Cycle News

Cycle News 2015 Issue 16 April 21

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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VOL. 52 ISSUE 16 APRIL 21, 2015 P59 BY ALAN CATHCART PHOTOGRAPHY BY GIGI SOLDANO T he Multistrada has been a seriously profitable model for Ducati over the past decade. And current manage- ment should be thanking the dogmatic intent that inspired its then-chief designer Pierre Terblanche to push through the creation of the first such proto- type to carry that name back in 2002. Created by him away from the Ducati factory at the IDEA De- sign studio in Turin, and pow- ered by the air-cooled 1100DS desmodue motor, it took almost three years to reach produc- tion. That's mainly because the South African designer conceived it very much against the wishes of certain members of Ducati staff (probably the same people who didn't think the company should be doing cruisers any more than sports tourers, when it came to con- cocting the Diavel). After Terblanche's departure in 2007 the Multistrada was completely revamped by the Italian firm's current design chief Gianandrea Fabbro to encompass a revised version of the 1198 Testrastretta Su- perbike motor with RBW (Ride By Wire) throttle, selectable engine mapping, eight-stage traction control and 11-degrees valve overlap (reduced from 41 degrees) for greater flexibility and all-round performance. On its 2009 Milan Show launch, the Multistrada 1200 was a bold step into the unknown for the Italian marque, and essentially created a whole new motor- cycling sub-category with its blend of adventure bike styling, generous suspension travel, Building On The Best DUCATI'S NEW MULTISTRADA 1200S—BUILT TO TAKE ON ITS GROWING LIST OF SPORT- TOURING CHALLENGERS

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