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Baby Multi First Ride on a Ducati Multistrada 950

I had the chance to take the 2017 Ducati Multistrada 950 out today, a baby version of Ducati's all purpose touring motorcycle.

The weather was uncharacteristically warm for February, and I rode my Streetfighter up to Rockwell Cycles, to see if anyone else was out and about.

After hanging out with the new shop pup (Arthur?), who is fairly well-trained for 3 months old,
 I decided to take the new baby Multi out for a ride.
The Multistrada is Ducati's flagship adventure-touring machine, which is incredibly powerful with a 1200CC engine. I don't really care for the look of the bike, (not to mention they killed off my beloved Sport Touring line of STs about a decade ago), but there is no dispute that a Multistrada is not a versatile bike.
This year, Ducati launched a smaller model, with a 950CC engine, and about $6000 cheaper than the 1200.  The bike is actually taller than the bigger bike, but doesn't come with all the fancy electronics of the top-of-the-line 1200.
The bike is super-smooth, and the upright riding position is so comfortable, something I'm not used to on my Ducati superbikes.  As my brother-in-law describes his Cagiva Gran Canyon, "...the bike does everything right."  You can stand on the pegs for hours, but perhaps the biggest takeaway is that at 113hp, there is no lack of power. 

 In fact, I think this would be far more manageable than having a racebike engine on a long distance journey.  Overall, I really liked the new Multi, and perhaps I'll add one to my paddock next year.

After I got back, I met up with a friend Fred, who took me back on some slick, salty twisties on his Hypermotard SP over to 7 Lakes Drive.  Fred is a seriously good rider, who just came back from the Moto Tour Rally across the south of France. 
 © 2017Tigh Loughhead


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