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Multistrada 1260 Top Speed - Stock

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16K views 15 replies 8 participants last post by  DarR  
#1 · (Edited)
What's the measured top speed of a stock Multistrada 1260 w/ (15/40) ?
GPS is best as the speedometer is overstated by 5%.
P.S. 1200's also.
Post your photos or video link if you have'em.
 
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#4 ·
I thought I had a problem!

I took my new-ish (8000 km) 2018 1260 ST in to the dealer because it won't redline in 5th or 6th gear. This just didn't seem right to me. I could get it up to about 8200 rpm in both 5th (about 235 km/hr) and 6th (about 250 km/hr) but no higher. I wondered if it was a speed limit thing or a fuel problem. On that ride I was going pretty hard in 2nd and 3rd for about 1 hour keeping revs between 7000 and 9000 on a great back road out to the west coast of Vancouver Island. My low fuel light came on just as I was heading home so I figured I used about twice as much fuel as on the several previous trips. I thought I had a significant fueling problem and the dealer installed an ECU update, calibrated the throttle and checked all electronic settings.

I took it out to test and got the same result although the fuel consumption seemed generally better. I took it back and the dealer dyno-ed it yesterday and apparently it went to redline in all gears.

Is this some kind of speed limiter issue or a constricted breathing/exhaust characteristic of a stock Multistrada. At redline in 5th I think it would do about 175 km/hr and in 6th probably close to 300 km/hr.

I typically don't ride this fast (don't want to lose my bike and go to jail) but I want to make sure my machine is running up to spec.
 
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#5 ·
AlexApostoli said:
I took my new-ish (8000 km) 2018 1260 ST in to the dealer because it won't redline in 5th or 6th gear. This just didn't seem right to me. I could get it up to about 8200 rpm in both 5th (about 235 km/hr) and 6th (about 250 km/hr) but no higher. I wondered if it was a speed limit thing or a fuel problem. On that ride I was going pretty hard in 2nd and 3rd for about 1 hour keeping revs between 7000 and 9000 on a great back road out to the west coast of Vancouver Island. My low fuel light came on just as I was heading home so I figured I used about twice as much fuel as on the several previous trips. I thought I had a significant fueling problem and the dealer installed an ECU update, calibrated the throttle and checked all electronic settings.

I took it out to test and got the same result although the fuel consumption seemed generally better. I took it back and the dealer dyno-ed it yesterday and apparently it went to redline in all gears.

Is this some kind of speed limiter issue or a constricted breathing/exhaust characteristic of a stock Multistrada. At redline in 5th I think it would do about 175 km/hr and in 6th probably close to 300 km/hr.

I typically don't ride this fast (don't want to lose my bike and go to jail) but I want to make sure my machine is running up to spec.
Click to expand...
The Multi has a big cross section and is an aerodynamically very dirty bike. I'm not surprised it can't rev out in 5th and 6th.
 
#6 ·
I rode across Ontario last year and got three speeding tickets......so clearly too fast for Law Enforcement.

Clearly there are lots of factors...... with or without bags......windshield height......fuel type....tires....rider position.....etc
 
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#7 ·
The mechanically limited top speed of an MTS 1260 is roughly 165MPH. That's using the primary, 6th gear ratio, and final drive ratio data provided off the Ducati website, with a standard 17" tire. So unless you either do gear work or raise the engine RPM, you aren't going much faster than that even if you added a 100HP shot of nitrous.

How close you can get to that theoretical maximum is a function of many things, as previously stated. The Multistrada is a big brick of a motorcycle, with a lot of air between the body and the ground. Not a good recipe for high speed.
 
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#8 ·
I thought I had a problem!

OK, thanks, all great points. I was tucked with windshield low but I am 6' & 210 lb., so yes, a big "dirty" cross sectional area. Thanks for the input to all of you. The fact that it does redline in all gears on the dyno has me satisfied that all is well. I am looking into a stealth installed NetRadar DSP + ALPriority laser radar detector/jamming system, hopefully that and some common sense will keep me out of trouble.
 
T
#11 ·
Having the bike on a dyno elliminates any wind resistance, so it easily redlines on both 5th and 6th. This is expected. On the road however, you have the wind AND the front wheel rolling resistance (the first being the most important factor). As other have already mentioned, the Multi, for a host of reasons, is not an aerodynamic bike. It's tall, it's heavy (compared to street bikes) and it has a wide aerodynamic footprint. All these factors contribute to not being able to redline in 5th/6th gear. Do ride with the wind on your back and you will reach 10K RPM in 5th (not in 6th as it was designed to be overdrive).

If you consult gearing commander, you would never get 300km/h on this bike. It was never geared/able to do that (maybe on a dyno and maybe on the dash)

So, don't worry about it :)
 
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