New Multistrada 1200 complete with 1198 Testastretta donk coming soon

Ducati have now confirmed that the Multistrada 1200 will be shown for the first time in public at the EICMA show in Milan next week.

Faithful to the original intuition, which combined sport bike technology with comfort and versatility, Ducati now extend the concept further with a brand new Multistrada 1200.

With completely new, but purely Ducati look and style, the Multistrada 1200 is claimed to delivers sport bike power and excitement, while remaining easy to ride and with a high priority on safety and comfort.

From a sport bike for outright excitement to a tourer for long journeys with passenger and luggage, and from an everyday bike which can breeze through the daily commute to an agile enduro able to tackle off-road routes, the brand new Ducati is claimed to be more versatile than before.

Since the inception of the original Multistrada model Ducati have made no claims or recommendations that the Multistrada be taken off road.

Significantly, Ducati's brief pre-release comments are claiming that the new MTS 1200 is able to tackle off-road routes. This suggests Ducati have this time around given the Multistrada some true off-road ability.

Although with Superbike derived 1198 Testastretta engine powering the MTS 1200 it would be safe to say that Ducati's traction control system will certainly be needed off-road, as will a slipper clutch or some sort of aid to help reduce engine braking when decelerating.

This official pre-release teaser image shows a much more attractive front end than seen on previous Multistrada machines and suggests that Ducati are this time around getting very serious with the Multistrada. With the sport-touring ST range dropped from the Ducati line-up it is clear that the MTS 1200 will be the machine that steps in to fill that void in the Ducati range.

The current 1100 Multistrada is equipped with the same grunty 1078cc air-cooled engine that powers the 1100 Monster. For road speeds this engine rates as one of the best v-twin powerplants ever made but there is no argument that for outright speed the 1198cc engine from the Superbike is in a separate league altogether.

As to which engine will best suit an all-rounder?

I expect the current air-cooled engine will still be far more tractable and grunty at low rpm and provide the best real world ride. But, the two-valve engine will never have the sexy marketing factor that the full monty Superbike engine brings to the table.

It will be those big power numbers on the spec sheet and the emotional appeal of the Superbike engine that will undoubtedly make the MTS 1200 far more appealing to a much broader range of prospective buyers than previous Multistrada models and will ensure the model becomes a big success story for Ducati.

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