Ducati Multistrada 1200 Enduro

Review

The world is too big and beautiful a place to not continually be exploring, and with its Multistrada 1200 Enduro, Ducati suggests its built a better bike for doing exactly that. Who really wants to have to turn around the second a paved road turns to dirt anyways?

If the steadily growing adventure-touring category has proven anything, it’s that the answer to that question is “very few.” Or at least that a large majority of today’s riders want a bike that doesn’t feel completely out of place the second the pavement ends. Now more than ever, people want to be able to rack up the miles on any kind of road, in comfort, and on a bike with no shortage of features.

For years now, Ducati’s Multistrada 1200 and Multistrada 1200 S have delivered on two of those points, but regardless of what their beaked front ends suggested, they were not go-anywhere, do-anything motorcycles. Consider them more like sportbikes with an adventure-bike façade—bikes that were willing and able to go the distance, but on pavement and not much else.

I’ve personally gone against that point and taken two separate Multis off road. One came back with an error code for its Skyhook suspension, and the other with a few less warning lights flashing, but still a general sense of displeasure. They’d gotten me as far as I’d wanted to go into the unknown, just not with the same grin I’d go on to get from the more adventurous bikes in the adventure touring category. Point taken.

The new Multistrada 1200 Enduro is a different animal, with Ducati having used 266 new or updated parts to turn the bike into something that’s more capable as an off-road machine. Ducati staff says that list doesn’t include little things like bolts, washers, or nuts either, but rather 266 real, major components.

That list starts with a larger, 19-inch spoked front wheel and 17-inch spoked rear wheel, plus updated suspension with an additional 30mm of travel front and rear. The bike has a claimed 205mm of ground clearance (35mm more than the Multistrada 1200) and while the Ducati Skyhook Suspension system’s hardware is identical to that on the Multi, it has been re-calibrated to better handle the abuse this bike will be subjected to in the dirt. Can you say, jumps?

The Enduro’s geometry has been updated as well, Ducati having recognized that a bike making 160 horsepower and being ridden off road needs to be more stable. Point in mind, Ducati has offset the front axle by an additional 16mm (to 37mm), increased trail by 4mm (to 110mm), and increased rake angle by 1 degree (to 25 degrees). For like benefits, a dual-sided swingarm has been made longer, stronger, and stiffer, in the end growing total wheelbase by 65mm (to 1594mm, or 62.8 inches, total).

Ducati recognizes that another key to going anywhere and everywhere is comfort, and so it’s updated the Multistrada Enduro’s riding position to better suit both on- and off-road riding styles. Biggest changes here are a new seat and handlebar, which has an updated bend and sits 50mm higher than the one on the Multistrada 1200, so that you can stand up and not be reaching down for the bar. Because in this riding stance you run the risk of hitting your forearms on the mirrors, Ducati has also updated the mirror stem design. The non-adjustable seat is now 34.25 inches tall (versus 32.5 – 33.3 inches on the Multistrada 1200), and that very well could be the only detriment to the Enduro’s more off-road focused design.

In other ways, Ducati has done everything it could to make the Multi a more worthwhile competitor for bikes like the BMW R1200GS Adventure, KTM 1190 Adventure R, Triumph Tiger Explorer XC, and Yamaha Super Ténéré ES. It’s raised the exhaust silencer exit for example, increased the wading depth by 77mm (3 inches), extended and reinforced the skid plate, outfitted the bike with sturdier steel levers (brake pedal is height adjustable), and even grown the fuel tank by 2.6 gallons, to 7.9 gallons. New, aluminum side panels are intended to keep that precious, mile-eating fuel load safe, too.

The Multi Enduro’s 1198.4cc Testastretta DVT engine is essentially the same as it is in the standard Multistrada, hold for updated EFI mapping and an updated transmission, which uses a shorter first gear ratio for easier riding in slow, more technical off-road sections. The changes, combined with a shorter final gear ratio (43/15 sprocket setup versus 40/15), should allow the Enduro to grunt off corners and up hills with a little more ease.

Electronics are intended to help you along the way, with the Enduro featuring everything from traction control and ABS (Level One allowing the rear wheel to lock up in the dirt) to wheelie control and Vehicle Hold Control, Ducati’s version of a hill-hold control, a system that gradually releases brake pressure so that you can start easier on a slope. As with other Ducatis, the 1200 Enduro also features four individual riding modes (Touring, Enduro, Sport, and Urban) that can be customized in terms of power output or electronic rider aid settings.

All of the changes that Ducati has made create an entirely different riding experience, and it didn’t take more than a few miles in the Enduro’s reshaped saddle to realize how far Ducati had gone toward making a better bike for off-road riding situations. To start, the suspension action feels softer overall, with new dual-rate springs in the fork enabling the bike to dive through the first part of the travel easier before stiffening up at the bottom (Multistrada springs are flat rate). Increase the damping settings through the five-inch TFT display (still not entirely easy to see with the sun against your back) and you can limit the movement, but even with the front and rear damping set at Hardest (Harder, Default, Softer, and Softest are the other options) and preload maxed out, the bike still feels relatively soft. On a paved, winding road, this means you need to be quite a bit gentler with your inputs at both corner entry and corner exit. Fortunately, once on its side, the bike is very stable, a likely result of the new geometry.

Ducati’s ultra-impressive Testastretta DVT engine with variable valve timing has noticeable benefits on-road and off, but feels most advantageous as you’re running through town or even down a winding road, as it enables the engine to pull from as low as 2000 rpm without any hesitation or chugging. This means you can leave the bike in a single gear (3rd gear, as it was on our ride) and not be continually shifting in a mad attempt to keep the bike in an rpm range that allows it to pull smoothly. Throttle response is silver-tongued and power feels good as the revs climb, with the bike pulling noticeably harder at around the 6000-rpm mark—the second benefit of that variable valve timing. There’s so much power on tap in fact, that in the dirt I opted to customize the rider mode I was using with the power level set to Low, which limits power output to just 100 hp. Quite honestly, I think that’s all any sane person would need in the dirt anyways.

With the power level set at Low, I was able to turn the Enduro’s traction-control system (and thus wheelie-control system) off and not worry as much about being spit off into the trees lining the dirt road our group was thrashing on during the second half of our ride. Earlier, on the street, those systems went pretty much unnoticed when set to a lower settings (less intervention), but in the dirt they made themselves more known. And while I appreciated the helping hand, I did feel like the traction-control system wasn’t entirely consistent. In some corners it would enable me to slide the rear around nicely and finish the turn, yet in others it would cut power dramatically and have me fighting to just move forward. If Ducati could work on more predictable performance, the system could be even more advantageous for off-road riding, but right now you almost don’t know exactly how the system will react from one corner to the next.

Meanwhile, I always ran with ABS set to level one, which allowed you to slide the rear into a corner and square a turn up, but prevented the front wheel from locking up, something I definitely didn’t want to do on a bike with claimed 560 pound curb weight (versus 518 for the Multistrada S).

Speaking of weight, Ducati’s curb weight numbers generally don’t account for a full tank of fuel, and with your 7.9 gallon tank topped off, the 1200 Enduro will likely weigh even more than that. It carries its weight well, mostly, but in small acts like lifting it up off the kickstand, you will certainly feel that added heft. I’m not looking forward to the day I drop one in the dirt and have to pick it up, either. But yes, me saying that means I didn’t drop it in this first ride. Go, me.

There were a couple close calls, sure, but for the most part the Enduro was tractable and easy to ride, with good front-end feel and traction (when equipped with the optional Pirelli Scorpion Rally tires that are only available as part of an optional Touring pack and on the Phantom Grey Multi Enduro, oddly enough). The bike is stable at speed, and never felt like it wanted to chase rocks, divots, or any other irregularities in the road, its suspension going on to absorb most everything and only bottoming out in instances where I hit bigger rocks or rollers (with rear preload reduced to 14). At 6-foot-3-inches tall, I felt in control at almost all times, with the only exception being a few slower corners with loose dirt where I wanted to sit down and dab my foot for better feel and control. With the taller seat height and added weight, this is easier said than done, and in instances like this you’ll really be reminded of the fact that this is no small dirtbike.

Of course, the Enduro isn’t a dirtbike. It may a better off road than any Ducati that’s come before it (barring, ugh, maybe the 450 R/T), but it’s more a globetrotter bike than anything, Ducati suggests. One that’s willing and able to go wherever you please, but also in comfort. And on this end the Enduro delivers, the larger tank improving range, the easily adjustable screen providing good wind protection, and the handlebars still being positioned so that you’re arms are comfortable while seated and running down the highway, which after all, could still very well be a place this bike spends most of its time. Credit to the Enduro’s mirrors in these situations too, which remain perfectly clear regardless of engine rpm and are incredibly easy to see out of.

Updates to the suspension (front spring rate and Skyhook software) make the Multistrada Enduro feel softer overall and allow it to move around more than a standard Multistrada would, regardless of how stiff the suspension settings you opt for. For spirited riding, the standard Multistrada will still offer a more planted, sporty feel.

Regardless of what you plan to do with the Enduro, Ducati has an optional “pack” for you. These include a Touring Pack, Enduro Pack, Sport Pack, and Urban Pack. The two more popular ones will likely be the Touring Pack (aluminum panniers, handlebar bag, and heated grips) and Enduro Pack (crashbars, oil and water radiator covers, fog lights, lower chain guide, and rear disc brake protector), and with either you’ll probably be even more prepared for your next adventure.

How would that adventure compare if you were on one of the Multi Enduro’s competitors? We can’t wait to find out.

Rest assured though, this is a far more adventurous bike than the Multistradas that have come before it, and albeit tailored more toward dirt riding than street, a worthwhile option if you plan on exploring this big, beautiful place we call home.