Torn between new ducati and bmw

KiwiKurt

Explorer
Having a hard time deciding what 2014 bike to get..the Ducati Multistrada touring S, or the BMW r 1200gs in premium plus trim....first world problems, right?

I was pretty set on a new r1200gs. Jack of all trades, does everything pretty well, popular for obvious reasons.

I started thinking, however, the ducati multistrada touring is also a great option.

Seems like the ducati to be a better bike on the road and the gs better off the road...which lead me to start thinking, "how much off road riding do I really want to do on the bike?" I definitely want to be able to handle unpaved and unimproved roads and extended travel...but 'moderate' is as extreme as I plan on trail riding...maybe a campsite along my way etc....ie..I do my 'overlanding' in my truck. This thing will see more paved roads and travels than not.

Thoughts from the pros?

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Christophe Noel

Expedition Leader
Those are two radically different bikes. I've owned three Ducatis and a couple BMWs. The Ducs have been emotional purchases and they are sublimely fun to own and ride. They are however demanding mistresses. They love to be loved, and may not return the favor. While they don't "fail" per say, they do need lots of maintenance, and will not suffer poor mechanics.

The new GS is a lovely machine. I spent a few hundred miles on one and pushed it to my absolute limit offroad, and it was fantastic. It has gobs of power, rides beautifully on the pavement and it's so adept off-road it's almost bizarre.

If either of these are your first bikes, that might be a sketchy prospect. Both have enough power to get you in trouble. Having not logged any seat time on that particular Duc, I would lean towards the Beemer simply because it's so rider friendly.

I guess my next question would be - why so much bike?
 

imperiaus

New member
учитывайте место нахождения и путешествия. Мотоциклы пока новые все хороши, но если вы отправитесь в тур, то учитывайте стоимость запчастей и их наличии. А также в дальнейшем продажу мотоцикла. БМВ мотоциклы зарекомендовали себя уже давно в отличии от Дукати. Бмв настроена больше на плохую дорогу, а значит что если покупать мотоцикл из серии Эндуро это путешествия большую часть по плохому пути. У нас в России более любят бмв и хонда. Так как эти мотоциклы зарекомендовали себя и люди при покупке уже смотрят сразу на эти модели.
 

onetraveller

Adventurer
If this is your first bike, look elsewhere for something smaller and simple until you have some seat time.

If it's not your first rodeo, Ride them both. I've owned BMWs and went with the Multi last spring. It's amazing, fast and very comfortable. It'll do dirt roads faster than you will. It's owned the Pikes Peak Hill Climb race for the past 4 years, both paved and unpaved roads, and is the current record holder.

This is a very different bike from previous Ducatis, maintenance intervals have been greatly extended. 7-8000 mile oil changes and 18,000 mile valve adjustments. It's not some fragile race bike.

But the new water cooled GS is also very nice.

Both the BMW and the Ducati have similar semi-active suspension systems, and on-the-fly rider controllable modes for rain, sport, etc.

Ride them both and listen to your heart.

Mike
 
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fifthcircle

Adventurer
Love my KTM.

I considered the multi, but it is NOT for off road. You drop it, and you will be replacing fancy Italian plastic.

GS is great, and might be overall a better long distance bike than the KTM. BUT...it is not as good off highway, or in the twisties.

uploadfromtaptalk1394394998023.jpg

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cchoc

Wilderness Photographer
I've got a BMW F800GS and it's a great bike too, not a good on road as the 1200 but maybe a bit easier to handle off the pavement.
 

Rbertalotto

Explorer
Ducati...Great bike. Very few dealers in the "outback", Sourcing parts while on a tour could be an issue. Reliabilty is greatly improved in the past few years.

BMW....Final Drive failures, Key Ring failures, Fuel Pump failures. All are tour stopping issues. Great dealer network and lots of available assistance everywhere. Big, Heavy bike. Off road but might not be off trail...depends on your strength and riding skill

KTM...See Ducati

Suzuki V-Strom...Cheap, dosposable, reliable as a stone, thousands of dealers, similar off road performance as BMW and Ducati. But 1/3 the price for the 650 and half the price for the new 1000 just introduced.

I've owned them all.....Rode a 650 Suzuki V strom to Alaska and up the haul road. , cross country muliple times...zero issues. All on a bike that costs less than $8k with ABS.
 

fifthcircle

Adventurer
The little Strom is great. Had one for 9yrs! Doesn't hold a candle to the BMW or KTM though. You will also end up spending $2 - $3 thousand in luggage, skid, this and that upgrade.

I think all the issues you mentioned about the bmw are few an far between. I know several folks with GSs, and none have had ANY problems. (one friend has 300k mi on his R1100GS!)

I took a risk getting the KTM, in its second year of production. Not many issues for the first year bikes.

Big Strom looks to be a great bike. Still will have budget parts on it.

Just too many great bikes! Best thing to do is ride them all. One will fit you best, and you'll know it immediately.

Tiger 800xc is a truly great machine. I was going to go down that road... I know a couple guys with them, that love them.

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AofC'77

New member
Make your decision based on data

Make your decision based on data.
Complete thorough research - read and re-read everything the Expo guys here have said – including the Russian guy
Visit other sites, shops, etc. that are more specific to this undertaking. Due diligence is vital.
Create a list of each potential bike and jot down the pros and cons of each (ex below is for convenience: the data is not intended to be used in your analysis).
Scrub the lists against each other.
When you’re finished go buy the Ducati to help increase the US footprint for Ducati so my costs will drop :bike_rider:

BMW
More stable off road
More comfortable on longer rides but bigger (if you aren’t a big guy you might have to muscle it around off road more than relying on your body mass)
Passenger comfort better
………………etc

Ducati
Has better performance on road (150 mph)
More technology (is that good or bad?) – will that cause you to get stuck 10 miles down some trail or help you outrun the cops- jk?
………………etc

KTM
Lighter
Less complicated
Costs less for lifecycle of ownership including direct and indirect costs (if it does)
…………….etc
 

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