2019 Ducati Multistrada 1260 EnduroDavid Booth / Driving BORMIO, Italy — Italians, especially those living in and around Borgo Panigale, must love big numbers. Like, really big numbers — 1260, for instance, is a preposterous number of cubic centimetres for any motorcycle that dares put Enduro in its name. Ditto for 158 horsepower, and for pistons spanning 106 millimetres across. It’s incredibly over-the-top stuff, the kind of high-performance motor that, not so long ago, that would have done any superbike proud, never mind something wearing saddlebags and kinda, sorta off-road tires. Far more impressive is how Ducati’s — they of Borgo Panigale, where I picked up this monster — Multistrada behaves when you’re not taxing those big numbers. In fact, for the first three days in normally sunny Italy, it did nothing but rain, the Modenese spring doing a fair rendition of our own (albeit with prettier countryside to gaze upon as the heavens poured down upon our slickers). In other words, for safety sake — and the fact that I had she-who-reacts-poorly-to-crossed-up-corner-entries along for the ride — I did nothing but poodle around like I was riding a Gold Wing on a poker run. So, for instance, while the big twin’s frame-twisting 94 pound-feet of torque may build up quite the head of steam at 7,500 rpm, let me nonetheless remind you that big Testastretta grunts like a good’un at a traction-maximizing 3,500. Those huge 106-millimetres may indeed harness the forces of a 158 seriously stout Shetlands, but loping along at an easy five grand in top gear, they are as civilized as a straight-six with perfect primary balance. And trundling along like the proverbial tortoise means that we stretch the Enduro’s huge 30-litre tanks — another huge number — all the way from Modena to Bormio, a ride of some 340 kilometres. And yet Multistrada’s TFT screen had the audacity to claim we had another 160 kilometres in reserve. What I am trying to say is that, yes, this latest, larger-displacement Multistrada is fast. My God, it’s a Ducati with desmodromic valves and pistons the size of manhole covers. Of course it’s bloody fast. In fact, as fast two-up and loaded with luggage as my Suzuki V-Strom 1000 XT when I am riding alone. What’s less expected, perhaps — certainly if you were around to sample the, uhm, delicacies of Ducati superbikes of yore — is that the big Duke is a good motorcycle even when it’s not going fast. For one thing, it’s comfortable. More comfortable, in fact, than Ducati’s other Multistrada bikes thanks to a revised seating position that sees your butt about 10-millimetres closer to the ground than the previous 1200-cc version of the Enduro. The handlebar is an even more substantial 30 millimetres lower as well. This last surprised me because I found the lower bars easier on my wonky back. Maybe it‘s because the revised seat also places you closer to said handlebar. Or maybe the cut of the Enduro just fit my gib. Whatever the case, I found the Enduro easier on my posterior than either the 1260 S or the 950 Multistradas I rode recently. Even the adjustable windscreen is quite effective on the long haul, its lowest position sportbike breezy while its highest more than protective enough to ward off rain showers. Ditto for the ride. Ducati’s “Skyhook” suspension offer full adjustability at the flick of a button — OK, the touch of a screen — the electronically adjustable dampers variable between Enduro — compression damping lightened to maximize wheel travel over big bumps — to Sport (compression and rebound damping both tailored for optimized wheel control). It works well, herself giving the big Duke a full princess-and-the-pea two thumbs up. I do have one request though, Ducati: Could I please get just a little more rear preload adjustment in the rear? Even your “two helmets and full suitcases” setting isn’t quite enough for the burden of carrying a month’s worth of ablution products and hair creams. The reason we could carry enough for a full month’s sojourn were the positively cavernous aluminum cargo cases optional on the Enduro. Built by Touratech, they are sturdy, keyed to the ignition lock and can hold a grand total of 83 litres of Lierac Crème Voluptueuse. Rid of expensive face creams, they’ll swallow a full-sized helmet easily. The rear topcase Ducati offers, also made by Touratech, is small by comparison, holding just 38 litres. Nonetheless, the total — 121 litres between the three of them — is impressive and you can stack extra luggage — much needed, if you’ve been following the thread — thanks to the built-in bungee hooks built into the lid of each case. And while I am on about the practicalities one might not expect from the bike, it’s worth noting Ducati has extended the valve inspection interval to a whopping 30,000 kilometres, one of the longest in the industry. Indeed, if recent rider reports are any indication, Ducatis are now more durable than the average motorcycle, an
Origin: Motorcycle Review: 2019 Ducati Multistrada 1260 Enduro