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- Joined
- Mar 27, 2007
- Messages
- 122
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- Northern hemisphere, probably
- First Name
- Josh
- Last Name
- Woodall
First off, a little background is due. I haven't been active on here in quite a while as I haven't ridden in quite a while. I had a fairly bad get-off in late '08 and have been bikeless and in Iraq most of the time in between. In preparation for this latest visit home my wife worked out a drug deal of sorts with the local honda kawi/suzi/yama shop. It helps I used to work there. Anyway, long story short they agreed to rent me any of the used bikes they had in inventory upon my return home. As this is new to them, the paperwork was basically a napkin and some signatures. Worked out to about $11/day. Not too shabby in my book.
So I departed there with a slightly used flat black '06 Duc Multistrada 620. The bike has around 10k on the odo, a few minor dress up farkles and a Leo Vince exhaust setup. All of this riding on some nondescript Metzlers with a mighty flat center section. I'm going out on a limb imagining most of it's 10 thousand miles being on the interstate or at least something similar.
First things first. Starting/warming is simple but takes quite a while. There is an indicator of a "Lo" temp on the dash until it reaches optimal operating temp. I'm pretty sure that took around 10 minutes idling in the driveway. Plenty of time for that bathroom break you forgot prior to gearing up. (Right? ATGATT?)
With all of that accomplished, throw yourself over the none to short saddle and bang it into gear. I'm not sure if that is a Ducati trademark with the dry clutch or what, but it is with a noticable "thunk" and some effort that it finally reaches first. I suppose if you are a better rider than me you would have at some point leading up to this played with the adjustable suspension. I didn't.
Underway the first thing that jumps out at me is the throttle responsiveness. Wow. It takes a light touch on the throttle to avoid some jerky responses. Odd that it would pull so quickly with just a touch for a motor that seems to have so little torque down low. Under 4k rpms, forget about it. Really not even useful until you get past about 5k. I was amazed at the lack of low end from a L-twin motor, but hey, maybe the guy tuned it differently when he put the Leo Vince's on it. Perhaps someone else with one of these can help explain the weak low end.
Road manners are about what you would expect from any small/mid sized standard. It gets tossed around a bit, but sticks well in the corners. The not so subtle throttle response can sneak up on you in a corner if you're not careful, but other than that, it turns quite well and you have to go WAY over to risk sparking a roadside fire with the pegs. Suffice to say that I leaned her quite a bit and never touched, but I'm no pro either. Wind with what appears to be the stock shield wasn't bad at all. Wind is not turbulent at all and hit me (6') around the shoulders and upper chest. Expect your helmet to be up in the air, but it's for the most part undisturbed air. Little to no protection on the legs, but hey, it's a mostly naked standard.
The motor pulls strongly above 5 thousand, however many downshifts that takes to get to. Under 50mph in the twisties I spent most of my time in second and third. 5th gear is strictly for fuel savings and interstate travel. Even passing at non-interstate speeds (55-60ish) requires a bump down to at least 4th, probably 3rd to be sure. Engine temps also raised an eyebrow for me. I'm not sure what "normal" operating temperature is for an air-cooled Duc, but i saw it peak just shy of 220. It fluctuates wildly, but at least the check engine light never came on.
On the whole, not a bad bike. I wouldn't buy one, but for $11/day, who am I to complain. (too much anyway). It doesn't have the power of a sportbike, but nobody ran over me. It doesn't have the road manners of an FJR or a Connie, but hey, 1/2 the price. Overall a decent value, but I imagine that for those looking to purchase, there are better values. I just wish I'd had the 1100cc model to choose from.
This was also the test ride for my Transition 2 Jacket from Tourmaster as well as my HJC IS-16. I'll write them up separately later this evening. Oh yeah, pictures later.
So I departed there with a slightly used flat black '06 Duc Multistrada 620. The bike has around 10k on the odo, a few minor dress up farkles and a Leo Vince exhaust setup. All of this riding on some nondescript Metzlers with a mighty flat center section. I'm going out on a limb imagining most of it's 10 thousand miles being on the interstate or at least something similar.
First things first. Starting/warming is simple but takes quite a while. There is an indicator of a "Lo" temp on the dash until it reaches optimal operating temp. I'm pretty sure that took around 10 minutes idling in the driveway. Plenty of time for that bathroom break you forgot prior to gearing up. (Right? ATGATT?)
With all of that accomplished, throw yourself over the none to short saddle and bang it into gear. I'm not sure if that is a Ducati trademark with the dry clutch or what, but it is with a noticable "thunk" and some effort that it finally reaches first. I suppose if you are a better rider than me you would have at some point leading up to this played with the adjustable suspension. I didn't.
Underway the first thing that jumps out at me is the throttle responsiveness. Wow. It takes a light touch on the throttle to avoid some jerky responses. Odd that it would pull so quickly with just a touch for a motor that seems to have so little torque down low. Under 4k rpms, forget about it. Really not even useful until you get past about 5k. I was amazed at the lack of low end from a L-twin motor, but hey, maybe the guy tuned it differently when he put the Leo Vince's on it. Perhaps someone else with one of these can help explain the weak low end.
Road manners are about what you would expect from any small/mid sized standard. It gets tossed around a bit, but sticks well in the corners. The not so subtle throttle response can sneak up on you in a corner if you're not careful, but other than that, it turns quite well and you have to go WAY over to risk sparking a roadside fire with the pegs. Suffice to say that I leaned her quite a bit and never touched, but I'm no pro either. Wind with what appears to be the stock shield wasn't bad at all. Wind is not turbulent at all and hit me (6') around the shoulders and upper chest. Expect your helmet to be up in the air, but it's for the most part undisturbed air. Little to no protection on the legs, but hey, it's a mostly naked standard.
The motor pulls strongly above 5 thousand, however many downshifts that takes to get to. Under 50mph in the twisties I spent most of my time in second and third. 5th gear is strictly for fuel savings and interstate travel. Even passing at non-interstate speeds (55-60ish) requires a bump down to at least 4th, probably 3rd to be sure. Engine temps also raised an eyebrow for me. I'm not sure what "normal" operating temperature is for an air-cooled Duc, but i saw it peak just shy of 220. It fluctuates wildly, but at least the check engine light never came on.
On the whole, not a bad bike. I wouldn't buy one, but for $11/day, who am I to complain. (too much anyway). It doesn't have the power of a sportbike, but nobody ran over me. It doesn't have the road manners of an FJR or a Connie, but hey, 1/2 the price. Overall a decent value, but I imagine that for those looking to purchase, there are better values. I just wish I'd had the 1100cc model to choose from.
This was also the test ride for my Transition 2 Jacket from Tourmaster as well as my HJC IS-16. I'll write them up separately later this evening. Oh yeah, pictures later.
