First Impression: Ducati 1200 Enduro

Late last year at the Sydney Motorcycle Show, Ducati’s stand attracted a more diverse crowd than usual. In addition to the regular line-up of leather-clad, licorice-laying, drooling fiends with an appetite for exotic Italian machinery, large crowds of laconic characters in adventure-riding suits were doing some drooling of their own – the focus of their attention being the all-new Enduro version of Ducati’s existing Multistrada 1200. Sadly, the good people from Ducati informed us that this ‘Enduro’ was only a pre-production unit and that it wouldn’t be released in Australia until the middle of 2016. So we took some photos, made the inevitable componentry comparisons with the large-capacity BMWs and KTMs that spearhead the adventure market segment, speculated about relative pricing, and moved on.

Well, it’s now the middle of 2016 and, sure enough, Transmoto has been invited to attend the Australian media launch for Ducati’s Multistrada 1200 Enduro at Coffs Harbour on June 28. And it’s fair to say we’re looking forward to the prospect of throwing a leg over what is essentially Ducati’s first purpose-made off-roader too. After all, the feedback about the bike from the recent international launch in Italy was overwhelmingly positive (check out the insightful conversation we ended up capturing at the local launch with Ducati Australia’s CEO, Warren Lee).

As it happens, Transmoto contributor, Llewelyn Pavey, scored an invitation to that Italian launch. Having posted a strong finish at his debut Dakar Rally in 2015, and tested a heap of adventure bikes for his website, Brake-Magazine.com, “Llel” has evolved into somewhat of an adventure bike expert. So, before we get the chance to sample the new Duke in Aussie terrain this week, we thought we’d reflect on Llewelyn’s insightful take on the all-new Ducati…

Video

Llewelyn Pavey’s Review

When was the last time you thought about Ducati in relation to off-road? The Multistrada 1200, with the best will in the world, is out-performed on dirt by at least 20 other dual-sport bikes. It’s simply not an off-road bike. There are a few hardy owners around the world; chaps who’ve shod their bikes with a great-looking set of TKC 80s and hit the dirt roads, but they’re the exception. Would you choose to take it on a proper adventure trip, complete with technical singletrack, miles from the beaten path? I know I wouldn’t. Not on your life. I’d pick anything from an AG200 to a GSA and a shed-load of bikes in between. But I wouldn’t choose a normal Multistrada. It’s a great bike, but it’s just not good off-road. So why would the Multistrada 1200 Enduro be any different?

As adventure/travel riders, we have a hard enough time convincing folk that using a bike that weighs more then 150kg is okay; that it can do the off-road; that it can still go well on the tarmac; that it is fit for purpose. Ducati isn’t an off-road associated brand so they’re battle is up an even steeper hill. After all, they had to start their war by convincing a hundred journalists that they’d produced something worthy of taking off-road or into the wilderness.

The Spec Sheet

Mechanically, the Ducati 1200 Enduro is practically a new machine. It’s almost entirely different bar two key components, the frame and the engine. Those remain unchanged. Otherwise, almost all the fundamental handling parts have been replaced by something designed to make the Multistrada into an off-road weapon. Starting from the front, the wheel size has been increased to a 19-inch. Both are now wire spoke efforts with the rims produced by bicycle legends, Giant. The suspension travel is up to a respectable 200mm, via a new Ducati Skyhook Suspension fork and shock. That also means the ground clearance is up 31mm.

There is a new front axle offset to improve stability and a 1% increase in the fork rake. Ducati added a steering stabiliser for high-speed safety. The whole single-sided swingarm was thrown in the bin and replaced with a double-sided effort. Because the main frame is identical, the Italian machine still sports the offset shock absorber, but the rear wheel is a far more conventional design. This opens the Multistrada up to roadside repairs instead of requiring an enormous socket. The swingarm is also a good deal longer to aid stability – meaning between that and the new rake, the bike is a whopping 65mm longer. The rear hub and brake have been redesigned to better suit off-road riding too. An impressive 30 litres of fuel has been shoehorned on board and the exhaust has been redesigned to be slimmer and sit higher. This gives more water-crossing capability and works better with the panniers. The Italians have also designed a beautiful, frame-mounted sump guard to keep the engine safe. The rear sprocket has gone up three teeth to a 43, with the intention of moving the torque curve to be more off-road and low-speed friendly.

However, the really big changes on the Ducati come in the points of contact, the parts where as a rider you control the bike. When compared with the standard Multistrada, they aren’t even on the same page. It’s at this point, with the bike in between your legs, you realise that Ducati’s designers have done their homework. The handlebars clamps have been raised 50mm and fitted with a special off-road bend. The mirrors have been redesigned to not collide with forearms when stood up, the footpegs are chunky, rallye-style efforts and are matched to a steel, folding-tip gear lever and a quick-adjust rear brake lever. Where your legs touch the bike, the designers have made special effort to make things as smooth as possible by changing the panelling.  With all of those changes, Ducati has still kept the seat height to a reasonable at 875mm in stock trim (850mm with the low seat option).

The Dirty Side

It’s those little changes that really struck home. The areas where you come in contact with the Multistrada shed light on just how different Ducati has made this bike. Everything about it screams off-road loudly in your ears. Even as we bimble down the hotel driveway, the bars sit high, flat and aggressive. From the moment the wheels roll over the packed southern Sardinian sandy road, it felt comfortable.

Standing tall is natural, the bars perfect. The pegs are big, flat and grippy and the controls easy to reach. Its 255kg, fully fuelled chassis feels responsive and precise underneath your feet. The power slides come quickly and naturally, combining with the slightly damp, ego-boosting sandy road to provide comfort and feedback that let every corner for 30km become a speedway style heaven.

Thirty minutes and 427 power slides later, I’m struggling to stop the width of my grin bursting my helmet in two. If you’d taken the badge off the bike, I’d never have been able to tell you it shared anything in common with a standard Multistrada. They couldn’t be further apart. Everything about the Multistrada 1200 Enduro feels at home off-road. Direction changes happen as they should. It responds quickly, predictable and precisely. With the bike set in Enduro mode, the throttle response, suspension, ABS and traction control are all configured specifically and the engine’s power out put is ‘reduced’ to 100hp. Both the engine and the fly-by-wire throttle are truly fantastic off-road. The power delivery is smoother than Casanova’s charm, pulling smoothly from the bottom right through the rev range. For the most part, you didn’t need to take things above 4000RPM, but however you choose to ride, the Ducati responds well.

The throttle lets you have an incredible amount of modulation of the power. It feels like you have twice as much throttle turn to play with, with decent-sized changes causing small movements at the back wheel. That means controlling the rear wheel is easier and possessing a maladroit right hand is less damaging to your bike and health. As such, finding grip and and staying in charge of the bike is far simpler than you’d expect. Those two elements combine to form a bike that is extremely easy to ride and therefore supremely fun. You don’t need to fight it to achieve anything, be it pulling away on a steep hill, crawling around on loose rocks or attempting to wheelie over a puddle. It’s an engine that requires very little skill to get on with, in much the same way as a GS does. It doesn’t ride like a GS, but it does caress your ego and skill in a similar manner.

More impressive than its ability to be ridden with flair and big skids, is the Ducati’s comfort to do the exact opposite; to bring along the off-road novice and not intimidate. The power delivery and ease of directional control flatter your abilities nicely. Instead of wanting to eat you alive, it carries you and your smile along the trail and that is downright impressive. One of the biggest factors in that is the comfort and poise the Multistrada 1200 Enduro has at low speed. It doesn’t feel anywhere near as heavy as it is. The seat height is also extremely reasonable, matching the stock GS and much-lauded Africa Twin at 875mm. Having a smaller feeling and a good turning circle all but removes the intimidation that a lot of other bikes posses at low speed, and that in turn inspires a touch more confidence.

The off-road electronics are also absolutely world class. The suspension’s mix of simplicity and adjustability is another really great touch. In Enduro mode, it performs well, offering a comfortable and stable ride. As the speed climbed and the bumps got bigger, a little more preload and stiffness was added to improve the balance and control the damping. Changes are instant and effective, all from the push of a button. In Enduro mode, the ABS is front wheel only and impeccably configured. The modulation of overly aggressive fingers is fantastic, with the system kicking in extremely rarely and doing so in the subtlest of ways. It can still be out-braked off-road, but with ABS on you can ride outrageously fast and safely. And under heavy braking, it was more stable.

The man who invented traction control that lets a bike drift needs a beer. Actually, he needs a lifetime of beer. For free. It’s genuinely preposterous that it can be done and it’s friggin’ awesome to ride. As the slide reaches a certain amount the bike holds itself there, drifting, balanced in the perfect ratio of sideways to forward motion. This all happens while simultaneously, intravenously injecting your ego. It’s witchcraft, only we don’t need to drown the witch. The system does have a few limitations and doesn’t feel as developed as the ABS, but for 90% of the time it was unobtrusive and entirely effective. The limitations came when accelerating over bumps, a situation where the rear wheel is leaving the ground for fractions of second. At this point it restricts the forward drive a little too much, but it also reduces the danger of ejecting one’s self into the trees at high speed whilst flapping like a piece of washing. It’s a control versus risk balance that, as a rider, you’ve got to decide for yourself.

Road Rider

Rolling onto the tarmac, the story of the 1200 Enduro is equally as far removed from its sister Multistrada. The road spec bikes were prepared somewhat differently to the off-road models at the launch and this was to the bike’s detriment. The handlebars were rolled back a touch, the rubber footpeg inserts were fitted. This cramped things up and the ride wasn’t as relaxed. The bikes were also fitted with the Touring Pack, which includes panniers built by Touratech.

On the road, the electronic options expand with three modes from which to pick. The primary two are Touring, for a relaxed, more comfortable ride, and Sport. That one is sportier… Unsurprisingly, they are true to their word in performance too. In Touring, the bike is comfortable, spongy and disconnected from the road. It was happy bobbing along in a straight line, with its softened throttle response and lazy suspension. As the road got tighter, the ride becomes entirely uninspiring. The bike wallows about like a hippo stuck on a muddy river bank, feeling confused and not comfortable in any part of the corner. I don’t know if you’ve ever ridden a hippo, but they don’t turn well. The 1200 Enduro dives a lot with a touch of the brakes and wobbles around in the turn. Things simply weren’t working well. A quick push and hold of the mode button and the bike takes a huge step towards a happy place.

Sport mode stiffens the suspension to the maximum available and sharpens the throttle response, the latter of which, while incredibly exciting, I could take or leave. However, the suspension is infinitely better, holding up under brakes, wallowing less and generally feeling more like a road bike with 160hp engine should. It’s a noticeably more raked-out feeling bike on the road, with quick turns exposing a more lackadaisical attitude, but that is to be expected. Direction changes take a little extra effort and more time, but this is both fractional and negligible when you remember the context in which the bike is intended to be ridden. As the pace picked up it would’ve been great to be able to go a little stiffer again with both the shock and fork. Even in Sport mode it was still relaxed and comfortable to ride. For me, the biggest question mark was the pannier-shaped parachute following us around. Panniers always alter handling and it would have been great to ride without them. We’ll just have to wait for another test for that luxury.

The engine, unlike the suspension, has lost none of that ballistic speed or characterful rasp. The changing of the rear sprocket has created a little more pull from the bottom. Below 4000RPM, as it is off-road, the engine is smooth and extremely enjoyable to ride. Pulling tall gears and letting the bike roll through the corners is a buttery, easy way to hustle the 1200 Enduro along. It’s really comfortable doing this and if you’re not someone who likes to push the proverbial envelope, then you don’t have to for the fun to flow thick and fast. However, beyond that RPM threshold is where the Ducati starts to change the Earth’s rotational speed and unsurprisingly if you rev it, it will move incredibly quickly. It’s still smooth; it’s just bloody fast at the same time. Simply put, the DVT Testastretta engine is awesome and I will never tire of hitting the warp button (throttle). It’s exhilarating, eye-watering and stupendous. The only thing better than the acceleration is the performance of the brakes. They posses fantastic power with great modulation and feel make for a very comforting experience. Both front and back are easy to drag deep into the corner and maintain the right amount of pressure.

Around Town

The majority of our riding wasn’t anywhere near a town or city, but we did more than our fair share of tight manoeuvring, awkward U-turns and plodding around small villages. It’s here where the Ducati deserves to win a lot of fans. At the top end of the ‘adventure’ spectrum, bikes like KTM’s 1190R feel big. They’re often fabulous once moving, but it’s not the moving part of riding that the majority find difficult. Here is where the 1200 Enduro shines. For a bike of 250kg+ fully fuelled, it sure as hell doesn’t feel chunky. It’s balanced, easy to move and unintimidating. It makes all the slow-speed manoeuvres in the carpark far less challenging. Being able to touch the ground is a big problem for many, but all testers – no matter how tall or short – suffered no issue.

The Details

Ducati is a brand that pride itself on fit and finish. With the Enduro, they have every right to carry that pride and shout about it. Every little detail looks thought about, from the chamfering of every metal edge, to the beautiful, user-friendly, backlit switchgear. The TFT, full-colour dash display is a thing of beauty and more like something from a high-end car. It’s all easy to operate and adds up to make the Ducati feel like a bike that matches its exuberant price tag. Likewise, the cruise control system is tremendously simple and therefore you use it regularly. Changing modes is only bested in ease by BMW’s system and the three heat options on the grips are very nice.

The only things worth complaining about are the grips, mirrors and handguards. The grips, especially for off-road riding are harsh on your hands. The little spikes begin to dig in after a while. When off-road, you can only move the clutch and brake levers to be flat. If you attempt to tip them down at all, the mirrors point to sky and become useless on the road. The last issue we found was the fragility of the handguard. If you plan on lying down on this bike, it’s a decent bet that the integrated indicator will suffer. We saw one break during the day.

The Summary

Ducati has done an incredible job with the new 1200 Enduro. It’s not a case of adding some protection and calling it off-road friendly. No, this is a bike that can genuinely do whatever you desire of it. They’ve made it so capable off-road that some tarmac performance has been sacrificed, but as an all-road adventure product it’s incredible. It’s far removed from the standard version and intended for a different audience, a different rider and not for someone who wanted a Multistrada with a ‘more aggressive’ look.

The rideability is one of the finest characteristics of the new bike. Despite the apparent weight, it never feels heavy. It’s balanced, easy to ride and incredibly fun. It’s a machine that you can test yourself on and let push your limits on and rather than hinder you. It’ll mollycoddle you down every track, making you feel like a total hero. And because of that, you can undoubtedly go to places you wouldn’t think you could.

The detailing is the best of any bike in any market, and folk who bemoan the electronics need to take one for a test ride. They’re opening up the performance of each discipline and in the Ducati they seem to be as good as anything else available. The option to customise the settings to suit yourself, or simply choose your mode and go is fantastic. Being able to commit such changes to memory is even better, and it’s those little touches where the Ducati makes its stamp. When you add into the package the great looks, fantastic brakes and stupendous electronics, it’s very clear why the Ducati is a premium bike. It’s tough to say how good the Enduro is or where the it sits against its competitors until we test them back-to-back, but it would at no point shock me if the Italian steed came out of a group test as the best all-rounder.