Concours 14 Vs. Multistrada S Touring Edition - opinions ?

[expatbrit]

Great looking in that colour!
First mod suggestion:
Take a hairdryer to those dastardly frame stickers.  
Peel 'em off intact and stick 'em on the thoughtfully provided blank page in the owner's manual.

A year in, I got to do that.

[Cozye]

Brought her home today. What an absolutely great motorcycle. A blast to ride. Its taken me no time to get comfortable with it.

[martys]

Congrats! I love the new color. Unless you weigh 140 lbs, talk to your dealer about upgrading the springs right away. It will transform the bike into the ride it should have had on delivery. There's lots of info on the springs on Ducati.ms

Now go plan a long trip to break it in!

[wibornz]

Brought her home today. What an absolutely great motorcycle. A blast to ride. Its taken me no time to get comfortable with it.

If that is home, better lock it up quick in the garage before some crazy thief trys to steal it.  Man it is a wonder that there isn't bars on all the windows.  Opps maybe that's the wrong neighborhood that I am thinking about.     Just kidding sweet bike!!!!  Now ride the wheels off that dam thing and give us a 3,000 mile update on the bike in a couple weeks.  

[GTS_Rider]

Brought her home today. What an absolutely great motorcycle. A blast to ride. Its taken me no time to get comfortable with it.

Beautiful.

A bit jealous..., if that paint was available when I got mine, probably would have chosen that over black. Otherwise, everyone knows the Red ones and the White ones are for posers...    

I see you sprung for the matching top-box, good choice. Your wife or girlfriend will much appreciate that bit there when you wack the throttle...  

[Cozye]

Yes, I worked the top box in as part of a bargaining point to get the best deal possible. I definitely did not notice any huge difference with the top box on, even on some mildly curvy roads. Maybe on a super tight road like deals gap I would notice, but it's definitely not an issue. I was worried that it would affect the air flow and give the bike a bit of wobble at interstate speeds, but not at all. It's a good thing too, my laptop won't fit in the side cases.

She will be broken in very soon. I'll be away this weekend but It will be ready for the break in service by the end of next weekend for sure! It will be tough to baby it that long  

[wibornz]

baby it??????? Heat cycle that thing for break in.

[Biking Sailor]

Remember, break in should be done on roads with lots of curves and hills!  Enjoy.  

[dan88z]

Nice! congrats on the new ride!

[Cozye]

Yes, I always break them in by riding different roads, not steady rpm, heat cycle, etc.. The dealer said not to go over 6000rpms though. Thats the babying I was referring too  

[ConPilot1]

Whoa that's beautiful. I like that color. Good luck with it!

[dietDrThunder]

On the commuting, first we don't lane split. Second there isn't much traffic to speak of and I park in a garage with plenty of space. Additionally, the MTS 1200 is very light, fairly narrow and feels great.

Who's 'we?' I lived in Lousiville for 4 years and I split lanes like a mofo the whole time!

Yes, I always break them in by riding different roads, not steady rpm, heat cycle, etc.. The dealer said not to go over 6000rpms though. Thats the babying I was referring too  

Bah...I bought a new Duc 800SS to race in 08. It got broken in at Tally that Feb...first rolled out for practice with 0.8 miles on the odo. I did keep it under 5k that session, then under 6k the next. After that I rode it like I stole it, and it was a good one Love that motor.

Can't wait to hear stories about your new bike...very cool!

[Cozye]

Hi Dave,
It's Eric Murray, WERA Ex 696  

[Cowboy 6]

Picked up mine last week. Pushing 900 miles already. Enjoy!

[Motozeke]

That graphite looks great... second best color after black.  

My bike has been trouble free for over 9,000 miles since I bought it last June. I have a 29" inseam and I suffered through the low seat for several months before putting the stock seat back on. I'm definitely on my tippy-toes but as is often said, tall bikes just take an adjustment. I do appreciate the seat height when I'm on the go, as the position feels really commanding on the open road... you can see everything.

When my Scorpion Trails ran down I replaced them with an Angel ST on the rear and a Diablo Rosso II on the front (I wanted the PR3's on both, but had to run with what the dealer had in stock). Handling has *markedly* improved. Even in spirited riding, the rear has not yet broken loose, which used to happen frequently with the Scorpion Trail.

During my break in period, I had about a dozen instances of stalling in downshifts. It went away within the first 600 miles.

False neutrals... lots on this bike. Shift with authority and they aren't a problem.

Wind noise with the optional touring screen was pretty offensive above 70 mph. I replaced it with a Cee Bailey screen and it was a definite improvement, but as you'll find around the boards noise on this bike is an issue that never really goes away. Some guys have tried a number of different screens and just ended up cutting it down substantially. More wind blast, but cleaner flow.

One upside of having a taller screen is that I can stand rail straight on the bike and it gets blissfully quiet. This bike is *amazingly* comfortable to stand and ride on... maybe not so much if you have longer legs but for me it's just about my favorite riding position. I only do it in spurts because I can't see the mirrors, cornering is dicey and if I had to brake hard I'd go right through the windscreen.  

The top case is AWESOME, can fit two helmets side by side. The exhaust side pannier is just about useless, and the opposite is just large enough for my full face but there's only one position it fits in.

Only other gripe is that cruise control isn't even an option. Get with the program Duc!

Absolutely adore this bike. Going on a Central California tour in April and a six National Park camping tour in May. Can't wait.  

[Cozye]

As soon as I got the bike home, I had to go out of town for the weekend. All I've been thinking about is getting back home tomorrow and riding it! I've not felt this way about a new bike in a long time

[Bottomdog]

The Multi is by and far the more athletic of the 2. The Concours is the steadier steed but no slouch! As already mentioned weight plays a big factor when comparing these two. Having test rode both and ending up with the Multi for my purposes I am very happy with my choice. The one thing the Concours had was better was wind protection. Ending up with the Duc i had to get a better shield for wind. I had to get a comfier saddle but this is not the norm for most. The shocks on the Multi worked fine but under-sprung for me being 240 lbs w/o gear so I opted for stiffer springs as it was also a big improvement for 2up with heavier people. Total $400 in parts for front and rear and 2 hrs labor for install and thats it. I've been happy ever since. I use it for every thing! Urban riding, groceries, laptop, camping, twistys and road trips. It's forever peppy and handles fine at lower rpm's. It's so easy to ride it makes me feel like a better rider than I likely am. I constantly use most of the riding modes as the road conditions change for comfort and it has yet to fail me. I have the 'S' version but you can get them w/o the fancy Ohlins suspension and do the typical manual adjustments, abs or no abs but traction control on all and can be easily adjusted for your desired intrusion level. Every mode can be entirely customized to your liking I.E. the HP(150 high, 150 low or 100hp), traction control and the abs can be disengaged but has to be done every time the bike is shut down. A pain for some but I never shut mine off or care to. The Concours rode just fine. equally comfy but you sit more in than on the bike. Handling was good but it's nearly 200 lbs heavier weight is a world of difference. I also tested the BMW 1200 GS as it was more nimble than the concours but not as the Multi. The beemer lacked the spirit of the other 2 but was quite comfy. The Concours was quite fast but the Multi left me blown away and was affordable for me. This Duc also has better service intervals the Ducs previous which ended up sealing the deal for me! Hope this helps.......