This is a sweet little ride, make no doubt. An ideal bike for the “novice or returning” rider that wants to keep their ride, rather than upgrading, beyond the 1 yr 3 month “L” & “P” phase.
And I’ll admit, I was surprised at quite how nippy this machine was. There is no challenge to out accelerate cars from the lights, keeping you in a “vehicle exclusion,” i.e. safe, zone. The air-cooled v-twin has plenty of torque down low, making this an ideal run about town bike. The handlebar width adds to this joy as well. For the first time I barely had to stop when filtering through traffic.
Whilst the seating position does put a lot of pressure on your wrists, this wasn’t overly onerous. At least not in the maximum 40 minute journeys I rode. Just suck in the gut and turn on the core a little more than usual to relieve pressure on the wrists. I can’t say that this would be comfortable for very long though. I don’t exactly see myself doing a 4 hour Putty or Blue Mountains loop, although I’ve met plenty of riders that do.
I loved riding the naked too. Very different from all the adventure touring bikes I typically ride. This is very uncomplicated. No windshield, no turbulence, no endless stream of telemetry (you have to bend your head down to even see what little information is on the dash.) Just you, and the road, and the wind. You can see why this is such a popular ride.
Despite being naked, there was far less parachute effect than I expected. In fact on the motorway I easily got up to licence eating speeds without noticeable drag. Or wind noise. It turns out clean air on my helmet is a blessed relief. Even in “Urban Commando” mode, with the goggles instead of the visor I didn’t need earplugs.
There are just three drawbacks for me:
Firstly, the seat-peg distance means that my old knees start complaining at about the 30 minute mark. I’m just used to riding a tall, upright adventure bike and my days of crouching for hours on end are well and truly behind me.
Secondly, the lack of luggage space meant I needed to carry a backpack. Not ideal. Worse it meant I had nowhere to stash my jacket, and change into more suitable corporate attire. That’s a pretty serious limitation for anyone that really wants to commute to work (at a corporate gig.)
But most importantly, rear vision on this baby Monster is practically non-existent!! The mirrors are tiny, positioned so you see mostly your arms, and impossible to deflect accurately. You’re either looking at arms and sky, or arms and road. Head checks on this machine are critical.
A pretty suitable bike for a learner then. In a Darwinian sort of way.
Another #FWP was needing the key in the ignition lock. I’m so used to the keyless ignition on the Multistrada, I may just’ve left the keys in the ignition all day in the city. I guess it’s a good thing I live in Sydney 
