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WER<br />
D u c a t i M u l t i s t r a d a E n d u r o<br />
PACKAGE<br />
Superbike power in a cross-country package<br />
A few years ago, we had the opportunity to ride<br />
the more road oriented Ducati Multistrada that we<br />
borrowed for a day from Moto Frisoli in Edenvale.<br />
At the time, the bike was significantly more<br />
expensive than any other adventure-ish machine<br />
out there - and we were a tad nervous about<br />
taking it anywhere that might cause bodily harm.<br />
This one is a proper adventure bike.<br />
Over the past 15 years or so “niche” brands,<br />
like Ducati, MV Agusta and KTM have gradually<br />
joined their European counterpart BMW to<br />
become mainstream players in the motorcycle<br />
industry. It is interesting to note the same process<br />
has taken place with many of the exotic car<br />
brands. Lamborghini in particular springs to mind<br />
because it and Ducati are now part of the VW-<br />
Audi-Porsche stable.<br />
With the launch of the new Ducati Multistrada<br />
Enduro, Ducati has released a bike that is just<br />
about on a Par with the cost of the other big<br />
adventure bikes out there. We have to make<br />
mention of the fact that Ducati JHB is one of the<br />
very few importers who have just about every<br />
bike available for demo purposes. Bums in seats<br />
sells bikes. Well done chaps. They gave us the<br />
Multistrada 1200 enduro for a day and we rode<br />
the wheels off the thing.<br />
So what makes this different to the regular<br />
Multistrada?<br />
Well - according to Ducati, the Multistrada<br />
1200 Enduro has 266 all new parts, and that<br />
excludes the nuts and bolts. The gearbox gets<br />
a more off-road friendly <strong>final</strong> gearing and new<br />
mapping. The new suspension is tuned for offroad<br />
riding, with 30mm more travel front and rear.<br />
The front Axle has been off-set, which gives the<br />
bike an additional degree of rake and four more<br />
millimetres of trail. The single sided swingarm is<br />
gone, exchanged for a beefier double sided unit<br />
with a new hub and redesigned rear brake system.<br />
All just for you adventure fundi’s.<br />
You’ll find a 17 inch spoked wheel out back<br />
with a 19 inch front, shod in the Pirelli Scorpion<br />
Rally Tyre. The wheels have traditional spokes,<br />
laced like BMW so that the wheels can use<br />
tubeless tyres. One feature that caught our eye<br />
was the absolutely gorgeous wheel hubs which<br />
are cast alloy and are intricately machined for<br />
lightness without compromising strength. If you<br />
are wondering how anyone could spend time<br />
admiring a wheel-hub, take a moment to look<br />
at the hubs on the next Multistrada you come<br />
across. Only Italians could have done this. Fuel<br />
capacity has been bumped up to 30 litres -<br />
perfect for long distances. We managed to ride<br />
DIRT & TRAIL MAGAZINE JULY 2016 45
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