VOL. 54 ISSUE 4 JANUARY 31, 2017 P71
I
t had to happen. After Pierre Terblanche
conceived the Multistrada for Ducati back
in 2003 as an innovative blend of super-
moto, street enduro and sports tourer pow-
ered by an air-cooled 1000DS desmodue
engine, it was followed two years later by a
620cc junior version that was a good seller
for the Italian firm, as being more acces-
sible and quite a bit less expensive.
But after Ducati completely revamped
the model in 2010 as a supersport adven-
ture tourer by launching the Multistrada
1200, it's failed, until now, to produce the
junior sized version that's seemed for so
long to be such an obvious addition to its
range. That became especially moot after
it debuted an engine one year ago which
was seemingly destined to power such a
bike, in the shape of the 937cc version of
the Testastretta 11° motor launched in the
2016 Hypermotard 939, and now also to
be found in the new-for-2017 SuperSport.
Well, better late than never, Ducati has now
produced the new Multistrada 950, un-
veiled in November at Milan's EICMA Show,
and after a 140-mile day spent caning it
over Fuerteventura's excellent traffic-free
Canary Island roads infused with volcanic
lava for super grip, and offering a great
variety of riding from fast highway cruising
to carving corners climbing the side of an
extinct volcano, all I can say is that I reckon
it was worth waiting for!
BY ALAN CATHCART
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MILAGRO
Ducati's new junior
version of the
Multistrada, the 950 is
a go-anywhere sports
tourer. It's the first
downsized version of
the best-selling family
since 2010.
Ducati's
"little"
Multistrada
hits the
streets
WORTH WAITING FOR?
