Ducati is adding the 1262cc v-twin with variable valve timing to the Multistrada 1260 Enduro for 2019. This engine debuted last year in the standard Multistrada 1260, and offers a much broader spread of torque versus the older 1199cc version. The new enduro also gets several other changes, such as a TFT display and ergonomic tweaks. Here is a press release from Ducati with more details, followed by a video from Ducati:
New Multistrada 1260 Enduro: beyond borders
- New 1262 cm3 Testastretta DVT engine gives Ducati travel enduro an excellent power delivery right from the lower end of the rev range
- Modified bike set-up and ergonomics boost comfort and fun
- Efficient connectivity and a range of accessories ensure all-round enjoyment, even on the most adventurous rides
Borgo Panigale (Bologna, Italy), 12 October 2018 – Presented back in 2016, the Multistrada 1200 Enduro was Ducati’s first travel enduro. Now, with the arrival of the 1260 Enduro, the Bologna-built globetrotter has become even more user-friendly and fun, letting riders experience unlimited Ducati technology, performance and comfort whatever the challenge.
The Enduro mounts the 158 hp 1262 cm3 Testastretta DVT with variable cam timing which made its debut last year on the Multistrada 1260. Compared to the previous version it has an extra 64 cm3 of displacement and a series of improvements that give it extremely smooth yet excellent pulling power right from the bottom of the rev range, making the bike more fun to ride than ever. This allows less frequent gear shifts, meaning the rider can just focus on enjoying the ride. While the new Testastretta engine provides impressive performance, power is kept under control and delivered safely thanks to the Riding Modes, the new Ride by Wire function which ensures smoother, more satisfying throttle control, and the DQS (Ducati Quick Shift) Up & Down which significantly improves the ride experience thanks to precise, fluid, clutchless upshifts and downshifts. The as-standard electronics package includes Bosch Cornering ABS, Cornering Lights, Wheelie Control, Traction Control and Vehicle Hold Control, making this bike the segment benchmark.
Thanks to spoked wheels – 19” at the front and 17” at the rear – the Multistrada 1260 Enduro is perfect for long adventure rides. Featuring recalibrated electronic semi-active Sachs suspension (with 185 mm of travel both front and rear) and a 30-litre fuel tank, the Enduro is, with a range of 450 km and beyond, an unstoppable globetrotter on any terrain.
A revised ergonomics (seat, handlebar and centre of gravity are all lower than on the 1200 version) and a new suspension setup ensure more comfort and fun to any rider in any condition.
A sophisticated new Human Machine Interface (HMI) ensures – via a 5″ TFT colour display and switchgear controls – user-friendly control of all bike settings and functions, the Ducati Multimedia System (DMS) included. The DMS connects the bike to the rider’s smartphone via Bluetooth, giving access to all key multimedia functions (incoming calls, text messaging, music). Other Multistrada 1260 Enduro features include cruise control and a hands-free system.
The Multistrada 1260 Enduro is compatible with the new Ducati Link App: this lets riders set the journey mode (a combination of Load and Riding Mode) and personalise the parameters of each Riding Mode (ABS, Ducati Traction Control, etc.) via their smartphones. This versatile App also provides comprehensive maintenance deadline info, a user manual and a Ducati Store locator. Furthermore, the Ducati Link App lets riders record performance and routes so they can share their Enduro 1260 riding experiences.
The new Multistrada 1260 Enduro will be available in Ducati Red and Sand. There’s also a wide range of dedicated accessories, such as aluminium panniers and top case, and the Touring, Sport, Urban and Enduro packages. The Multistrada 1260 Enduro will be previewed in November at the EICMA fair in Milan and arrive at dealerships starting from early 2019.
See more of MD’s great photography:
Bloated, fat, heavy, expensive, over-powered, high maintenance. Like most of your wives. Screw that. As you most of you do. Yuck.
Yeah right Paul. We all can’t have designer seven buckle boots and Velcro gloves for when we go to visit our “lady friends”.
Um…yuck.
this is the sort of misanthropic post that I usually write. Well done! Extra points for using ‘bloated’
I really like this bike, but not sure I like it $24K worth. Now a good used example for $10K might get my interest. Are the tires tubleless?
I love the look of the Multistrada, seen several used 1200’s under 10,000. All of the tech kinda of scares me if your driving it off road 200 miles from anywhere, but that’s what it’s all about I guess. It would still be hard for me to spend 20,000 on one. But before I would drop 24000 on a new Harley I would buy this All day, There is no motorcycle segment more practical than adventure bikes IMO.
I just returned from a trip out to Utah and bikes like this (Ducati’s, KTM’s, BMW’s Africa Twins) are everywhere out there as well as big tourers and sport tourers. If you travel cross country you will see the value of riding bikes like these. I didn’t see a single “small bike” traveling out there and back from Ohio (no Ninja 400’s or KX 300’s, or CBR 300’s or CB500’s or NC 700’s or the like). Small bikes are good for local rides but not much value for extended tours of a couple of weeks with luggage through states where the speed limit may be 80 miles and hour and the gas stations few and far between. Not all of these bikes are Starbucks Queens. Many are ridden by very serious riders, and for the most part they are better and more capable as well as cheaper than your garden variety Harley Davidson. Plenty of people can afford these bikes, especially serious travelers. Priorities, you know. BTW one of these is 1/2 the price of my wife’s Toyota Highlander.
Then again if your plan was just to ride local rides around your house east of the Mississippi, or in Southern California, then riding one these would be a bit of overkill.
Say, I was just in Utah myself!
Yep, these big adventure bikes are probably the most popular street-oriented bikes in the mountain states for both locals and out-of-state travelers. They make great touring rigs, handle pretty well on a twisty road, and will get you off the beaten path when the pavement ends, which is where you’ll find the best scenery and most fun IMO.
Often times, if you were to drop in on one of these Starbucks gatherings, you’ll find that they are discussing options for the best off-road routes to take for the day.
I have it both ways. I love my DL1000 for rolling up miles and miles of asphalt, but next summer when I ride up to Tuk I’ll take my old KLR to deal with the Dempster Highway. These bikes all have their place. It just depends on where you’re going and what you want to do.
The Dempster’s not too bad, especially when it’s dry, but either way your Strom would make it fine. I took my DL1000 up to Inuvik several times (before the permanent road went to Tuk). The KLR might be more fun, but less so on the pavement getting up there. Have fun, take the Cassiar.
Funny, just followed a Kiwi couple ride their Groms all the way across the US on the Trans Am Trail, and they’ve done other longer trips. We’ve had many guests doing cross country AND round the world travel on small bikes, 250s, 400s, and including a Suzuki 125 step through that had about 60,000 miles around the world travel on her before she died. Not everybody thinks you need a behemoth and 100+ lbs of luggage to take a week long trip, let alone travel for months or years.
The multiple times I’ve been to Utah, etc have been with 350-690s, wouldn’t have wanted anything bigger.
The multiple times I’ve been to Utah, etc have been with 350-690s, wouldn’t have wanted anything bigger.
Would you want anything smaller? Say a 125?
Not saying it CAN’t be done, just that the majority of travelers wouldn’t WANT to ride cross country on a Grom. To me that’s more of a stunt to say “look at me, see what I did? Give me some attention”. I live in Cincinnati and wouldn’t want to ride a Grom to Dayton (50 miles) especially if I had to ride it back home again.
There are some places in the world where a small bike can be advantageous. Not the American west, or most of America for that matter IMO.
Some guy in RoadRunner Magazine just road across the country on a Zero electric bike. Just because he accomplished it, doesn’t make an electric bike suitable for cross country travel to me.
Another SUV of motorbikes.
All yours for just the price of a car!
But then you would have a car… why would you do that?
A lot of strong opinions here, and I suppose I agree with most. But like big overly pricey and powerful cars and suv’s, there seems to be an appetite for over the top machines. Why giving bikes so much hp, and then putting on all those different electronics to dampen it down or control the effects is a mystery to me.
Buy what you like and can afford, but for sure you can have just as much fun on a motorcycle that is much smaller, lighter, simpler, and financially easier to live with.
Having said that, there’s no denying it’s a luxury product and obviously there’s a market for it.
A lot of strong opinions here, and I suppose I agree with most. But like big overly pricey and powerful cars and suv’s, there seems to be an appetite for over the top machines. Why giving bikes so much hp, and then putting on all those different electronics to dampen it down or control the effects is a mystery to me.
Buy what you like and can afford, but for sure you can have just as much fun on a motorcycle that is much smaller, lighter, simpler, and financially easier to live with.
Having said that,there’s no denying it’s a luxury product and obviously there’s a market for it.
These bikes are not off road bikes. They are grand touring bikes that have off road capabilities in the right hands just like a Range Rover. They can be hassled down any road and capable of Carrying loads of stuff with no problem. Yes they are expensive and if you need to ask the price then it’s not for you I’m afraid. True cost of biking has gone up. I own the 1200 version and to be honest I went for a used one.
nice….I’ll keep my cb500x and crf250. 46hp is fine for me. but then I’ve passed the the need for speed as I enter my 60’s
This motorcycle is a pure excess in concentrated form. For interest purpose I had one quoted in 2015 and after found its purchase price equals KIA Rio, promptly backed off. Today I am happy owner of CB500x with 24k km on it. I do not need computer programs (part of fuel injection and ABS) on my machine to fill my head with undue preoccupation.
Who buys these bikes?? With mortgage, kids, car payments I barely can keep my POS bike on the road, guess the rich who ride from their mansions to starbucks, you never know what you will encounter along the way on that pavement.
The same people that buy BMWs or Goldwings or Ultra Glides or KTM 1290s or any other of a host of high dollar vehicles.
Some people get what they want while others get what they need to get where they’re going. Motorcycles aren’t cheap to buy, insure or maintain. Tires are stupid expensive and don’t last for crap and yet some here will defend that value as necessary because these are motorcycle tires, not car tires and are therefor engineered for the stresses that bikes undergo which is why they cost more and last not nearly as long as do car tires.
Nah. In first world countries motorcycling is a niche at worst and a hobby at best. Most of us are happy with what we have until something new catches our eye and then we convince ourselves that we need it because it’s so much better than what we currently own and ride.
And sometimes it is. But usually it is us that isn’t any better. Not a problem. Enjoy what you have and when you can, improve on that with a newer model.
My ’06 MTS 620 is the best bike I’ve ever owned. I would still choose it over this new model. DQS? C’mon, man!
The crazy quest for power continues with the bikes approaching 135 rear wheel hp and higher.
More complex motors and controls, sure they can be taken off road but so costly to repair after it goes down.
I given up on big dual sports and going back to a 250 enduro and a street bike.
This, completely correct.
My Kawasaki 250 DP bike is buckets of fun and can actually go just about anywhere a dedicated dirt bike can go. It weighs just under 300# and is manageable when the terrain becomes rough, even for a newbie. Lots of fun for not much $$$.
Agreed, I have also gone back to a 250 enduro and a street bike. And if you travel elsewhere in this big world of ours you’ll see that many, many people are happy to explore and journey on “smaller” bikes.
That old Cagiva Grand Canyon still looks like a practical ride to me.
Carbs, suspension, and lighter weight. Simplicity has it’s place.
This is what the accepted norm of a touring motorcycle is slowly evolving into. The tank is large enough to go somewhere. The wheels, while spoked, use tubeless tires and the bike is a great deal lighter than a Wing or ‘Glide. People that feel this bike is too heavy for them need to get in the gym. I’ve seen plenty of young folks from their teens to their 30s that are physical slobs. It’s like bicycles. People want lighter and lighter bikes when the could easily lose a few pounds themselves but don’t bother to.
With the advent of Bluetooth, no full on stereo is needed. With ride-by-wire cruise control is easily fitted. With computerized riding modes (except the all important “EGO Mode”) and ABS, Cornering ABS and perhaps one day, “Idiot-ABS”, safety is while not guaranteed, at least more than adequately covered.
What keeps today’s yoots from purchasing such a bike? Cost. Both initial and ultimate. Ducatis ain’t inexpensive to purchase, insure or maintain and while seasoned citizens such as myself can afford one we ride enough that the prospect of a couple thousand bucks for a major service every 18,000 or so miles is a big deterrent.
As to whether or not the bike is off-road capable, well of course it is. But I am not. Neither are many others here who doubtless claim otherwise. This is a touring bike with the ability to venture off road but only if you have the ability to do so. There are plenty of Jeep Wranglers that never see a mountain-top. Get over it, kiddies. We ride on the streets with a rare few of us doing track days. There are less and less available off road areas for us to ride on but I doubt anyone would really want to risk taking this fantastic mount out among the herds of two-strokes and quads.
As for me, I will have to pass on this excellent steed but only because I don’t much care for DDWS. Ducati Desmodromic Wallet Sucking. Too bad because if it had valve check intervals that at least matched the previous GL1800’s (32,000 miles!) then I would give it more than a passing glance. The Wing also has a timing CHAIN.
‘Nuff said.
These (and every other big adventure bike) are fantastic street bikes, both powerful and comfortable, that are designed for and purchased by well-off or financially-irresponsible older men who like the idea of riding them off-road, but will most likely not.
Yes. This photo from the article with the two guys riding off road side by side with their fancy riding gear is ridiculous:
http://www.motorcycledaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/101218bottom-730×487.jpg
This reminds me of a WW2 video of a motorcycle used by paratroopers. 130 cc, it weighed about 130 lbs as much as person. It even came with a frame to keep it from getting damaged When being dropped from a plane. What they could have done with this back then.
Just envy speaking. It’s to top heavy for me with to much engine. Suzuki could tempt me with a sv 650 scrambler which is as close to a Ducati ill ever get.
More is not better. Wish I still had my 89 Honda Transalp.
I’m with you. To me a 500 lb 160 HP “adventure bike” is just foolishness. Too big, too heavy, too expensive to be something I’d want to take on anything tougher than a dirt road. Which you don’t really need bash plates and spoked wheels for. I’d be more interested in something like this if they kept the quality, long-travel suspension (for the shitty paved roads I often find myself riding), lose the 19″ front wheel (better and more rubber choices in 17″size), and provide bodywork with more weather protection. As in, a sport-tourer. But that’s apparently mostly just my preference, and guys like me (or wealthier, probably) apparently want to buy gigantic super powerful ADV bikes these days.
Wouldn’t it be grand if some manufacturer made a SMOOTH looking sport bike that was big enough to fit a full scale guy ( 6′ 2″ ) who can not bend into a pretzel any more, that cost less than $ 10 k and weighed less than 450 lbs ? I mean a SMOOTH aerodynamic crotch rocket minus the crotch. Oh well .
You want a GSX-S1000 or Z900.
1. The insurance would kill me on these things. For one thing I always carry extra medical. Bones ain’t cheap. 2. The price is astronomical. Sure it does everything but I have a life that is not just motorcycles. 3. With hurricane Michael and others we are seeing that humanity trying to keep up with the Jones’s is only going to take us so far. – The concept of the city and suburb are insane wastes of energy and the idiots who profited from these stupid ideas are dead/dying. 4. I do like it. My brother has an ’07 and it is fast and fun if a bit top heavy.
I’m still recovering from three years of living in Paris, France. There is no hope for humanity. Millions of people live in that hopelessly overcrowded cesspool and still breed there. Humanity is no different from rats. They are happy to overbreed their resources and keep right on breeding.
Abandon all hope. It’s a waste of effort.
I was an owner and fan of the original multistrada, too. The chassis was much better than the 1200 ever has been, although the headlight was terrible and the gas tank ethanol problem was a deal breaker. The new Scrambler 1100 would be the closest thing they offer these days, now that the hypermotard 1100 is long gone.
In case anyone wonders, ethanol makes plastic fuel tanks swell up. Now, faster with 15%.
I avoid ethanol at all costs. It’s a scam.
You really have to check the owners manual, to see if your bike is made to run ethanol (e10, or new e15 now). Most are not. I run premium the last few years. Not for the octane, but it is the only no-ethanol gas i can find. No more fuel issues in years
I’m kind of bummed to see what the Multistrada has become. I have had mine since 2004 and I like the homely bugger. I question things like the surprisingly heavy glove box that barely fits a pair of gloves. The bike has less storage than my 916 did, which had less than my 900SS. The 900SS could carry a full change of clothes for a six foot guy under the seat.
I bought another 2003 Multistrada for the five years that I lived in Europe. I guess if I had to replace my two up bike with another Ducati model. I would get a Hyperstrada. It’s kind of a less ugly original Multistrada. The current Multistrada is more Cadillac than the original was a Jeep. The Hyperstrada is more of a two door Jeep. I’m down with that.