News 6 Apr 2016

Review: 2016 Ducati Multistrada 1200 Pikes Peak

CycleOnline.com.au tests the 2016 Ducati Multistrada 1200 Pikes Peak.

Words: Matthew Shields

In 2015 Ducati updated its Multistrada after a five year run of the highly-successful 1198cc 11-degree Testastretta-engined machine. The biggest change on the model update last year was the adoption of the Desmodromic Variable Timing (DVT) system. The aim of the DVT system was to improve on the rider-friendly characteristics of the 11-degree engine on the road, and the DVT system certainly did that.

When the Multi got updated in 2015 with the DVT engine, the sportiest model in the range – the 1200 S Pikes Peak – wasn’t. It carried on with the 11-degree Testastretta engine and the previous generation chassis and styling. A year later, the new Pikes Peak is here and it features the wide range of changes the Multistrada got last year, including the new engine.

In the main part the changes between the last generation of Pikes Peak and the DVT-engined one include Öhlins suspension, Termignoni exhaust, carbon screen, tank guard, mudguard and fairing panels, unique detail touches on wheels & seat and the latest in Ducati’s electronic functions.

Image: Alex Gobert (Foremost Media).

Named after the successful machines raced in the hill climb race in the US, the Pikes Peak’s engine now has a a crisper, smoother response at low rpm with no robbing of the strong engine performance at high rpm thanks to the DVT system. The engine delivers great low rpm performance and you get none of the abruptness big twins can have at slower speeds. On the flip side, the valve timing transition takes away a bit of the hard-hitting excitement you got from the previous generation engine, but all in all it is a more rider-friendly engine to use in every situation.

The M50 Monoblocs are teamed with the Bosch 9.1ME cornering ABS system. It’s this system, and primarily its inertial measurement unit, that is the heart of the Ducati’s electronics system making all of the electronics function as well as they do. One thing it doesn’t have that the old Pikes Peak had is Ducati’s Skyhook Suspension.

While the previous Pikes Peak had the semi-active suspension system, the 2016 model goes for a more sporting character and runs Öhlins forks and TTX36 shock absorber. Where the handling was a notable improvement from the base-model 1200 to the 1200 S with lighter wheels and up-spec suspension, the Pikes Peak is a step ahead again if sportier handling is more your thing than ease of use.

The Pikes Peak is marginally lighter than the Multistrada 1200S and feels sportier with its different styling, but it still retains that balanced and composed nature that the other models do just with a faster action from the suspension. I’d have it over a semi-active system if I rode solo or on weekends only, but the semi-active system teamed with the mode selection on the S model gives a wider range of use.

Image: Alex Gobert (Foremost Media).

You still get the full effect of the mode selector on the engine at the click of a button on the Pikes Peak. Sport, Touring, Urban and Enduro modes give you a different relationship of the ride-by-wire throttle with the twist grip, level of Ducati Wheelie Control (DWC), Ducati Traction Control (DTC) and ABS. The new electronics system also includes a LED cornering headlight and a 5-inch thin film transistor (TFT) screen that feeds you all the information you need to adjust the rider aids.

While the styling change brings the Pikes Peak in line with the rest of the Multistradas, it has additional touches making it more unique including carbon-fibre screen, mudguard, tank cover, fairing panels red-trimmed wheels and red seat stictching. Oh, and of course that Ducati Corse paint scheme.

At the $34,990 it is the most expensive of the now four-model Multistrada range but it is also the sportiest machine with a host of extras. Price up the likes of the carbon, wheels, suspension and exhaust, and there’s a lot of value in the Pikes Peak for the sports-touring rider who likes more sports than touring in their diet.

Specifications

Capacity: 1198cc
Power: 118kW @ 9500rpm
Torque: 136Nm @ 7500rpm
Dry weight: 1200 209kg; 1200 S 212kg
Seat height: 825-845mm
Price: $34,990 plus ORC
Detailed specs: www.ducati.com.au

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