[Ducati] Multi 620

[David Patton]

I have a 620 (dark) and love it. I'm a sliim 6' 3" and it the bike
fits me well although I do get wind blast. I wouldn't mind the slight
extra height of the bigger machines but I don't miss it. I'd probably
get wind blast from them as well.

I have a topbox on the back, super useful. The bike is reletively
light (previous ride was an '88 K100RS), great in town and traffic and
fun up in the mountain roads. My wife likes to ride around on the back
of it and I get close to 50mpg if I take it easy on commutes.

Power - it jumps away from stops quickly and leaves my buddy on his
R1100S, at least until the displacement advantage kicks in and he
blows past me, but by then we're near 80. Unless you live at 120MPH
and/or never want to shift gears, I think the that power is useful if
not overwhelming. A couple of months ago it was me, two 999's, a KTM
950 SM and the R1100S chasing each other around the westside mountains
here in LA. I found myself thinking that was I was experiencing was
what the magazines refer to as "usable power" as I was gear shifting
all around and pinning it on open stretches while the big bikes were
loping along. Fun.

While its fun to ride other, bigger bikes, day to day I don't miss the
upper end whhhHHOOOOSSSSHHHH of bigger bore powered goodness.

Comfort - I've ridden up the coast a few hours, had a meeting and came
home via a  mountain highway in the same day. At the end of the day I
was ready to be off the bike - not hurtin but ready. This might have
to do with the wind blast. The seat seems fine so far. Is it a 10 hour
seat? You'd have to ask Gary Eagen about that. Part of me thinks that
if by "long and hard riding" you mean touring, well that there are
some aspects of touring that you can't fake such as a big bench seat
and a full fairing (see K100RS benefits). Still the basic structure is
the same on all MTS.

Having said all that, I perform some web and marketing work for Pro
Italia here in LA. Every blue moon I take a quick test ride on some
other bike and what always impresses me, besides the power of the
bigger bikes (and the warning NOT to GRAB the brakes on the S4RS), is
the suspension of the more expensive models. My 620 does everything I
need and want, but higher quality suspension feels great, and I'm not
even one to really push a bike.

I don't notice the affordability of my bike so much, only
occasionally, such as directly after hoping off a fancier, and more
expensive Duke. I do notice the affordability once a month when my
payment gets sent to the credit union.

Hope this helps at all. You could always split the difference and buy
a used first generation MTS, or get a 620 and put some nicer
suspension on it.

Feel free to drop a line if I can be more helpful. For a whole lot
more jibber-jabber, go here: http://www.multistrada.net/

Good luck, either way you can't lose!

David