As usual, 'Batz, you have cut to the heart of the matter. Only two ways to make an old style live: A manufacturer may keep the same model for many years without development (aka Kawi Concours) or charge huge prices for it (as in BMW R-series) and count on your faithful customer base. For Kawasaki, they were selling enough bikes that keeping the old model essentially cost them very little. BMW just banked the cash. They were both forced to change in the end, but for a lot of years, that's how it worked. We expect continued development from Ducati and we get it. Truly, the only negative thing I can find with the Multi 1200 is looking at it. I rode one recently and it was light, responsive; had more power than any motorcycle needs and handled like a dream. Easy enough to write off the dislike for its looks to my advanced age, but the performance in all areas is undeniable. Nope, doesn't look like an ST, but has bags, comfy (within reasonable limits) seats and the ECU mapping and suspension changes on the fly are beyond belief. It's business, folks - if you want to have enough customers to continue, you innovate. I am fond enough of my ST2 that I have a spare, but I'm not the customer Ducati will need to stay in business.
Jack in NY
On 10/20/2011 7:34 PM, hobatz@xmission.com wrote:
LiSTers:
Been a long time since I've wandered into any Ducati-related
discussion, so I think I'll dip a digit into this one.
Some of you long-time list members may recall a question I tossed to
the membership about 9 or 10 years ago. I asked for input on what you
liked and disliked about the various ST models and what you would like
to see in a new generation ST. I was asked to compile this information
by then Ducati President Carlo DiBiagio and also by Federico Minoli
and later visited with both in Bologna and went over the information.
I sat down with them with 20 pages of notes gathered from input from
nearly 100 individuals and nearly 200 specific likes, dislikes and
gotta haves.
It was a lively discussion, much of which would be inappropriate for
me to toss out publicly. But one specific topic was repeated regularly
by both Carlo and Federico, which was that Sport Touring riders in
most any brand have a tendency to keep their bikes much longer than a
manufacturer would like. Builders like to present models that their
customers will buy each time a new iteration is offered. Like the
916,996, 998, 999, 1098, etc. Or the Monster line. Many of the
Monster faithful have owned three or four ( or more) of the venerable
bike's models. When I organized and ran the original Monster
Challenges for Ducati I met several entrants who essentially had owned
one of each Monster model, and were ready to toss down cash on any new
model Ducati came out with.
It was the opinion of both executives that this lust after new
versions of essentially the same bike doesn't extend to the Sport
Touring machines, which essentially restricts down-the-line
profitability. Some days I agree with their assessment, and some days
I don't.
It's purely my impression, sans fact, that this is one of the main
obstacles in the path of presenting a new ST-type machine. Perhaps
that will limit the future success of the new Multistrada, as well.
Perhaps not.
One of these days when I recover my lust for riding, I would love to
sit a new Multistrada. I loved the original ugly duckling, and was
privileged to have Ducati give me the first one that came into the US
and rode the dog snot out of it. I can only imagine how much fun it
would be to ride the new Multi, which for me would fit the bill very
well as a Sport Tourer.
I personally can't see Ducati having two entries into this segment,
and if they did, I would expect to see something off the 1198 series
with bags, like the one I built a few years ago off a 1098 S model. I
enjoyed the hell out of that bike, and would love to seem Ducati dip
into that water.
Hope you all go out and ride your old ST, new Multi or which ever
machine you have. What we have, in my view, is more important than
what we don't have.
A River Ditch Aroma,
Hobatz
Quoting twisties_please <garyex1@msn.com>:
> I think there are a number or factors at play.
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