A couple of months ago a remarkably cheap 1200S Multi came up for sale close to home. Its a 2011 bike with 29k miles , FSH all with dealers or specialists and the first desmo service had been carried out albeit a little late. I popped along to see it and was really delighted as it was in very good shape indeed with hardly any signs of its age and miles, it even had new tyres fitted. It started easily and all sounded and looked good, not that I`m an expert but it seemed too good to walk away from so I transferred the money and off we went.
Now, I`d had a standard 1200 Multi before, also a 2011 bike but that had left me very underwhelmed and I`d sold it after just a few months , this is a different thing all together. I don`t know if its the fact this is an S with semi electric Ohlins, if its the full Arrow exhaust system or maybe the other one was just a below par one and this is way above but as Peter Sellers said, Well Goodness Gracious Me ! Its just totally blown me away with pretty much everything it does. Happy to potter along at 30-50, pulls really strongly from 4000RPM, goes mental @ 6000RPM and being honest I`ve barely gone over 7000RPM at all yet so plenty still to play with. The ride is superb, handling way beyond my ability and it combines being flickable with complete stability. I`m even getting over 50mpg albeit based on just a few hundred miles so far. The saddle is comfy as is the riding position, I`ve even grown to like its silly beaky face.
Its not perfect of course, the standard screen was absolutely a waste of time at any setting even with an additional flip extension at the top it only ever caused turbulence at head level. Its so bad I was amazed that there was not a single thread about this flaw anywhere on the internet, not even one ! Anyway, I experimented with spacers to push the screen out and a much shorter screen and now its very much quieter and less turbulent with the wind catching me at the top of my chest. I may trim another inch off the screen as I think that will help even more.
I`m not naturally very tech orientated , not as bad as a certain un named forum member but I definitely don`t find the computer to be intuitive . My final gripe is the poxy keyless start system. I like keyless in cars but not convinced on a bike and if Ducati were going to do it why not do it properly so for example a button to open the fuel cap rather than having to take the key out of your pocket ? Talk about half hearted. Has that changed on more modern Multis ? The bike came with 2 keys but one is the red so only 1 keyless key if you know what I mean. Ducati want around £200 for a new keyless key including programming so I may see if I can get it done locally by a master locksmith who I know can copy immobiliser codes.
Possibly the wrong way round but after buying the bike I did a load of research on the models and some of the changes over the years and I think purely by luck I`ve ended up with one that suits me very well. These early ones only weigh around 420lbs I believe and they have steadily piled on the lard over the years and now even the 950 Multi is over 500lbs. From what I`ve read the later bikes have become smoother and smoother at low RPM so I suppose mine is relatively rough but I can`t say its anything that bothers me.
That`s all for now and here it is.
Now, I`d had a standard 1200 Multi before, also a 2011 bike but that had left me very underwhelmed and I`d sold it after just a few months , this is a different thing all together. I don`t know if its the fact this is an S with semi electric Ohlins, if its the full Arrow exhaust system or maybe the other one was just a below par one and this is way above but as Peter Sellers said, Well Goodness Gracious Me ! Its just totally blown me away with pretty much everything it does. Happy to potter along at 30-50, pulls really strongly from 4000RPM, goes mental @ 6000RPM and being honest I`ve barely gone over 7000RPM at all yet so plenty still to play with. The ride is superb, handling way beyond my ability and it combines being flickable with complete stability. I`m even getting over 50mpg albeit based on just a few hundred miles so far. The saddle is comfy as is the riding position, I`ve even grown to like its silly beaky face.
Its not perfect of course, the standard screen was absolutely a waste of time at any setting even with an additional flip extension at the top it only ever caused turbulence at head level. Its so bad I was amazed that there was not a single thread about this flaw anywhere on the internet, not even one ! Anyway, I experimented with spacers to push the screen out and a much shorter screen and now its very much quieter and less turbulent with the wind catching me at the top of my chest. I may trim another inch off the screen as I think that will help even more.
I`m not naturally very tech orientated , not as bad as a certain un named forum member but I definitely don`t find the computer to be intuitive . My final gripe is the poxy keyless start system. I like keyless in cars but not convinced on a bike and if Ducati were going to do it why not do it properly so for example a button to open the fuel cap rather than having to take the key out of your pocket ? Talk about half hearted. Has that changed on more modern Multis ? The bike came with 2 keys but one is the red so only 1 keyless key if you know what I mean. Ducati want around £200 for a new keyless key including programming so I may see if I can get it done locally by a master locksmith who I know can copy immobiliser codes.
Possibly the wrong way round but after buying the bike I did a load of research on the models and some of the changes over the years and I think purely by luck I`ve ended up with one that suits me very well. These early ones only weigh around 420lbs I believe and they have steadily piled on the lard over the years and now even the 950 Multi is over 500lbs. From what I`ve read the later bikes have become smoother and smoother at low RPM so I suppose mine is relatively rough but I can`t say its anything that bothers me.
That`s all for now and here it is.
I've had two 1200S's - tried about 5 screens to reduce buffeting. I found the Pikes Peak to be the best for me (5'10') - more airflow but cleaner.
