VOL. 53 ISSUE 44 NOVEMBER 8, 2016 P65
DUCATI 1200
MULTISTRADA ENDURO
4
TH
PLACE
T
his year was significant for
Ducati in that it was the time
they truly attacked the pre-
dominately dirt side of the ADV
category. The Multistrada had
always been capable of going
off road, but now with a proper
dirt-focused 19-inch front wheel,
it finally had the chops to take it
to the established ADV stars.
It was good to see the Ducati
had lost almost none of its on-
road prowess in being enduro-
ized, with all the testers praising
how good the chassis balance
and engine power delivery were
on the street. Despite being
by far the heaviest in the test,
the Ducati's poise off road was
surprising and it more than held
its own on average fire roads—
only when we started to get into
some really technical areas did
the Ducati begin to lose touch
with the other bikes as the
weight made low-speed maneu-
vering a touch difficult.
The Ducati's engine was a
talking point. Despite being
derived from a superbike, the 11°
motor's initial throttle response
in Enduro mode was too soft
in the dirt and not as direct as
the KTM or the BMW, both of
which also have variable engine
modes compared to the single
mode on the Honda. Get it
wound up on the road, how-
ever, and it's easy to see where
the Ducati's engine heritage
lies—it's damn fast.
(Top) Mission control: the Ducati's
electronic options are many and
confusing. (Bottom) Solid under-
body construction gave the Ducati
some points.
