Both are awesome bikes. I had a 2013 Multistrada that I purchased new. I loved the bike and was religious about the maintenance. The bike handled exceptionally well. It was spot on in every turn. Very FUN and never let me down when I was running it hard. I took it down to the Smoky Mountains twice per year. The DTC system was awesome and performed flawlessly. The bike fell over in the turns and had an awesome amount of torque. I ran the Michelin PR 5s on it and it glided into the turns and was totally responsive. Even the seat was comfortable.
Unfortunately, it did live up to the other side of its reputation.
* The heated grips went out twice on it and I decided not to replace them a third time
* The back brake master cylinder was very close to the exhaust. When I ran it at high elevations this became an issue b/c it the temperature changes at different elevations, combined with the location by the catalytic converter, cooked the fluid thereby creating air bubbles in the system and the back brake became squishy.
* The clutch had the same issue. I started to bleed the clutch on trips. I replaced the fluid with Castrol racing fluid with highest boiling point out there. Expensive, but it helped.
* The fuel sensor is a chemical sensor and went out every 2 years due to the additives in our gas. Leaded gas would be best. Clearly, the chemical sensor is not the best option across the globe. At 30k miles, I was putting about $1500 - $2k per year into the bike. It needed someone who enjoys tinkering with all of those things.
The XR is the closest bike I could find to the Multi and my friends have had great experiences with their BMWs. I like the riding position of the XR. The Ducat VTwin had is share of vibration too. The XR is “buzzy” but that is what I expected from an inline 4. The power I get in return makes you forget about that. It a non issue and part of the experience. It’s just different. This bike had 3k miles on it when I got it and had all of the break in maintenance done on it. I have noticed that I have to turn the revs a bit higher to start out on this one. But the ride is much smoother and I find the bike very responsive. I’m a canyon carver and don’t do off road adventures. I enjoy the cruise control on the highway. This bike gets just as much attention as the Ducati did at the gas station. This week someone yelled “Damn, that bike is sex on wheels.” You don’t see many of them and people love the look of it and want to know all about it. I will say the Bridgestone Battlax T31 tires don’t feel as planted on the road into the curves as the PR5’s did on the Duc. At 3500 miles, I plan to replace them with PR5s next weekend. I ran the XR through a lot of rain bringing it home and it performed as good as the Ducati in the rain. To be honest, I was ready to pull the trigger on a new Duc when they issued the recall on the new V4 motor and that sealed the deal. It must have been a sign because I am loving the XR. Dynamic and Dynamic Pro are my favorite settings LOL.
Yes, I will definitely consider Ducati in the future. I loved the brand. By comparison, my buddy has a Hypermotard and has never had an issue with it. I think it’s worth exploring the different brands.
If I didn’t cover something you were interested in, let me know. My hope is the XR will spend more time on the road than at the dealership.
