2012 Multistrada 1200s

johnnysneds Thread Starter New Member

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Hi All,
My story:
After reading amazing reviews and how great the Multistrada was is decided to import a 2012 Multistrada from the UK to my home in Thailand. They do sell them in Thailand but at the time nearly twice the UK price, so grey import it was. After taking the bike on its first ride for approx. 200Km I wasn't impressed. Ive had many new bikes and I can safely say the Multi, after all the hype, was the biggest let down of the lot - extremely disappointing. We all know at low rpm's the Multistrada is rough, I noticed this pretty quickly. Spinning the L twin up on the straights was WOW but low speed manoeuvring and cornering was well below par for a bike with a reputation of being one of the ultimate all round road bikes! Onwards to all the Ducati/Multistrada forums I went in search of answers. In a nut shell my research concluded that the bike rolls out the showroom lean and has fitted restrictive sound regulation equipment. To date I have removed the CAT and fitted a MIVV pipe, which also removed the flapper valve which I thought was causing the low RPM surging. I have also fitted a pair of FatDucs to rich her up a bit. I did notice a marked improvement and was somewhat satisfied. These are the only engine modifications I have carried out.
The bike has now done approx. 5,000Km. I have never ridden another Multistrada so not sure what level of performance/handling I should be expecting. Over that 5,000Km I suppose I have evolved with the bike and adapted to its ways, I wouldn't say ecstatic with but satisfied, after all I paid a lot of money for it and I think I forced myself to like it.
So about a month ago I got a call from a load of mates in Bangkok and we decided to go on a 5 day tour around the North of Thailand, motorcycle nirvana. There was a couple of KTM 690 SMCR's, a 990 SMR, an older style Multistrada and a 2013 Pikes Peak. Im a pretty decent rider and can normally hold my own amongst a classy group like this, but not this trip unfortunately. Before the guys arrived I decided to take the Multistrada out to stretch her legs before the tour. I work out the country quite a bit and dont get to ride as much as I would like to so the bike sits for lengthy periods. On this occasion it struggled to start as I left the drive. I pulled away and felt it running rough as ever, then all of a sudden the other cylinder kicked in and away she went. I just thought ok its been sitting a while just needs a good thrashing to get her back into action - and it did and returned quite quickly to its old ways, the ones I got accustomed too.
This tour was the first in a long time where I was riding with a fast bunch of guys and you really need to be on it to keep up with the front runners. I normally just ride with the wife on the back enjoying the scenery! Now what I found on this ride is how much I rely on riding the hell out of the clutch mid corner to exit smoothly. If I dont its like a rocket when you hit the apex and press the ignite button, the last think you want to happen. I also noticed when the engine was screaming at higher RPM's, cornering is slightly better but not a lot. Ive tried all riding modes and its still apparent. When entering a corner and then rolling on the throttle to exit, the response it snatchy and surges - its the only way I can describe it. There is no reassurance at all with it. I feel like if I push it to ride harder I AM going to crash. A couple of my friends have experience with Multistrada's so I asked them to ride it and give me their thoughts. When they came back both of them said there were issues with it and were quite happy to return it to me with comments of Race ECU, Air Filter, Maps, Spark Plugs, Termignoni......ok so a new bike is needed!!! anything else?!?! My head was hanging low, even sitting at the back of the group with the slower guys was a struggle. We all stopped for a break, I was very quiet. I knew there was an awesome piece of road coming up next so I asked my friend if it was ok to swap bikes for a bit just to see the difference. He owns a 2013 Pike Peak. The bike has been modified with a Termignoni (De-CAT) and has had his ECU updated. This is the new Shy Hook version by the way. Off I went on his bike. My bikes engine/pipe sound is nice but this sounds better. Another 10Km past as I just wanted to get used to the bike before we hit the twisties. I could feel instantly that the bike was crisper A LOT crisper. The throttle was precise and gear changes were seamless, it felt great. Confidence arrived by the bucket loads "this is what everyone was raving about". I couldn't believe the difference. It felt lighter, sharper and installed a kind of confidence that wanted you to go faster and faster. I was up with the two front guys on their SMCR's biting at their heels. I felt like a MotoGP rider fighting for position. Every corner was a joy, entry, mid and exit I was way faster than on my own bike, it felt planted like I was on rails and i was never going to fall of, what a feeling. We stopped at a junction to wait on the others, I said "no, lets go now or he'll want his bike back", so off we went again for some more out of this world riding on this Pike Peek.
So now I know what a Multistrada is capable of I want mines to be the same. I understand the 2013 version has been improved upon, but by this much, no, cannot be. I have problems, thats for sure, but where do I begin. Do I just have stabs in the dark and randomly change stuff until it plays the game or is there a logical path I can go down to find my goal?
I understand each cylinder has a twin spark and if we rewind back to where I took my bike out for a run and it was running on one cylinder for a few seconds I might have issues with a spark plug(s). So when I get home in a few weeks this is where my quest for a thoroughbred Multistrada will begin.
Im obviously posting on this forum as its probably filled with Multistrada owners who are far more wiser than myself and Im really hoping I can pick the brains from those who know.
I have read all sorts of Multistrada issues and there doesn't seem to be a common factor that resolves all so I apologise for starting my own thread as I hope to keep the solution specific to the problems I am experiencing to my own bike.
I know this will probably end up an expensive mission but if I can get the bike in the ball park of my friends Multi Ill be over the moon.

Many thanks in advance for any assistance.

Cheers
Johnny
johnnysneds Thread Starter New Member

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MY WIFE PLEADING WITH IT TO BEHAVE!!!
johnnysneds Thread Starter New Member

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First things first , do you know of anybody near you who can directly map the ECU? Obviously you may have a spark plug issue but following that you might want to consider the below but i must warn you im pretty new to the Multistrada myself.
The fueling needs enriching so either a custom ecu map (as mentioned) or try and find a termignoni race ecu 2nd hand, one just sold on German ebay for about £215 so they are around.

You may want to have the throttle adjusted so perhaps pop to a dealer nearby if you have one.

could be worth also trying a 14t 530 front sprocket to remove any low down lumpy feeling

Then something im looking at is the new Ohlins SCU - http://www.ftrsuspension.co.uk/electronic.htm

this will basically give you something towards Skyhook and as its a genuine Ohlins part its made to work with your existing suspension and something you can install yourself (plus its cheap). This should give you more stability as the suspension will automatically adjust depending on riding style.

Thats me all in im afraid, im sure somebody will pop up in a minute if they havent already whilst ive been typing this trying to make dinner
johnnysneds Thread Starter New Member

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Thanks for the info Damodici
Unfortunately I don't have the resources you guys have in the UK, ie local tuners who can remap ECU's etc (not that I've been able to find anyway). Thailand Ducati will probably not touch it as it's a grey import. I don't mind doing the work myself, if I can.
First steps will be:

1) Replace all plugs - do I stick with the stock items or is there better performance alternatives that make a noticeable difference?

2) ECU - (a)remap the existing one, (b)purchase a race/performance ECU, (c) power commander or similar, (d)update mapping myself using available cables/software.

3) Throttle Position Sensor - yes I've heard that each time the bike has been modified with upgrades this has to be re-calibrated. I need to research this more and see if it can be done at home.

4) Air filter - because I've fitted the FatDucs to make it richer does it make sense to increase the air flow with a performance air filter?

The above should keep me going for a while. Any feedback from anyone who has tried and successfully implemented the above I would be really grateful to hear your experiences.

I will look into the Ohlins SCU however suspension is low on the list until I'm happy with the engine delivery.

Thanks again
Johnny
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I know that some company's offer ecu map uploading by mail, i guess you just send them the ecu and they ship it back, ok its not as good as a dyno specific map for your bike but probably the original base map they use has been done on a dyno so could be better than guess work plugging numbers in to a PCV?
TPS could be a good place to start but honestly i wouldn't know how to go about it, that's why i have a Nelly (corner speed)
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Exhaust replacement without adjustment of the ECU
"too lean"
Sport air filter + Rexxer mapping
http://www.rexxer.eu/e_rexxer.cfm
or cylinder-selective vote

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