regard.


sukiwa(Suhas) doing what he is awesome at


Our resident tomcat inspecting whether job is being done with perfection


Chasing sunset


Missing features as compared to V2S

• Halogen headlamps in V2 instead of LED’s in V2S.
• Keyless start is absent in V2 and standard in V2S.
• Ducati Quickshifter is optional for V2 and standard for variant S.(I bought it separately though).
• LCD instrument console in V2 instead of TFT color screen in V2S.
• Cruise Control optional for V2 and standard for variant S. (I miss this).
• Backlit switches present in V2S and absent in V2. (This was/is standard in Pulsar!!)
• Manual suspension adjustment in V2 as compared to Electronic suspension adjustment (Skyhook suspension) in V2S.
• Red patch on both rims in V2S as compared to full black in V2. I am happy for this. Either it should be piping or nothing. Patch doesn't appeals to me.

V2S variant is costlier by ₹2lacs, but definitely the variant to buy. Since I was on a stretched budget, I made peace with V2 variant. The engine spec and transmission, along with tires, seat upholstery, safety kit, braking hardware, suspension component is same for both variant and that helped me in making decision.

Closing comments –

This is a great do it all bike which can seat pillion in comfort, make rider happy in twisties, cruise in high triple digit speed without breaking a sweat and even if going gets rough, it can still march along comfortably with good fuel efficiency as per superbike standards.
Its like the perfect bike for India. This is not an out and out off-roader though and that was never my criteria to select the bike. This is a proper conversation starter, highly desirable machine which can raise adrenalin while riding just like any other roadster/sports bike. I am enjoying it.

Ending the log on this note friends. I will keep on updating as I clock more kms. Thanks for sticking till the end!


PS - I would like to give credit to my wife as well who was patient throughout the time I was compiling the review

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[the_skyliner]

Once again, congratulations on acquiring one of the best allrounder bikes available today! Wishing you many happy miles on it.

I am glad that you went ahead with the Multi purchase as I could clearly notice the grin on your face after the short ride.

Superbly well written review, by the way. So detailed and those pictures from sukiwa sir are just too good.

Cheers!

[krishnaprasadgg]

Congrats abhi_tjet on the beautiful Multi V2!
From the looks of it, you are already enjoying it on proper rides, and I wish you many many more epic rides with the Multi.

One note I have to make, in this time where almost all new bikes share getting full-color TFT displays, there is something about the monochrome displays that Ducatis made right from the 848,1098 models to the original multistrada and now even the multistrada v2. The console design has to be one of my favorites ever. And I appreciate Ducati for retaining this.

Cheers
Krishna

[100Kmphormore]

Great review, abhi_tjet! Some questions for you.

1.There was no handling charges at this outlet? VST Ducati/BMW/Triumph is asking 50000 hands down for "registration", another coy for the handling charges.
2.Is the center stand an optional accessory? It looks like its been welded later on.
3.You mentioned the fog light is a dummy, is there any aux lights that is hooked up to that switch which is present in the V4S but not the V2? How is the visibility of the headlights?
4.Any luggage options for the V2 from Ducati?

Was waiting for your review ever since you mentioned in the V2 thread, great informative thread for newbie owners. Seems like the V2S will be the variant to go for, considering the LED headlights and the Skyhook suspension itself. the price (17.37) for the V2 itself is a bargain. In Bengaluru, the same retails for 20.5L on road, same as the Supersport 950. the V2S going to 22L, just a lac shy of the Panigale V2.

[jomson13]

Lovely review abhi_tjet, looking forward to ride with you soon.
Do you plan on adding any luggage carrying options too? Now that you have a proper adv bike - I'm guessing you would be planning some multi day trips as well.

[gauravdgr8]

Many congratulations on getting the Multistrada. Beautiful ownership review along with pictures. Wishing you many happy miles

[abhi_tjet]

Originally Posted by 100Kmphormore

Great review, abhi_tjet! Some questions for you.

1.There was no handling charges at this outlet?

Thanks 100Kmphormore.
There was no separate quote for handling charges for me at least. I paid handling for my Triumph though.

2.Is the center stand an optional accessory? It looks like its been welded later on.

Centre stand is an optional accessory available from Ducati. One can get it from SW-Motech and some other brands as well.

3.You mentioned the fog light is a dummy, is there any aux lights that is hooked up to that switch which is present in the V4S but not the V2? How is the visibility of the headlights?

The fog light switch is dummy. Ducati provides some official accessory for aux lights as well, this button is supposed to be used there. I have not done any night ride yet, but its completely fine for day to day scenarios.

4.Any luggage options for the V2 from Ducati?

Yes, they have lot of options to choose from provided one have deep pockets since Ducati accessories are eye wateringly expensive.

Was waiting for your review ever since you mentioned in the V2 thread

I hope the wait was worth

Ducati being expensive is one thing. But there is no dearth of customers paying for it. I have seen people getting diavel V4, V4 pikes peak, etc and then getting full system Akra on top of that. Mind = Blown!

Originally Posted by jomson13

Do you plan on adding any luggage carrying options too?

Thanks Jomson! Lets plan one soon.
I do have plans to get panniers/top box. I will, however, look for them in next year. Ducati fund is close to 0 for this year and there are still some stuff pending.

[Axe77]

Beautiful review of a beautiful machine!! I’m so happy you went the Multi way Abhi. Loved reading every bit of the review. Do hold on to her for a long time - they’re a different kinda special.

Hope we get to ride someday around Pune. Inshallah. Any plans of going to Goa around IBW?

[abhi_tjet]

Originally Posted by Axe77

Beautiful review of a beautiful …… Loved reading every bit of the review. Do hold on to her for a long time -
…….

Thanks a lot Axe! Yeah, plan is to keep multi for long. It’s special.

Hope we get to ride someday around Pune… Any plans of going to Goa around IBW?

I am not sure about IBW. But definitely hope to ride with you. Let know if you are on a leisure trip to Pune, we can plan a quick one, what say .

[bf1983]

Hearty congrats on your beautiful new bike. I remember telling a friend that someone on team-bhp had done over 20k on a new Street Triple and he was insisting that I had made some mistake either on the age of the bike or it must have been a Tiger. :P

I have no doubts you will do a lot of justice in owning this magnificent machine. Congrats once again and wish you a lot of happy miles!