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395 Posts
While I've owned and enjoyed my Multistrada for a few years now, it still has certain unnecessary features meant to make it similar to a BMW R1200GS. You have to tiptoe on an R1200GS, and there's a purpose and reason for it. There's no practical reason why I have to tiptoe around parking lots on my Multistrada. The beak on the BMW serves a specific function; the Multistrada's is decorative.
Development of the Multistrada has gone in a direction so that there's no hope of it remotely being a resurrection of the ST-series: A sportbike with a few tweaks to turn it into a capable tourer. Kawasaki just did it with the H2 SX, so it's not exactly impossible.
And then it occurred to me: build a new ST based around the new V-4. I bet such a bike would be a hit. With a normal ride height, it would remain a true sport tourer, and all y'all who've refused to accept the Multistrada (which is a great sport tourer, but does it in it's own unique, non-traditional way) would see the spiritual return of the ST. Bet you'd see some conquest sales from the Honda Interceptor crowd, and with 220+hp, it would make quite a statement regarding Ducati performance and granturismo riding.
And since the styling would have to be part of the Panigale/Supersport family, if done right it'd be one hell of a beautiful machine.
Downside is having 4-cylinders; I own Ducatis because I love twins. But the Desmosedici Stradale is reasonably lumpy, and it's a platform from which Ducati could legitimately build a new ST4 - something that will never happen with the Testastretta series.
Development of the Multistrada has gone in a direction so that there's no hope of it remotely being a resurrection of the ST-series: A sportbike with a few tweaks to turn it into a capable tourer. Kawasaki just did it with the H2 SX, so it's not exactly impossible.
And then it occurred to me: build a new ST based around the new V-4. I bet such a bike would be a hit. With a normal ride height, it would remain a true sport tourer, and all y'all who've refused to accept the Multistrada (which is a great sport tourer, but does it in it's own unique, non-traditional way) would see the spiritual return of the ST. Bet you'd see some conquest sales from the Honda Interceptor crowd, and with 220+hp, it would make quite a statement regarding Ducati performance and granturismo riding.
And since the styling would have to be part of the Panigale/Supersport family, if done right it'd be one hell of a beautiful machine.
Downside is having 4-cylinders; I own Ducatis because I love twins. But the Desmosedici Stradale is reasonably lumpy, and it's a platform from which Ducati could legitimately build a new ST4 - something that will never happen with the Testastretta series.