Multistrada 1200 - Buying advice wanted
Discussion
I'm in a position to get a new bike at the moment and rode a Multi 1200 on the weekend to see if an Adv might be what I'm looking. Long story short, absolutely bloody loved it. Long travel suspension was great over the crappy roads, it was really comfortable, screen worked well given I'm 5'9 on a good day, and the motor was stonking.
Does anyone on here have one, or used to have one, or have any experience with one? Would be my first Ducati so wanting to understand any foibles they may have. Also any advice on year and/or models to look for or avoid.
The one I rode was a 2013 ABS non-S model with 63,000km on it (39,300 miles). Supposedly has been really well maintained but haven't seen the books (dealer was busy and I wasn't in position to buy on the day so said I'd come back for a look another time). Is there any gotchas I should look out for in an example like that? I did notice some pulsing in brakes at low speeds/as I came to a stop so would look to negotiate new front discs and pads if it's not something worse (it wasn't during hard braking so I don't think it was ABS but then I've never ridden a bike with ABS before).
Does anyone on here have one, or used to have one, or have any experience with one? Would be my first Ducati so wanting to understand any foibles they may have. Also any advice on year and/or models to look for or avoid.
The one I rode was a 2013 ABS non-S model with 63,000km on it (39,300 miles). Supposedly has been really well maintained but haven't seen the books (dealer was busy and I wasn't in position to buy on the day so said I'd come back for a look another time). Is there any gotchas I should look out for in an example like that? I did notice some pulsing in brakes at low speeds/as I came to a stop so would look to negotiate new front discs and pads if it's not something worse (it wasn't during hard braking so I don't think it was ABS but then I've never ridden a bike with ABS before).
I did seriously consider one but everyone I've met who has owned one (about 6 or 7 people now) have said they're chopping it in due to reliability issues. Wasn't exactly enamoured with a lot of stories about snapping cranks either....... Shame, as it was really near the top of my list.
I had a 1200 S , 2014 MY. Was a very good bike apart from the fueling. Very lumpy around town. Went through 2 fuel senders and eventually gave up replacing it. ( common problem ) . Make sure if due that the desmo service has been done. As it’s a costly expense. Budget around 1K for this unless you can do it yourself or have a good indie to do for you.
1260 Multi owner here...
If your budget will stretch get the DVT 1200 engine bike. Smoother engine at lower rpm.
If your budget is looking even better, get the 1260. An improvement on the 1200 in a few ways.
I'd say proven service history is a must. Big Desmo service every 18K miles. New belts every 5 years.
Fuel senders, Ducati now on version G. I've just had 1 fitted to my bike, they warranty for 2 years.
If your budget will stretch get the DVT 1200 engine bike. Smoother engine at lower rpm.
If your budget is looking even better, get the 1260. An improvement on the 1200 in a few ways.
I'd say proven service history is a must. Big Desmo service every 18K miles. New belts every 5 years.
Fuel senders, Ducati now on version G. I've just had 1 fitted to my bike, they warranty for 2 years.
I had a 2013 1200S and really loved it. Had it for a year and apart from the usual fuel senders breaking (which just means the low fuel light was always on… I just reset the trip everytime I filled up), it was faultless… until the day I sold it. Guy who bought it from me started it with a handful of throttle and it really confused the bike. Ended up having to have the throttle position sensors sorted and a bunch of other stuff – cost £600 to fix. He kept in touch and said it cost him about £2-4k over the following year, then he got shot of it.
Shame, because in my ownership it really stuck two fingers up at the reliability concerns
Miss the rawness of the engine, the sharpness of the chassis. Had some amazing rides in Europe with it, cornering at silly speeds in Spain, Germany and France.
I do wonder how it'd feel if I back-to-backed it with my current 2021 KTM 1290 Super Adventure S...
Shame, because in my ownership it really stuck two fingers up at the reliability concerns
Miss the rawness of the engine, the sharpness of the chassis. Had some amazing rides in Europe with it, cornering at silly speeds in Spain, Germany and France.
I do wonder how it'd feel if I back-to-backed it with my current 2021 KTM 1290 Super Adventure S...
pcn1 said:
1260 Multi owner here...
If your budget will stretch get the DVT 1200 engine bike. Smoother engine at lower rpm.
If your budget is looking even better, get the 1260. An improvement on the 1200 in a few ways.
I'd say proven service history is a must. Big Desmo service every 18K miles. New belts every 5 years.
Fuel senders, Ducati now on version G. I've just had 1 fitted to my bike, they warranty for 2 years.
If your budget will stretch get the DVT 1200 engine bike. Smoother engine at lower rpm.
If your budget is looking even better, get the 1260. An improvement on the 1200 in a few ways.
I'd say proven service history is a must. Big Desmo service every 18K miles. New belts every 5 years.
Fuel senders, Ducati now on version G. I've just had 1 fitted to my bike, they warranty for 2 years.
TimmyWimmyWoo said:
I had a 2013 1200S and really loved it. Had it for a year and apart from the usual fuel senders breaking (which just means the low fuel light was always on… I just reset the trip everytime I filled up), it was faultless… until the day I sold it. Guy who bought it from me started it with a handful of throttle and it really confused the bike. Ended up having to have the throttle position sensors sorted and a bunch of other stuff – cost £600 to fix. He kept in touch and said it cost him about £2-4k over the following year, then he got shot of it.
Shame, because in my ownership it really stuck two fingers up at the reliability concerns
Miss the rawness of the engine, the sharpness of the chassis. Had some amazing rides in Europe with it, cornering at silly speeds in Spain, Germany and France.
Those are all the reasons I loved it too, but sounds like I might need to wait and bulk the budget up to afford a newer model.Shame, because in my ownership it really stuck two fingers up at the reliability concerns
Miss the rawness of the engine, the sharpness of the chassis. Had some amazing rides in Europe with it, cornering at silly speeds in Spain, Germany and France.
I've a 2014 1200 PP which I've put about 10k miles on.
Replaced the clutch slave cylinder (45 min job) replaced a fuel sender (hour and a half). Other than that its had routine servicing.
The DVT engines are certainly smoother, but I really like the delivery of the older motor having ridden all versions (excluding the V4).
They're a wonderful bike that cover a huge range of uses. Plenty fast and exciting enough, all day comfort one or two up.
I cant really add anything on reliability other than mine has been fine (long may that continue).
Replaced the clutch slave cylinder (45 min job) replaced a fuel sender (hour and a half). Other than that its had routine servicing.
The DVT engines are certainly smoother, but I really like the delivery of the older motor having ridden all versions (excluding the V4).
They're a wonderful bike that cover a huge range of uses. Plenty fast and exciting enough, all day comfort one or two up.
I cant really add anything on reliability other than mine has been fine (long may that continue).
Did some of the early ones also have issues with tanks swelling with ethanol and ultimately no longer sealing? The older, air cooled ones did, and this seemed to transfer to the early 1200s with plastic tanks made by Acerbis...
When I had an old Multistrada 1000 multistrada.net was an invaluable source of information.
When I had an old Multistrada 1000 multistrada.net was an invaluable source of information.
I was looking to buy a 2012 1200 recently but was put off for the following reasons:
- Fuel sender issues are incredibly common and annoying
- There's a spring in the shifter mechanism that can snap causing false neutrals - another common problem
- The early bikes had issues with the dash, when Ducati replace the dash they don't set the mileage to match the previous unit and think this is acceptable.
It's a shame because the engine and suspension are fantastic but if I'm buying a premium Ducati motorcycle I don't expect problems like the above (I know they're not known for reliability but they should be far cheaper if this is a known fact).
Went for a BMW GS instead and have never looked back.
- Fuel sender issues are incredibly common and annoying
- There's a spring in the shifter mechanism that can snap causing false neutrals - another common problem
- The early bikes had issues with the dash, when Ducati replace the dash they don't set the mileage to match the previous unit and think this is acceptable.
It's a shame because the engine and suspension are fantastic but if I'm buying a premium Ducati motorcycle I don't expect problems like the above (I know they're not known for reliability but they should be far cheaper if this is a known fact).
Went for a BMW GS instead and have never looked back.
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