GT owner from Sunshine Coast, BC

Hi there. Picked up a SD GT at the beginning of August. I traded in my beloved 749S (and my wife's TU250). I thought I would miss the Duc more than it turns out I do. I'd had the 749 for eight years and loved it, but a trip to the Ducati Rally in Nelson had me thinking that something with a more rational riding position might make sense. My wife, who only got her bike license recently, decided that she didn't want to ride after all, so... some kind of two-up bike... Something reasonable for an older gentleman. We had ridden a 1200 Multistrada in Italy in 2010. That's what turned her on to riding (the XS650 Yamaha didn't do it, and neither did the Virago). We had also ridden on a 1200 GS in Patagonia. No thanks. Then we were on the new MTS in the Pyrenees, last year. That was more like it, but even as a Ducati guy, as much as I loved riding it, I didn't really want to own one. I'm used to doing my own work. The $1200 bill to service the 749, was a bit rich for me, so I did my own valves and belts and stuff, even with the tricky R-spec tapered collet valves, but whole variable valve timing thing just seemed a bit precious. I'd seen the buzz in the M/C press last fall, so I called a Vancouver area dealer and arranged for a test ride, sent the details of our bikes, and made the purchase over the phone.

Let's just say that every time I pull out to pass some old guy in a hat or bend it into a turn, I'm not thinking about the Ducati.

We took the bike to the Olympic Peninsula and I think we'll be ordering the ergo seats. The rider seat isn't that bad, but the passenger seat is a bit "planksy". One amusing note is that, when we stopped in to a KTM Triumph dealer in Seattle, we were poking around and were looking at the GT on the floor. One of the sales people asked us what we were riding and we said, "One of those". She asked how that was possible since they weren't able to sell them until October (This was the beginning of Sept.) I said, Maybe because we're Canadian? She said that didn't matter. So our bike is one of the ones that was rolled out for the North American dealers at Whistler BC, and she said, "Even so...".

It's sogging down rain, right now. Really want to get out a few more times before the season ends for me...

Your lucky it isn't snowing. That's what we have in Edm, AB right now.
That's interesting. I just picked up a used 2015 SDR(private sale) this August. When I was cruising around the dealerships I seen SD GT for the 1st time. A friend of mine wants to upgrade from his Yami Tenere to a SD GT or the Duc Multistrada. The dealership said they cant sell the SD GT until next yr. They were just keeping it for a Demo. So there is some merit to that rumour. Yet, U & a few others have bought them.
I do have a 2010 Multistrada & the Tenere compared to the Multi is a Turd. Neither would I ride off road unless it was just to take a piss. & my SDR 1290 makes my Multi feel like a turd,,,,powerwise. In comfort the Multi beats the SDR, but would it beat a SD GT in comfort?? Im trying to convince him to buy the SD GT. But, he seems to be favouring the Multi. Any words of advice?

Ive venture to the Nelson area quite abit. Have a few friends in that neck of the woods. Always a enjoyable ride.

Welcome to the forum comrade. We haven't got too many GT riders yet but the numbers are picking up.

Thanks, jmann. What I wouldn't give to be down your way to take in the GP at P.I.!

Re: the Multistradas- What I remember from riding the 2010 MTS was that it was comfortable enough for riding decently long days on little Italian roads and that, in touring mode it had pretty decent grunt and it was by far, the fastest thing my wife had ever been on. Fast fwd to 2015 and the new one seemed a lot more "refined", but very soft off the bottom of the rev range, but once the cams did their thing, it would kind of freak out. kind of fun, I guess, but I prefer the way the GT just hauls harder and harder the more you twist the throttle. Where the 2nd Gen MTS suspension was pretty sorted for two up in touring mode, the 3rd gen MTS was way to mushy unless the suspension was set to "sport". Then it was OK. Probably better than the GT, actually. The GT is pretty firm whatever the settings are, where the Multistrada was pretty amazing at absorbing whatever the Spanish and French backroads had to offer. I've heard European GT riders say that the suspension gets better with a few miles on the GT, and also that the engine gets smoother. The latter makes no sense to me, but I would have to say that my experience backs that up. It's not even Halloween and I can't wait until Spring. (We have pretty mild winters, but they spray this anti-black-ice shit on the roads here all winter and it's pretty much pure motorcycle cancer, so I refuse to ride until they quit doing that).

Welcome from near the Sunshine Coast, QLD

Re: your friend, I would also check out service charges. The Ducati service intervals are much longer than they used to be (was only 10,000 km on my 749S!) but with 16 shims to check on a desmo, it has a way of adding up. Seat height is a little lower on the GT, and it's still up in the air as to a top box (I'm hoping one is in the works). There's nothing wrong with the steering on the Duc, but the GT is superb! Whether it's much lighter or not I don't know, but the GT feels really light and easy to manoeuvre around. I've heard some less than flattering things about support from KTM in Austria, but I bought the bike anyway on faith... The bars are lower on the GT, which I like; even a tiny bit too low, but that's an easy fix. They are higher than I prefer on the MTS. I don't know why "adventure" bikes need to have their bars are shoulder height, like the GS. The Multi isn't as bad as that. The GT has no centrestand, but then, we were dragging it on both the Multistradas we rode. Dragging hard parts is not my favourite thing. That's all I can think of for now. Other than, with the GT in my garage, I don't wish I'd bought the Ducati instead.