A Man and his Bike… and 7,000 miles across Canada.
Any questions about how good the ’07 Ducati Multistrada is were trumped a few weeks ago when Ducati North America, Salt Lake Motorsports and I teamed up to launch the revamped ‘Strada on a 3,600 mile torturous test ride across Canada.
My assignment was a simple one; take the first ’07 Multistrada 1100 S to hit North America, let master mechanic Matt Spencer prep it, then go out and beat the feces out of the machine and see how it handled the abuse. In the wee-morning hours of Sept. 11, I flipped the switch on the new bike into go mode in Vancouver, British Columbia. 51 hours and 4 minutes later, I shut it down in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Previously, the quickest Canadian crossing was either 55 or 59 hours, depending on whom you spoke with.
When Ducati decided to upgrade the popular Multistrada 1000 earlier this year, Kevin Davis, head of Ducati’s Canadian effort, approached Ducati North America CEO Michael Lock with a proposal to put the first bike in North America under my butt and turn us loose to Canada. The goal would be to see how the newly configured bike would hold up to a serious flogging and make a real-world comparison between the very competent Multistrada 1000 and the new 1100 series bike. Posting the quickest time for a Trans Canada ride was not the intent of Davis or Ducati, but once I let the new machine loose in B.C., I set my sights firmly on a time somewhere between 52 & 55 hours. After the first few miles of Canadian Highway melted under the bike’s tires, it was just me and the Multistrada unleashed, and we both had a hell of a ride.
I’m not stranger to the original ‘Strada 1000, having put more than 80,000 miles on the ’03 bike I’ve been riding for Ducati. I used that bike in 2004 to break the record for riding a motorcycle from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Key West, Florida, a 5,600-plus mile jaunt we covered in 101 hours (18 hours quicker than the old record).
While the original Multi 1000 is an outstanding bike and motor, the new 1100 Multi is stunning. Ducati only pulled another 3-4 horsepower out of the new motor along with a bit more torque. But the result is extraordinary, as the bike is smoother and noticeably more powerful across the entire power band. While Matt Spencer did the break-in service, installed driving lamps, an extra 12 gallons of fuel, hand guards and a larger AeroFlow windscreen, he left the bike mechanically stock. We didn’t even install the very desirable Termignoni full exhaust system, which would milk another 7-8 horsepower from the machine. In some ways, it was a very cruel thing we did to the bike. Whip it out of the box, put a few hundred hard break-in miles on the clock, then set it on full whack for about 7,000 miles.
“Smoother and noticeably more powerful.”
Besides the more potent power plant, the ’07 Multistrada sports a wet clutch and rubber-buffered handlebars. The clutch is much quieter than the old dry model and what little vibration might come toward the rider’s hands is filtered out completely by the rubber-mounted bars. The new package translates into a smoother, more powerful ride than the previous model, which was a benefit to me on the often lumpy, crumbly Canadian roads.
The ride was not without some concerns, as when riding around Lake Superior in Northern Ontario the extreme cold called for me to fire up my electric jacket and gloves. The gloves were new and when I turned them on the wiring took only a few minute to hit full blaze, causing third degree burns on parts of both hands. I was obviously forced to shut the gloves down, and the next few thousand miles were quite painful, and often very cold on my raw hands. But when a good ride is underway on a new bike, and a record is dangling in front of my face, a little thing like cooked hands is quickly sent to the back burner. It also makes for a good story!
Besides the irate Ontario Provincial Police trooper, (who was not amused when he spotted my radar detector on the bike while parked in a gas station and promptly confiscated the device) the rapid ride went very smoothly. The internet magazine One Wheel Drive followed the ride by posting live updates when I called in from various locations across Canada. They managed to post some rather colorful comments I made on the phone. I didn’t realize they were actually playing the calls live and verbatim, and some segments were actually awarded a “Mature Audience Only” rating.
After the 3,642 mile ride from Vancouver to Halifax, I took a few days to tour Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, riding the fabled Cabot Trail and Cape Breton, before heading back to Toronto to drop the bike off and fly home. In all, the “test ride” covered approximately 7,000 miles and the Multistrada didn’t skip a beat during the entire ride.
From my side of the seat, I’ve not seen a bike that blends spirited sport riding and long distance capability into one concert so effectively. The Multistrada is one of those bikes that must be ridden to be understood. Unquestionably, it is the easiest bike to ride that I’ve ever thrown a leg over, and from mile one it will make most of us better riders.
The new Multistrada 1100, especially the “S” version with Ohlins shock and forks, is an amazing bike. Now that I am approaching 100,000 miles astride a ‘Strada, I’d say I’m uniquely qualified to give anyone a detailed tour of the machine. Salt Lake Motorsports has the new version of the bike on the floor, so stop by and check it out. It’s a world-beater, no question, and yet another tremendous release from Ducati.
A special thanks to OneWheelDrive.net for the .mp3 updates.
When the hallowed Italian motorcycle artists at Bimota slammed the shutters on their Rimini studio in 2001, it was akin to cloaking the ceiling of the Sistine chapel or stuffing a da Vinci sculpture into a storage shed. The motorcycle world was deprived of a magnificent sliver of art.
After a three year slumber, Bimota has awakened and is again presenting the Moto World with its enigmatic art. And in concert with Salt lake Motorsports, Bimota was officially introduced to the Utah marketplace the evening of October 21 during a gala presentation in the Main Street showroom. More than 75 invited guests mingled with Bimota North America’s President, Jean Marc Rousseau and Salt Lake Motorsports owner Adam Childers and ogled over the exquisite Bimota lineup. Read More about the Bimota weekend, the beautiful bikes and SLMS’s specials on them in The Extra Mile with Gary Eagan
The Bimota revelry was more a tale of two passions than a simple reintroduction of a legendary motorcycle. On one hand dwells the passion and purpose elicited from Bimota to build an elite, extraordinarily unique and desirable motorcycle. On the other hand is the fire and passion of Childers to bring his clientele an unparalleled experience when indulging themselves in their motorcycle obsession.
Rousseau, or J.M. as he prefers to be called, while speaking openly with the shop’s guests, freely admitted that the Bimota marque is exclusive, and not obtainable by all because of its lofty price. 
“We (Bimota) have chosen Salt Lake Motorsports as one of fewer than 10 dealers in North America to offer our motorcycles, because Adam and his staff truly are among the Top of the Top, and clearly understand the Technologia del Emozione. We are honored to have such a fantastically enthusiastic and creative dealership in our family, and the motorcycle community in Utah is very fortunate to have such a dealership serving them,” J.M. added. 
At least one of the new Bimotas have been proven to be a race-winning machine, the DB5. Salt Lake Motorsports’ sponsored racer and employee Shane Turpin rode the bike to six victories at the Miller Motorsports Park Masters of the Mountains racing series. Turpin said the bike handled amazingly from the moment it was out of the crate, and that it takes corners like a true champ. The bike he rode was basically stock, and according to Turp has potential to be lighter and have more horsepower when customized by someone like SLMS’s Matt Spencer.
