[KeefyB]

I had a ride on Italia Moto's Multistrada demo bike today.It was kind of interesting because I rode up there on my Cagiva Navigator,a very similar style of bike.
My initial reactions to the "Strada were,blimey this feels light,I dont like the bend of the 'bars and the grips are horrible.The clocks are in your face but the mounting looks messy.The same can be said of the exposed wiring and connectors under the tank.
The motor suprised me by having loads of low down punch,more so than the Cagiva.In fact it caught me out when I saw a gap in the traffic and popped a wheelie into Lincoln High St!The Cagiva motor has roughly 10 bhp more than the Duke and is very top endy.The power really kicks in at 7k and keeps building right up to the rev limiter.The Duke still impressed me tho,despite only 180 miles on the clock and still very tight.
Out into the twisties of my (ahem!) test course it soon came aparent that the rear shock was way too soft for me.The front felt great,but the bike was wallowing out of the corners.I did stop and wind the preload up a bit,but it did'nt improve matters.I did'nt get to the damper adjusters as they are very close to the hot exhaust and I did'nt have a 2 foot long screwdriver!
All my Cagiva ever wanted was a couple of extra clicks on the rear shock.Its a heavy bike and needs a bit of encouragement to turn.But once its there,it corners like a good 'un,as my collection of worn out boots can testify.
My overall impression of the Duke was a good bike and better than the Cagiva.It just needs a bit of fettling to get there.The Duke desperately needs a hugger/belly pan/front guard to survive a British winter.(About 400 quids worth)The Cagiva has got most of that as standard.

Now the crunch,am I still gonna buy one?Well that depends on the trade in price,there was mucho sucking air through the teeth when looking at its crash damage.So we will see.I would have to find about 4k on top of the Cagiva,which makes the Duke twice as expensive.But is it twice the bike?
For those of you that dont know,here is a pic of the Cagiva.