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We
call it the Multistrada Competitizone, Ducati just calls it the
Multistrada with selected Sport Accessories. Chandi calls it red
hot and sexy and ready to romp!
Exclusive
First USA Test!
SBK
Fast Dates Calendar Girl goes wild
Chandi
Mason practices her multi tasking on the new
Ducati Multistrada 04 1000DS
With Chandi Mason
Official SBK FastDates.com World Superbike and Ducati Corse Umbrella
Girl
June 2003: Multistrada, loosely translated, means
“all roads” or “many roads” -a fairly
bold statement of intent. And by extension we have to surmise
this is a bike for all reasons. Ducati did intend for the Multistrada
to be all things for all people. Take a dual purpose bike big
twin, mount sportbike suspension and wheel/brake assemblies on
it and hit the pavement.
Legend has
it there is a road that starts from Bologna near the Ducati factory
and weaves its way over the Apennine Mountains to Florence. It
is called Passo della Futa and it is the birthplace of the Multistrada.
The “Futa” as it is known by locals, has become a
sacred destination for motorcyclists from all over Italy (forget
the Pope and the Vatican). The road challenges you with every
type of turn and road surface imaginable. For much of its 30 miles,
the tarmac is smooth and race-track-like. Knee down, eyes up,
you sweep through the most extreme hairpins. Further on, road
conditions vary dramatically (like downtown San Francisco?) from
wet in the shadows to bumpy in the turns. Speeds slow as rugged
mountain switchbacks swing you from side to side.
Ducat engineers
have long dreamed of creating the ideal to rise to the challenges
of the Futa Pass. That bike is the Multistrada. Chief engineer
Pierre Terblanche had initially described the bike to us and showed
us his first prototype pictures back at Ducati Revs USA in October
2001.
Not since
Yamaha’s legendary DT1 250cc 2-stroke single trail bike
from 1969 has their been such a concept bike. A bike that our
publisher endlessly tells us he use to roadrace on Saturday, motocross
or scrambles race on Sunday, and then ride to work during the
week. That concept of a do everything motorcycle was soon lost
in the age of specialization and the growing power of the motorcycle
media where fickled motojournalists beriddled or ignored any bike
that was less than cutting edge perfect for an intended purpose,
the readers and manufacturers reacted and the public soon found
itself without any universal or any entry level motorccyles in
America.
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It
would take a small manufacturer like Ducati, run by serious
motorcycle enthusiasts at its heart, to re-invent the multi-purpose
bike some 35 years later. The same manufacturer that has
humbled the world’s major manufacturers at their own
game in World Championship Superbike and MotoGP roadracing.
But is the MultiStrada pure genius, or is it a Jack-of-All-Trades
and Master-of-None?
To
see what an important role the Multistrada will play in
the future on Ducati, the bike’s press introduction
to America took place at the ritzy Laguna Cliff’s
Marriott Resort in Dana Point, CA. It was attended by all
the Ducati top brass including Ducati Motor president Frederico
Minoli from Italy, Andrea Foreni their chief test engineer,
Pirelli ‘stop tire technician, and all the new management
from Ducati North America including Michael Locke general
manager, John Porter director of marketing, and press dude
Joey Madrigal.
The
fact that all the top brass including company president
Frederico joined us on our Friday morning press blast up
Ortega highway in the rain shows that Ducati is back in
the capable hands of true sportbike enthusiasts
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Frederico
Minoli address the assembled multitudes from the moto media
about Multistrada. |
With a seat
height of 850mm (33.5 ins.) the MultiStrada is tall, and it is
a bitch to get your leg over it. But once in the saddle the long
travel suspension settles to it’s ride height and you can
just touch the ground. Front wheel travel is 6.5 ins./ Rear is
5.6 ins. compared to the Ducati 999 Superbike at 4.7 / 5.0 ins.
Once on board and moving all the ungainley height is almost forgotten.
Flick on
the ignition switch and the digital dashboard springs to life,
the engine springs instantly to a smooth idle without the need
to fiddle with a choke lever or the throttle. That duty is taken
care of by a plunger in the injectors operated by a stepper motor
that is told what to do by and advanced new ECU system employed
by Ducati that makes quicker calculations than ever before from
all its sensors on the engine and its pherifrial systems. The
“carburetion” and ridability proved to be incredibly
perfect whether the engine was cold or hot, in any riding situation
from sea level up into the mountains along Ortega Highway.
We call
it the Multistrada Bagger, Ducati just calls it the Multistrada
with selected Tour Accessories. Chandi calls it a perfect date
for her dream vacation ride up the Pacific Coast Highway or down
through the Smokey Mountains. Note the taller Windscreen, Hand
Warmers, lockable Hard Luggage, and the forged Marchesinni 12
spoke wheels.
The 1000DS
motor is extreamely quiet for an air cooled design. Note the
fuel injectors in the cam cover, feeding fuel directly into
the combustion chamber. Spark plugs on both side of the heads,
shown poking through the belt cam covers here. |
This
is pretty trick stuff for what is basicly an old style 2-valve
air-cooled motor in a trellis frame. But there’s a
lot more to it than that. This is an all-new 90 degree 1000cc
dual spark (DS) Desmo twin that’s also finding gainful
employment in the big Monster and the 1000DS Supersport.
The DS designation implies there are 2 spark plugs per cylinder
an that, combined with a narrower valve angle allowing a
more optimal combustion chamber design with bigger valves,
improves efficiency and performance. The engine is rated
at 84 horsepower at 8000 rpm, with 62 ft. lbs. of torque
at 5000 rpm which feels like a smooth, broad plateau of
cruising power in any gear.
The
power is more than enough for most riding situations, but
once in the roadracing mode at higher speeds you will need
to start dancing with the flawless 6-speed transmission.
Our test bike was brand new with just 4 miles on the digital
readout when we left on our 3 hour test ride through town
and then up into the mountains. It instantly felt like an
old friend idling through town, then bouncing off the rev
limiter as we attacked the twisty highways. Break in? What's
that? |
This is the
standard Multistrada, sans accessories, available in Ducati Red
or the 2-tone Silver/Grey shown here. Note the new lightweight
wheels that eliminate the brake rotor carriers by mounting the
floating rotors directly to the wheel's lattice hub design on
front. Plush seats for rider and passeger with grab handle. Front
turn signals mount inside rear view mirrors.
One note,
the Ducati Multistrada Press Intro brought us to our first ride
on Southern California’s "famed" Ortega Highway,
which we soon discovered really sucks as a sportbike road with
far too much traffic, not too many good corners or any safe runoff
areas. Our condolences go out to the locals there who have to
ride Ortega for their adrenaline fixes. Being from north of Los
Angeles we are spoiled rotten with the myriad of traffic-free,
endless miles oflow and high speed canyon roads in the Santa Monica
and Angeles Forest mountains. Plus there's a lot of great great
roads in Northern California like Skyline Drive near San Francisco
and Ducati NA’s offices in Cupertino.
Continued
Next Page • Ducati
Multistrada page One
• Two •
Three • Multistrada
S page Four
Added
bonus! Chandi and Ducati Multistrada FastDates.com Screensavers
Click on the links to these pics and then save to your computer
hard drive. You'll
find more pictures and profile features of Chandi and Robin in
Meet the
Models and in Members
Corner.
Chandi
tests the Multistrada: Page
One • Page
Two • Page 3
• Robin Page 4
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2003 • Ducati
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