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Multistrada Fever

Having fun on a motorcycle is not about having the most powerful, fastest bike on the planet. I'd venture a guess that most riders - even longtime sport bike riders - can barely use 50% of the potential of their bikes. And too much throttle in the wrong situation can put you down in an millisecond!

Saying what is fun or not fun on a motorcycle is subjective. Fun on a motorcycle can be about having a fast and powerful machine, why not? Just because one doesn't ride a motorcycle to its full potential doesn't mean one can't thoroughly enjoy it. I know plenty of people with high performance cars (myself included, a 560 horsepower M5) who don't get everything possible out of them but they still have big smiles on their faces while driving. No, my car will never see 190 mph like it could on the Autobahn and I will never do fast laps on the Nurburgring - but no one has more fun on back roads and freeway on-ramps than I do. Heck, I like just looking at it when I'm in the garage and I would do the same with the XR - I think it's gorgeous. Enjoying a vehicle comes in many forms. I have a friend who spent over $30,000 for a cello. Does he play it like Yo-Yo Ma? - not even close. Does he enjoy every second of playing it and cherish the instrument? Absolutely. Should he not have purchased it because he is not an elite musician and can't get the most out of it? Rubbish. Life is short, do what makes you happy. Besides, I feel that I can get everything that I want from a high performance bike. I am an acceleration junkie and I can pin the throttle on a powerful bike and experience 100% of what it has. Does it matter that I won't take it to the track to lean it over and drag body parts? Not to me. I don't really want to ride any bike anywhere at ten tenths, that's too close to the edge for me. Also, these modern high-end bikes like the Multi and the XR have such wonderful electronic riders' aids, like traction control, wheelie control and cornering ABS, that I feel safer on them and I can approach the bike's limits with more confidence. So, unless you turn the nannies off and ride like a hooligan, there is little danger of too much throttle putting you down (which nearly happened to me in the wet on the NC when the rear tire spun up coming away from a light - that wouldn't have happened on the XR in Rain Mode in spite of all of its power). I don't believe that high performance bikes are made for only a select few who are capable of riding them at the limit. I can probably get just as much pleasure from one in my own way as a MotoGP rider - maybe more, who is to say? Who cares if I'm not riding it to its full potential. How many people in the world can actually do that anyway? You don't have to be Valentino Rossi to own and enjoy a fast and technologically advanced motorcycle.

Rant over.
 
Just a note of caution. It has a serious high frequency vibration problem at normal cruising speeds in top gear through the handlebars. Not as obvious on a short test run but a real nuisance on long spins at steady speeds. It is otherwise a fantastic motorcycle. I suggest checking the fixes if any for this problem or checking if it has been sorted on the newer models.

I was watching a review of the XR on YouTube and the rider said he solved the vibration problem with 15 pound bar weights on each side. Maybe I misheard him. However if it works, I would do it.
 
I used to be a Ducati mechanic. I have owned 5 of them in the past. I still have a 1980 900SD but will never own another. I have gotten older and prefer to ride bikes instead of work on them.

I am always fond of the idea of taking home a cheap E900 or a Gran Canyon 900 but I have no idea what the regular maintenance is for these bikes for a mediocre DIY guy like me - somewhere heard that you have to change the camshaft belt every 2 years and it costs quite a few hundred $$/Euros. As for the electrics, now that the pocket oscilloscopes come cheap and I know how to use them, no problem there (once had an E750 half disassembled in the mountains twenty years ago due to a semi melted fuse holder, damn cheapo metals! why don't they use Illy coffee can metals to be sure of rust proofness!).

Any possibility of posting a small list of what can be considered "normal" maintenance for a 30-50k mile bike of this class/engine?
 
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My Multistrada fever was reignited this weekend. I test drove the new Multistrada 1260 in Brea, California and was blown away by the comfort, power, braking, suspension and the quickshifter. It was easily double the fun of my NC. I don’t have $26k lying around to buy it though but maybe I’ll inherit some money or win the lottery. I thought I had everything I ever wanted in life but now I don’t. I have a fever, and the only cure is more Multistrada!
 
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