[SFDuc]

Beautiful bike. Will trade in my ST3 when they are available. Few questions for the experts:

1. Anyone with photoshop skills want to take a crack at what the prob would look like if it were painted body color?

2. Is that a digital tach? Not good.

3. Is the screen too narrow?

4. Think it wil be reliable right out of the box, or do you expect the first year to have kinks to work out?

5. Opinions about the tires?

 

[PhilipMSPT]

1) No photoshop skills here. You want to see which panels painted with the body color? The beak?

2) Digital tach is fine. My Monster 1100 has it. No problems with it.

3) The screen looks narrow, but I will have to feel it. The current Multistrada's screen is somewhat low, and it's not any wider than what we see in the new Multistrada. If the new Multistrada's is tall, it may work just fine.

4) I don't want to jinx it, but I'm expecting a few bugs in the first model year, especially with the more complex electronics. The old Multistrada 1000 had some unfixable bugs, such as the inaccurate gas guage and expanding gas tank issue.

5) Stock tires are fine for sporty riding (hey, it IS a Ducati first and foremost). However, for the "enduro mode", a knobby tire will be more appropriate.

 

[Monty777]

The 3 bikes on the stand all had different screens on them-so there are options, both higher and wider. Since the screen has about 3" of vertical adjustment I will wait until I ride the bike and fiddle with the screen height before I buy an alternative.
Digital dash is fine by me-I use one on my 450R/T and it works fine-and that one shows speed, revs, engine temp, ambient temp, mileage, trip, time, elapsed time.
The basic engine design has been around for ever, and the 1198 varient for a couple of years-so no I am not expecting any real problems. Also Ohlins has been developing the adjustable suspension for a long time so again I wouldn't expect and majors. Ducati probably leads the two wheeled world in electronics so again I expect that they will have got it right.

John

 

[SFDuc]

Yea, I meant proboscis - nose. The beak. Maybe the better alternative is an after market shorter one, but I think the black looks OK so I was wondering what it would look like if it was red.

The ST3 has an analog tach but an LCD next to it with the computer display. I think that is the best setup, but will live with the digital tach. It just reminds me of some of those '80's Japanese talking cars.

 

[mxwinky]

Given the long gestation period for this bike, I think Ducati has taken their time in developing it and I'd be very surprised if any significant issues come up with it reliability-wise. The Testastretta has proven to be anvil-like reliable and trouble free for anyone who takes even the slightest care of it. Though the new 1200 looks to be a technical tour-de-force in electronics for Ducati, none of the technology is radically new or untested. They've had traction control available now for a couple of years without any troubles, and the electronic suspension adjustment system was developed by Ohlins so it should be well sorted too. About the only issue I'd expect to see is the typical Euro3-compliant fueling that inevitably is too lean down low and can be a bit surgy and offer the occasional pop through the airbox. I'm betting that the usual Termi/ECU swap (you know it'll be available) will make it smooth as silk and sound the part. I'm going for one asap!

 

[Moronic]

I suspect part of the point developing the "11-degree" engine and the "Urban" ECU map is to sort that low-speed running issue properly.

Ducati claims the 11-deg valve overlap motor cuts the output of unburnt hydrocarbons 65pc, presumably cf the Superbike version. We can guess much of the cut is from decreasing the amount of raw intake mixture going straight out the exhaust port. If that's so, then we can also guess they can run the mixture a bit richer than on the Superbike and get the same emissions number.

I'm not sure how the "Urban" map contributes but will hazard another guess: the map's 'break points' are concentrated toward the lower end of the rev and throttle ranges, giving more precise low-speed fuelling. Could it also help if the map retarded the timing a bit compared with where you would want in in that area for "sports" riding? Don't know but it sounds plausible.

Here's hoping, anyway. As profitable as it may seem for them, Ducati must know it does not excite buyers to learn they will need to shell out big dollars for a replacement ECU for their brand new and expensive bike.

As for the digital tacho - with this engine, I doubt it will be an issue.