+ Click to Enlarge ENTRY LEVEL DUCATI: It will appeal to new and to returning bikers unaccustomed to modern sports bikes.

April 15, 2005
By Tim Luckhurst

Specifications
Engine: L-twin 618cc air cooled
Power: 46.4kW at 9500rpm
Torque: 55.9Nm at 6750rpm
Transmission: Six-speed, chain final drive with APTC wet clutch.
Colours: Red, Tangerine Red, Yellow, Black (and matt black on Multistrada Dark)
Price: Around £5 495 (about R63 000)

Multistrada is Italian for many roads, and "many roads" is what this baby bike was designed to do: go like hell on tar or, equally competently, prod through forests and along muddy trails.

The idea is that they offer sports performance without compromising comfort off-road or when speeding serenely along a freeway, two-up and with luggage.

Impossible? In recent years Ducati has come closer than most to producing a genuine bike for all seasons - the 1000cc Multistrada.

As owners of the original model will confirm, this father of the family is genuinely versatile but not perfect. The original seat was rigid to the point of bruising. Weather protection was soakingly limited.

These limitations have been ironed out in the 2005 model but, while tremendous in the hands of an experienced rider, the big Multistrada is also powerful enough to scare newcomers and a little high off the ground for most female riders - and many men.

So, give a big welcome to the 2005 Multistrada 620. It is rare for a scaled-down version to offer tangible improvements on the original but this one does. The baby Multistrada is a comfortable, confidence-building bundle of fun. It is fast, eminently chuckable even into tight corners and sure-footed at speed.

The 618cc Desmodue engine only feels strained at the extreme limits of performance. I felt good as soon as I sat on the bike. The upright riding position is comfortable and the newly simplified instrument panel a model of clarity. It has an analogue rev counter, digital speedometer and backlit liquid-crystal data display.

Ducati calls its new clutch the "power torque" It's finger-light and a tremendous boon in heavy traffic. Easy operation helps to emphasise the brisk agility of the whole bike.

It's also stable and so eager to turn that I felt confident about racing it through a roundabout after just a kilometre in the saddle. The new clutch is also fitted with a race-derived device that prevents rear-wheel slip when downshifting fast.

It's a mistake inexperienced riders often make. I did it on purpose, honest. Conclusion: the Multistrada 620 indulges error without turning mistakes into injuries.

The mirrors, once offering larger riders a view of their own arms, have been moved 40mm out along the handlebars. It is now possible to change lanes on a freeway without performing a pirouette in the saddle to check for onrushing people carriers.

Other manufacturers take note: mirrors do not make bikes faster or sexier but they do keep riders alive.

The Multistrada 620 is Ducati's entry-level model. It will appeal to new and to returning bikers unaccustomed to modern sports bikes. But that description risks making it sound bland and limiting when it is neither. In experienced hands, this motorcycle is one of the best fun bikes on sale.

Commitment to modernity

It's lighter and lower than its big brother but is fragrant with Ducati sporting heritage. Handling is gentle enough to reassure the most nervous novice but this Multistrada is thoroughly exhilarating under pressure and quite capable of taking rough treatment from fast riders.

Styling reflects Ducati's commitment to modernity. The full-throated gurgle of the air-cooled twin engine is, in contrast, entirely traditional but aurally invigorating. The rest of the bike delivers on that promise. The new Multistrada is a classy real-world motorcycle for owners with a touch of romance in their souls.

There is healthy competition in the medium powered market, such as Suzuki's 650 V-Strom, Honda's Trans Alp and BMW's F650GS. But, even among impressive company, the Multistrada 620 is an attention grabber.

Those seeking economy as well as quality should try the Dark version that comes in matt black with a single 320mm front disc in place of the twin 300mm versions on the standard bike. - The Independent, London