Would you love a Ducati Multistrada, but don’t need 1200cc or the outrageous price tag? At EICMA earlier today, Ducati introduced the new Multistrada 950 powered by the 937cc Testastretta v-twin. Only slightly lighter than the 1200 (claimed curb weight of roughly 500 pounds), the new 950 is packed with technological features.
Coming standard with ABS and traction control, there will be a version available with the “touring pack”, which should include the saddlebags pictured.
Also featured are fully adjustable suspension, and alloy wheels (carrying tubeless tires) sized 19″ front and 17″ rear. The front tire is a wide 120/70, which should provide excellent grip on road.
Brakes include healthy Brembo monobloc radial calipers in front. ABS can be adjusted for three levels of intervention, including a setting for off-road.
The new Euro 4 compliant 937cc twin puts out a healthy 113 horsepower at 9,000 rpm and 71 foot/pounds of torque at 7,750 rpm. This bike will be plenty quick without being intimidating. Ducati has worked hard at stretching out service intervals, with general service at 9,000 miles and valve adjustment every 18,000 miles.
As part of the “safety pack” included on the Multistrada 950, the adjustable ABS (mentioned above) is combined with eight levels of available traction control and four riding modes (Touring, Sport, Urban and Enduro). Also new is an LCD dash with extensive information … all the way down to several fuel consumption readouts and a road ice warning.
Shorter riders will still have to cope with a tall seat height of 840 mm (roughly 33 inches). The seat is non-adjustable.
The Multistrada 950 will be available in January of 2017 priced at $13,995 in Red and $14,195 in White.
See more of MD’s great photography:
too bad these aren’t like cars in the 60s and 70s with the “delete” options. traction control, ABS, etc. Who gives a hoot, get rid of all that stuff, add “S” suspension and call it good. they really should have differentiated it from the 1200s, lighter weight, less bodywork to break, less electronic mumbo jumbo, and 21/18 wheel option so that it could be an adventure bike.
If I were to buy a Multistrada, what would make me buy this 950 over a 1200 standard? With the 1200 I would have the adjustable seat postion and cruise control, and not for much extra$$.
Still thinking the Yamaha FJ-09 would personaly be my 1st choice, less costly to buy and maintain.
It weighs about the same as the multistrada. This is bad. The hyperstrada is about 50lbs lighter – this is good.
Why?
Lift 50lbs and carry it around. Now have the bike slip on wet rock and dirt and try to pick it up.
This is machine weighs the same as the big multi, less power, and the same ungainly proportions. Nothing special. Also, the bags etc. are not included, and if ducati’s pricing holds true, that will be about another $1500 (and maybe 10lbs). So price becomes less of an incentive.
I guess I’m also a little bitter that the hyperstrada is being discontinued. I’ve had 20k miles of trouble free touring, rain/shine dirt/tarmac on mine; it’s a fantastic machine that was overlooked and misunderstood. A unique blend of agile/stabile and light weight. It also had great ergos – when you’re on the bike, it disappears, standing is easy, and the view over cars (and visibility to cars) is good.
I hope, by the time I let my hyperstrada go, Husky has a new Nuda, or there’s some nice KTM 690s used on the market. Unfortunately, with the strada’s demise, a Nuda may not be forthcoming.
Damned shame, but the market has spoken.
To me, there’s not much difference between this and the 1200. There used to be a Multistrada 620.
Any idea how much it costs for a valve adjustment at the Duc dealership? Just curious.
$600.00 for a valve clearance check and belt replacement on a 1200 Multi. No adjustment was needed at 15K miles.
The tank is okay at 5.3 gallons and hopefully it will deliver at least 50 mpg (US gallons) at 65-75 mph. But in this age of electronics any bike that purports to be for touring should come standard with cruise control.
The foo foo traction control is there but it looks like they left off the cruise control. That is ridiculous. If true, too bad and I will have to…
Pass.
That’s a motorcycle video? Lame.
Shame the seat height is still huge. A touch smaller and I’d be one of the first in the queue. I’d like a 17″ fort option and would have preferred a single sided swing arm like the 1200 but definitely will be having a look at the NEC show.
Ridiculous tall seat height.
C’mon Honda build me something like this lol
NC950X maybe
VFR800X?
That would be great if Honda ever brought it to the states.
This 950 is a proper alternative to the over-powered and higher priced bikes in the 1200cc class. 113 hp at 500 lbs is a useful and satisfying ratio for most experienced riders. The 10/10th types (and those who think they are) are free to choose the 150+ hp models.
Ducati really had me until I got to the 33-inch seat height (even with that scrotum crushing, swayback saddle?). Its rideable, but I’d be on my toes at stops. And EIGHT levels of traction control?? Who the heck can discern the difference among those? How about just three: rain, road, and squid.
Tom,
The 33″ seat height should be no problem if:
1.When you come to a stop, you are braking using both brakes and downshifting until you get to 1st.
2.Your left foot should touch the ground first.
3.With your right hand still on the front brake, you can take your right ass cheek of the seat and make full contact on the ground. Even if you have to have your thigh on the seat and your ass completely off it. It’s doable.
That’s what shorter riders do when they ride those ‘yuge’ ADV bikes that never see a speck of dirt.
PS: Short people and their excuses ….
“PS: Short people and their excuses …”
Try adding in a pothole or deep lane rutting and THEN see how good your technique is for solving the tall seat issue. That’s probably a good reason why those short people on ADV’s never see a spec of dirt, off-road isn’t paved smooth.
PPS: Tall people and their inability to acknowledge that everyone isn’t like them…
I like it. Would buy.
But…Will you? No, really. Will you buy this bike vs would you buy this bike? Recall if you will the W650 by Kawasaki. People said (claimed?) they would buy that bike but few did.
Ducati is waiting.
And if you don’t, not a big deal except to Ducati. Nice looking bike though. 😉
I bought a brand new XSR900 6 months ago (despite the critics here at MD), so my new bike budget is used up at this point.
So no, I will not buy one of these at this time. However, I have owned more bikes than my age in years, so I think I’ve done my fair share for the motorcycle industry. And quite a few of them have been Ducatis…
How about you?
I tend to keep my bikes for a decade or longer, so you’ve probably owned more than I have. No Ducati bikes yet as they have always been more maintenance intensive and expensive than other brands/bikes.
I do like the Multistrada Enduro but not enough to really want to buy one. The cost of insurance and maintenance is too high for me. Granted the valve check intervals have lengthened to what, 18,000 miles? But you still have to pay to have them inspected and given their layout that is not inexpensive. Not something I look forward to.
And then there’s having to replace the belts every 12,000 miles (?). I used to chuckle at some guys in the 80s selling their Ducs after the first major service. Shocking.
But Ducati makes some of the most attractive motorcycles out there and like Harley-Davidson, in their genre they tend to set the bar.
Their watercooled engines have had 18,000mile major service intervals for at least 4 years. Same for the belt. The intervening service requirements are straight forward – you can do them yourself – or pay the usual $300 for the dealer’s expertise.
If valve clearances are good, the major interval with belt replacement should be around $600.00.
How do you find the range between refuels with city riding, given the XSR’s 14L tank and biggish engine? (Genuine question)
Well, the bike it replaced was a Hypermotard, so I was already used to relatively limited range. I get well over 100 miles on a tank, which is fine by me. I’m not doing a lot of distance riding these days, which is why I bought a NAKED bike in the first place. (That was for you, WShart)
Cheers Scott. Mileage sounds very similar to a Ducati Monster then. I used to get around 100 miles from a Monster S2R (also a 14L tank). I’ve only ever been stranded from running dry once, and I can thank the Monster for that.
W800 also has 14L but I think it’s got less than half the power output of your XSR. I’ve managed close to 150 miles on it before refilling.
I’d said I wanted a W800 and bought one. Still ride it.
I’m one of the few. I did buy the W650 new, then sold it(plus a used one 10 years later) and a new CB1100F. If the W800 had been sold here in the US, would have bought it also. I find bikes with the least amount of fluff to be the most enjoyable.
Ducati may be on to something. Just as the V-strom 650 is a better bike then the 1000, this Ministrada may be better balanced that the 1200. Also, the price difference may catch the eye of Japanese adventure bike buyers. As someone who has owned a BMW 1200GS and a BMW 800GS, I’m eager to ride and evaluate this one. As we age, we don’t seem to need the 160 hp as much.
That’s not the -most- ungainly bike I’ve ever seen.
50% more torque than FJ09 though
Incorrect. Torque is a function of displacement.
The Ducati figures are at the crank not net figures at the rear wheel. So actually the Yamaha is making very close to the same torque but more horsepower than this bike.
Oh good another torque vs hp discussion. Havent had a good one of those in months.
Just to liven things up, been gettin’ a bit stale around here lately! 🙂
Mick who said anything about torque vs Hp? The dyno charts for the Ducati Hypermotard with the same engine makes about 99hp and 65lb-ft of torque. The FJ makes 104hp and 60lb-ft. Jason said the Duke made 50% more torque which was pretty far off.
Looked like Jason and silver were headed that way, my response just ended up under your name. Sorry
Same weight and HP and ergonomics as Yamaha’s FJ-09, look forward to seeing the pricing
Generally you add $2400 to the Japanese competitor’s price to get the Ducati price.