Ducati Multistrada 950 S: Specs Appeal

Ducati’s 2019 Multistrada 950 S has an almost identical engine and chassis to last year’s bike. So what makes it worth a new model launch for 2019? MSL reports from its debut in Valenica

- Simon Hargreaves

Well, this is awkward. Ducati’stechnicalpresentation for the 2019 Multistrada 950 has just wrapped up at a swanky conference centre overlooking the docks in Valencia, Spain, and my notebook has the following quotes: “...not so different...” and “...not changed so much...”. These aren’t my words, it’s how Ducati’s own project manager describes the new 950.

So, how ‘new’ can it be, and what exactly are we doing here?

The explanation is simple: the 2019 Multistrada 950’s engine and chassis are almost identical to the existing 950 – and that basic spec continues as a base model, entry-level Multistrada in 2019, costing £11,755.

There’s also a new Multistrada 950, called the S, this year, which inherits every last wire, silicon chip, algorithm and sensor from the top-spec Multistrada 1260 S. That means the S comes with semi-active suspension, up/down quickshifter, IMU-based traction control, customisable riding modes, cornering ABS, cornering headlights, cruise control, backlit switchgear, 5in TFT screen and easy-to-use menus to manage it all – and the price starts at £13,355 in Ducati red, or £13,555 in a fashionable grey primer look.

We can debate the merit of modern motorcycling technology later; the point for Ducati and potential 950 customers is the slew of electronic additions means the Ministrada can no longer be perceived as an inferior, lower-spec version of its big brother; the biggest criticism of the original 950 when it was launched two years ago was it came with no bells and even fewer whistles. It turns out, however, that people like bells and whistles – and so now the Multistrada 950 S is, in every sense, a flagship alternative to the 1260 S.

And that’s very good news indeed.

ENGINE AND CHASSIS