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Ducati Is Aggressively Marketing the Multistrada 1200 Even at the Geneva

Everybody knows that this spring will bring a full-on battle between several manufacturers who have sport-adventure bikes in their existing or 2015 line-ups. The sport-adventure is an industry segment which failed to capture huge attention when the first big bike was introduced, in the shape of the Ducati Multistrada 1200, even though the bike quickly enjoyed a growing number of fans. Still, this niche needed some years and the involvement of other manufacturers, of which the most recent is BMW.
Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali rides a Multistrada 1200 14 photos
Photo: S. Baldauf / R. Kah
Ducati Multistrada 1200 at Geneva Motor Show 2015Ducati Multistrada 1200 at Geneva Motor Show 2015Ducati Multistrada 1200 at Geneva Motor Show 2015Ducati Multistrada 1200 at Geneva Motor Show 2015Ducati Multistrada 1200 at Geneva Motor Show 2015Ducati Multistrada 1200 at Geneva Motor Show 2015Ducati Multistrada 1200 at Geneva Motor Show 2015Ducati Multistrada 1200 at Geneva Motor Show 2015Ducati Multistrada 1200 at Geneva Motor Show 2015Ducati Multistrada 1200 at Geneva Motor Show 2015Ducati Multistrada 1200 at Geneva Motor Show 2015Ducati Multistrada 1200 at Geneva Motor Show 2015Ducati Multistrada 1200 at Geneva Motor Show 2015
With a very solid tradition in engineering bikes which sell very well, BMW is anything but an easy, superficial rival for Ducati. One of the newest additions to the Bavarian maker’s roster is the S1000XR and according to an European BMW dealer who got a chance to ride it already, the bike feels exhilarating.

Superbike engines and an adventure-ish chassis

If we were to find the shortest definition for the sport-adventure bikes, we’d probably say these are machines built with an adventure-ish frame and powered by superbike engines… and this is pretty much the truth. Both the Multistrada and S1000XR have engines derived from the power plants of top-drawer sport bikes, and share the approach to the suspension paradigm, using the latest generation of “smart” active suspensions.

One of the trademarks of the segment, these suspensions can adapt very quickly to the varying road conditions offering a smooth passage from perfect Austrian highway asphalt to light gravel as you leave the known roads and are venturing a bit into the wilderness.

And since we mentioned Austria, KTM is also delivering a bike for the sport-adventure riders, the 1050 Adventure, while EBR is also said to be working on a similar contraption we might get to see in 2016. However, Ducati looks like they are not missing any chance to showcase the Multistrada 1200. After all, seeing the Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali riding one at the Geneva Motor Show this year is definitely a very strong statement.

Under Audi ownership Ducati seems to fare better and better as sales volumes increased constantly and new models are being added to the line-up. Now that the sport-adventure segment is really taking off, we’ll see who gets in the front…
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