I've got a 2018 1260s with 17000 miles on it. Has been reliable so far. Now coming up for desmo service a days work and have been told will cost nearly a grand. So take this into consideration if doing long miles. The multistrada engine is it's strong point is so rewarding loves being revved and sounds awesome. All day comfort as well and I'm 6ft 4". Gearbox is awkward to start with but loosens up at around 1000 miles. I previously had a ZZR1400 this is every bit as exciting even more so in the twisties. Also very practical. If you want to pootle around this is not for you as quite vibey at low revs. But if you want a comfortable sporty experience give this a go. Also people nod at you and you are in a more exclusive club unlike the GS
TBF the price of the desmo service is 2 to 3 hundred pounds more expensive than the Tiger 800 12k or 24k services. Doesn't seem that much more when you consider how much more bike you are getting?
Just completed 10k kms on my 2020 1260s GT...what a superb bike...also just replaced the OEM tyres with Michelin Road 5’s...they are a significant improvement in handling and particularly turning.
Looking forward to the next episode, particularly with the Multi at Silverstone! Enjoyed chatting to you there. Thanks, Jon, white Multi at Ducati Trackday
I bought the 1200S in 2010 and it was the best motorcycle I’ve ever owned. The latest version has all the improvements that we wanted. My next one will be a 1200S Pikes Peak.👍🏻
I bought one of those early Multistrada machines, great fun to ride but for me a nightmare to own. Mine spent longer back at Ducati Coventry than in my garage. 13,000 miles in 18 months returned under warranty 7 times! Wouldn't buy another Ducati, lost so much on that bike which I chopped for a Speed Triple when I could take no more of its abysmal reliability.
Be interested to see it over a long weekend away up to Scotland and around the NC500. No journo special B&B jaunt a proper weekend away with all the camping gear on the back too.
Looking forward to more like this and sad as some might think it is, I have a Givi Trekker Outback 58 litre for the back of my T120 and a set of travel fly tackle that will fit inside it for my trout fishing trips. More bike reviews should include how it is for a passenger, some do have partners that like to accompany them.
Looking forward to your detailed review of this particular bike John, as I am putting together a very short list of bikes that I will choose as my last bike. Currently have the BMW R1250GS, Ducati 950s, Tiger 1200 and Vstrom 1050XT. I am only allowed one (bugger), so I naturally follow your reviews and compare my observations to yours when I test ride a bike. As usual mate, I will usually concur with everything that you say about a particular bike. Thanks for all the information you have provided to me (and thousands of other's no doubt), over the past years. Keep up the terrific work brother, and G'day from Nth Queensland, Australia. Stay safe.
Interesting to see what you think this bike always seems to be overlooked by the journalists. I’ve recently test ridden the grand tour and us used 1200 and I was blown away by how good they were. The bmw XR, GS and Honda AT seem to get all the love.
I picked up a leftover 2016 S Touring last fall and it's the best bike I've ever owned... I will never have it on anything more off-road than the occasional dirt road, but for just about every other purpose, it definitely lives up to the name. My only wish is that it had the factory ducati quickshifter+blipper, oh well, it was about 8k CAD off of MSRP.
I know the vid is about the Multistrada but that Transit is a great tool to have, I bought one a few years ago with the high roof, brilliant for shifting a couple of bikes over to the Alps or Spain. Also great for collecting broken down bikes. Not so keen on the Ducati but had a bad ownership experience with an early 1200S! Hopefully you guys will tell me the newer bikes are super reliable.
I can't wait. This will be very helpful as just ordered mine so a perspective from the media will be very interesting. As I live on guernsey a slow speed, day to day commute through traffic will be of great benefit. Will it need a remap? Time will tell. Couldn't of come at a better time for me. Looking forward to this. 👍
@bikeworld So a couple of months on now and do you still think the 950S is the better strada? I test rode the 950s and thought is was great and have now ridden the new BMW S1000XR as a possible alternative but felt it to be a bit clinical and soulless (Great bike almost to good and stupid fast) Next job is the ride the 1260s. Still reading about reliability issues with Ducati's which makes me nervous for what is a big chunk of change.
@@BikeWorldTVshow service light and engine lights are different things, this is an engine light, wich is not good nor normal. Nice to see Ducati still honoring that Italian tradition in 2020....
How about a four stop day tour of Orvis stores that sell fly fishing kit, starting in London's Regent Street, then Stockbridge (very pretty and decent roads), then Sherbourne in Dorset (ditto), up to Bath and and then home? If Jeep could do an Orvis edition, then Ducati could too...BTW you are a very engaging presenter. Love your work.
It would be nice to compare it to the old one on a trip or some kind of “adventure to go fishing haha” (I have a 2012) and I’m pondering on upgrading to the 1260. I’ll be watching all the content you do with that beauty! Have fun!
Do you still think the 950S is a more practical version in terms of making the most out of its abilities or being able to use it to its full potential on the road? How do you think it would fair if I was to take it on a fishing trip in North Devon? :)
I have heard these 1260 engines eat oil, more so when sitting flat revs on the motorway, i do love these bikes, its on the wishlist amongst other bikes
I’ve got a 1260s and did just over 18,000 miles on her last year. Yes they do eat up oil, to put it into perspective though I did a 2300 mile trip to Scotland last September (I live I the South East of England) and it used 1 litre of oil. Maybe that is excessive?, but manageable. Also I’ve just had the first desmo service done (bike has 19,000 miles on her now) and no adjustments or replacement shims were needed. So maybe the perceived oil issue is just part of the bikes character..and I love mine! 👌
I love these real world reviews, so much more informative than over-produced bike launches. After a major heart incident 18 months ago I needed to downsize my R1200RT. The MS was a candidate, but like the RT still weighed 3x my body weight. I'd been advised by an ex police instructor mate to go down the Ducati route after doing my IAM. I rode the Monster S and MS950 the same day, but got hooked by the Monster. Sensibly, with a dodgy ticker, I plumped for the R. In sports mode. I'll still enjoy your thoughts though, the best real world road tester on YT IMHO. Exam question: why on earth would buy a GS when you can have the MS?
Got my eye on one of these. Found the 950 more flickable but only got to ride a 1260 in the wet so couldn’t chuck it around and didn’t get to play with settings on test ride. Can you set this up minus bags to have serious fun in hooligan mode or is it more of a ‘gentleman’s express’? The 950 with its 19” front wheel ends up a bit tall for my little legs. Cheers
Very interested to hear your views on the MTS1260s, I’ve had mine since December and funnily enough I’m off on a trip to North Devon and Cornwall during the week of 6th July...you need to come along! 😉👍
its just a 1260 S with different paint. The paint is very good though! A little bit disappointed as this must be the last ever ducati multistrada V2 and it doesnt have the fancy wheels. useless tires still on his bike from factory why ducati give it up, no body will take their ducati to do offroad unless its a made to go to off road like enduro model. this is a very capable road bike.
Is it worth the leap from 950 to 1260? Can you get a knee down? Probably worth mentioning the 4 year unlimited warranty on the bike, seeming as my 2017 950 is suffering with a corroded swing arm.... Devasted as its just out of it's warranty period. 😭 But otherwise, I absolutely love the thing. 👌🏼
How is the power band compared to the monster 1200s? I'm about to upgrade from that to the pikes peak. I test rode it thru the first few gears but couldn't get an opportunity to test ride at higher speeds
It would be interesting to compare the original 1000ds with this new one. Apart from the looks from the front (looks good from any angle except the front) I really liked my old 1000ds but I guess the new one is a lifetime better. A used 1000ds is cheap for a Ducati, so does the new one justify the money difference? Is it worth me taking finance or would I be equally happy with another 1000ds and zero debt?
For the price 24.000 € as it costs in my country Slovenia, the bike has to be amazing but I dont know if it is worth 12.000 € more than my Vstrom 1000 XT. Sure it is all down to your budget.
I test rode one a few weeks ago and felt a lot of vibration through the seat when hard on the throttle, would love to hear what your experience has been!
PistolPete63 - I have 7k miles on my 1260. I have never noticed any bad vibes from either the seat or bars unless I am lugging it around(less than 3200 rpm)
For a big twin, it seemed to cope pretty well at those urban speeds you were doing - how did you find the fuelling at 20-30, 30-40? Any hunting/surging?
As a Monster 1100 Evo owner, I experienced low speed rough running until I had the ECU reflashed, which transformed its behaviour at town speeds. I wondered if this was still an issue - especially with having to comply with more stringent Euro 5 regulations. Also, as this is a long term test bike, would Ducati let you reflash it (assuming it's possible?).
It’s a factory fit accessory on this bike, Greg. It pops off and on with no problems and (considering I hate sat nav) is a very good system so far. I’m impressed.
Will be interesting to see what build quality and reliability will be. Have Ducati finally built something that won't leave you at the side of the road?? Lol.😄😄
Why did Ducati put such a tiny windscreen on this bike? If you're going to do touring of any sort, you'll wish you had a real windscreen that lowers the wind noise in your helmet and keeps the rain off you when the weather turns bad. The side cases also look small in comparison to the BMW cases.
Workhorse??? I wouldn't mind having a Ducati Multistrada 1260S GT as a workhorse. If you get bored, get in touch and I'll help you out with putting a few miles on it.
@@BikeWorldTVshow That must be the case. Bike has 684 miles on the clock. If you service it before 620 miles, whoever services it cannot clear the light until above 620 miles. Or the services was not done yet, or was done and whoever did it does not know how to clear the service light. On my 2013 I had to take it to the dealer for them to clear the light for me.
@@BikeWorldTVshow service light and engine lights are different things, this is an engine light, wich is not good nor normal. Nice to see Ducati still honoring that Italian tradition in 2020....
Not remotely my cup of tea. Hideous genre imho. I'm 60 this year, ridden all my adult life, if i started liking this type of bike, then i've got too old, too straight, and too boring. What i do want to know John, is, what happened to your XSR900 and have you still got the SR 500 project bike. TIA, regards.
What do you mean, "Sh*t year" you got your Desmo going. Best year ever.!
True!
I've got a 2018 1260s with 17000 miles on it. Has been reliable so far. Now coming up for desmo service a days work and have been told will cost nearly a grand. So take this into consideration if doing long miles. The multistrada engine is it's strong point is so rewarding loves being revved and sounds awesome. All day comfort as well and I'm 6ft 4". Gearbox is awkward to start with but loosens up at around 1000 miles. I previously had a ZZR1400 this is every bit as exciting even more so in the twisties. Also very practical. If you want to pootle around this is not for you as quite vibey at low revs. But if you want a comfortable sporty experience give this a go. Also people nod at you and you are in a more exclusive club unlike the GS
Is that a grand of the Queens finest quids?? Holy crap that's gonna hurt!
Unfortunately yes it's the belts on the engine have to be changed as well as everything else. I think in line with most major bike services though.
TBF the price of the desmo service is 2 to 3 hundred pounds more expensive than the Tiger 800 12k or 24k services. Doesn't seem that much more when you consider how much more bike you are getting?
Waiting for the V-4 version coming soon!!!
Just completed 10k kms on my 2020 1260s GT...what a superb bike...also just replaced the OEM tyres with Michelin Road 5’s...they are a significant improvement in handling and particularly turning.
Have you had any mechanical or electrical problems ? Thanks
Looking forward to the next episode, particularly with the Multi at Silverstone! Enjoyed chatting to you there. Thanks, Jon, white Multi at Ducati Trackday
I bought the 1200S in 2010 and it was the best motorcycle I’ve ever owned. The latest version has all the improvements that we wanted. My next one will be a 1200S Pikes Peak.👍🏻
I bought one of those early Multistrada machines, great fun to ride but for me a nightmare to own. Mine spent longer back at Ducati Coventry than in my garage. 13,000 miles in 18 months returned under warranty 7 times! Wouldn't buy another Ducati, lost so much on that bike which I chopped for a Speed Triple when I could take no more of its abysmal reliability.
@@Banditmanuk I made 10.000 km on my Vstrom 1000 XT and it works like on first day, no problems no lights flashing and I ride it very sporty and hard.
Be interested to see it over a long weekend away up to Scotland and around the NC500. No journo special B&B jaunt a proper weekend away with all the camping gear on the back too.
Couldn't wait went and bought one👍
Nice!
Looking forward to more like this and sad as some might think it is, I have a Givi Trekker Outback 58 litre for the back of my T120 and a set of travel fly tackle that will fit inside it for my trout fishing trips.
More bike reviews should include how it is for a passenger, some do have partners that like to accompany them.
Looking forward to your detailed review of this particular bike John, as I am putting together a very short list of bikes that I will choose as my last bike. Currently have the BMW R1250GS, Ducati 950s, Tiger 1200 and Vstrom 1050XT. I am only allowed one (bugger), so I naturally follow your reviews and compare my observations to yours when I test ride a bike. As usual mate, I will usually concur with everything that you say about a particular bike. Thanks for all the information you have provided to me (and thousands of other's no doubt), over the past years. Keep up the terrific work brother, and G'day from Nth Queensland, Australia. Stay safe.
Interesting to see what you think this bike always seems to be overlooked by the journalists. I’ve recently test ridden the grand tour and us used 1200 and I was blown away by how good they were. The bmw XR, GS and Honda AT seem to get all the love.
I picked up a leftover 2016 S Touring last fall and it's the best bike I've ever owned... I will never have it on anything more off-road than the occasional dirt road, but for just about every other purpose, it definitely lives up to the name. My only wish is that it had the factory ducati quickshifter+blipper, oh well, it was about 8k CAD off of MSRP.
Factory DQS can be installed after sale. I think they are 300$ US
Good to see Box Hill open again
What's it like to ride to North Devon on to catch fish on the fly?
I know the vid is about the Multistrada but that Transit is a great tool to have, I bought one a few years ago with the high roof, brilliant for shifting a couple of bikes over to the Alps or Spain. Also great for collecting broken down bikes. Not so keen on the Ducati but had a bad ownership experience with an early 1200S! Hopefully you guys will tell me the newer bikes are super reliable.
We love the Transit, great van.
I can't wait. This will be very helpful as just ordered mine so a perspective from the media will be very interesting. As I live on guernsey a slow speed, day to day commute through traffic will be of great benefit. Will it need a remap? Time will tell. Couldn't of come at a better time for me. Looking forward to this. 👍
@bikeworld So a couple of months on now and do you still think the 950S is the better strada? I test rode the 950s and thought is was great and have now ridden the new BMW S1000XR as a possible alternative but felt it to be a bit clinical and soulless (Great bike almost to good and stupid fast) Next job is the ride the 1260s. Still reading about reliability issues with Ducati's which makes me nervous for what is a big chunk of change.
Lovely bike. I believe the top box isnt standard but the panniers are.
What would it do round Mallory? How does it do off road? How much take-away can you fit? How stable is it with a gimble black-nastied to the topbox?
How do you know it is Italian? Check Engine Light is On!!! :)
It's due it's first service, we're going to include it as part of the living with...
@@BikeWorldTVshow service light and engine lights are different things, this is an engine light, wich is not good nor normal. Nice to see Ducati still honoring that Italian tradition in 2020....
I see and hear a lot of Ducati's here in Northern Spain (Asturias) beautiful!
Enjoy , and I look forward to all the info , when you taking out that Desmo .!!! , and what will happen with it now it’s back together? . Cheers Sean
How about a four stop day tour of Orvis stores that sell fly fishing kit, starting in London's Regent Street, then Stockbridge (very pretty and decent roads), then Sherbourne in Dorset (ditto), up to Bath and and then home? If Jeep could do an Orvis edition, then Ducati could too...BTW you are a very engaging presenter. Love your work.
How would it be to go on a fishing holiday in Devon? Particularly interested as im a dry fly enthusiast. 😄
It would be nice to compare it to the old one on a trip or some kind of “adventure to go fishing haha” (I have a 2012) and I’m pondering on upgrading to the 1260. I’ll be watching all the content you do with that beauty! Have fun!
I’m a sports and super naked rider. But I really like this bike
Do you still think the 950S is a more practical version in terms of making the most out of its abilities or being able to use it to its full potential on the road? How do you think it would fair if I was to take it on a fishing trip in North Devon? :)
I have heard these 1260 engines eat oil, more so when sitting flat revs on the motorway, i do love these bikes, its on the wishlist amongst other bikes
I’ve got a 1260s and did just over 18,000 miles on her last year. Yes they do eat up oil, to put it into perspective though I did a 2300 mile trip to Scotland last September (I live I the South East of England) and it used 1 litre of oil. Maybe that is excessive?, but manageable. Also I’ve just had the first desmo service done (bike has 19,000 miles on her now) and no adjustments or replacement shims were needed. So maybe the perceived oil issue is just part of the bikes character..and I love mine! 👌
I love these real world reviews, so much more informative than over-produced bike launches.
After a major heart incident 18 months ago I needed to downsize my R1200RT. The MS was a candidate, but like the RT still weighed 3x my body weight. I'd been advised by an ex police instructor mate to go down the Ducati route after doing my IAM. I rode the Monster S and MS950 the same day, but got hooked by the Monster. Sensibly, with a dodgy ticker, I plumped for the R. In sports mode.
I'll still enjoy your thoughts though, the best real world road tester on YT IMHO.
Exam question: why on earth would buy a GS when you can have the MS?
Got my eye on one of these. Found the 950 more flickable but only got to ride a 1260 in the wet so couldn’t chuck it around and didn’t get to play with settings on test ride. Can you set this up minus bags to have serious fun in hooligan mode or is it more of a ‘gentleman’s express’? The 950 with its 19” front wheel ends up a bit tall for my little legs. Cheers
What’s it like now that you’ve lived with it for a while? I just bought one sight unseen. Looking forward to our first ride together!
Have you guys still got this bike on your fleet?, would be keen to know if/when there will be a part 2!
Very interested to hear your views on the MTS1260s, I’ve had mine since December and funnily enough I’m off on a trip to North Devon and Cornwall during the week of 6th July...you need to come along! 😉👍
It would be lovely to see you ride this to North Devon to catch fish on the fly.
its just a 1260 S with different paint. The paint is very good though! A little bit disappointed as this must be the last ever ducati multistrada V2 and it doesnt have the fancy wheels. useless tires still on his bike from factory why ducati give it up, no body will take their ducati to do offroad unless its a made to go to off road like enduro model. this is a very capable road bike.
Is it worth the leap from 950 to 1260?
Can you get a knee down?
Probably worth mentioning the 4 year unlimited warranty on the bike, seeming as my 2017 950 is suffering with a corroded swing arm.... Devasted as its just out of it's warranty period. 😭 But otherwise, I absolutely love the thing. 👌🏼
So does McCann's insurance not help you if it WAS your fault then??
Hi, any updates/ part 2 on the horizon? Thank you!
Coming, we thought we'd give John some time to spend with the bike.
Is that an engine mgmt light thats on when you’re riding?
Love this bike, hoping to have a wee test ride in the next couple of weeks.
Those panniers look massive 😬
How is the power band compared to the monster 1200s? I'm about to upgrade from that to the pikes peak. I test rode it thru the first few gears but couldn't get an opportunity to test ride at higher speeds
It would be interesting to compare the original 1000ds with this new one. Apart from the looks from the front (looks good from any angle except the front) I really liked my old 1000ds but I guess the new one is a lifetime better. A used 1000ds is cheap for a Ducati, so does the new one justify the money difference? Is it worth me taking finance or would I be equally happy with another 1000ds and zero debt?
In comparison the the 1250GS, how is does it ride around/commuting town and with a Pillion?
Is there a part two somewhere????
We'll be shooting it very soon Howard, Covid has slowed us down a bit.
did consider this one, but bought SD GT at the end of last month.
See ya at Rykas tomorrow.
Did you go?
Hey! Any updates on this part 2?
Is it a bike for someone at 5-7” and what’s it like over the Hardknott pass?
DucatiRichie - I am 5’7”(28” inseam) and have no trouble with my 1260. I cannot put both feet flat at a stop, but I am less than an inch from it.
Considered anything else apart from Multi? Why not the Africa Twin?
For the price 24.000 € as it costs in my country Slovenia, the bike has to be amazing but I dont know if it is worth 12.000 € more than my Vstrom 1000 XT. Sure it is all down to your budget.
I test rode one a few weeks ago and felt a lot of vibration through the seat when hard on the throttle, would love to hear what your experience has been!
PistolPete63 - I have 7k miles on my 1260. I have never noticed any bad vibes from either the seat or bars unless I am lugging it around(less than 3200 rpm)
For a big twin, it seemed to cope pretty well at those urban speeds you were doing - how did you find the fuelling at 20-30, 30-40? Any hunting/surging?
Your question is spot on. 👍
As a Monster 1100 Evo owner, I experienced low speed rough running until I had the ECU reflashed, which transformed its behaviour at town speeds. I wondered if this was still an issue - especially with having to comply with more stringent Euro 5 regulations. Also, as this is a long term test bike, would Ducati let you reflash it (assuming it's possible?).
I am interested in a Multistrada 1260 like this. Did you mount the GPS ? If so, how easy to do ?
It’s a factory fit accessory on this bike, Greg. It pops off and on with no problems and (considering I hate sat nav) is a very good system so far. I’m impressed.
Will be interesting to see what build quality and reliability will be. Have Ducati finally built something that won't leave you at the side of the road?? Lol.😄😄
Why did Ducati put such a tiny windscreen on this bike? If you're going to do touring of any sort, you'll wish you had a real windscreen that lowers the wind noise in your helmet and keeps the rain off you when the weather turns bad. The side cases also look small in comparison to the BMW cases.
show a video lifting a dropped 1260. can an average guy do it?
Workhorse??? I wouldn't mind having a Ducati Multistrada 1260S GT as a workhorse. If you get bored, get in touch and I'll help you out with putting a few miles on it.
when's part 2?
We've been letting John live with it for a while, should be filming any day. Cheers
Why was the engine light on?
We noticed that, looks like it's due it's first check. Cheers
@@BikeWorldTVshow That must be the case. Bike has 684 miles on the clock. If you service it before 620 miles, whoever services it cannot clear the light until above 620 miles. Or the services was not done yet, or was done and whoever did it does not know how to clear the service light. On my 2013 I had to take it to the dealer for them to clear the light for me.
@@BikeWorldTVshow service light and engine lights are different things, this is an engine light, wich is not good nor normal. Nice to see Ducati still honoring that Italian tradition in 2020....
Where's part 2
agree 100% 2020 has been complete shit
No bikes on the patio please.....
Don’t drop it!!!
Not remotely my cup of tea.
Hideous genre imho.
I'm 60 this year, ridden all my adult life, if i started liking this type of bike, then i've got too old, too straight, and too boring.
What i do want to know John, is, what happened to your XSR900 and have you still got the SR 500 project bike.
TIA, regards.