2016 Ducati Multistrada 1200 Enduro First Ride Preview

Do 600-plus-pound motorcycles belong off road? Ducati evidently thinks so. With the release of the new Multistrada 1200 Enduro (see our EICMA First Look here) Ducati has joined the ranks of manufacturers that offer a big ADV that's purpose-built to handle rough terrain.

This new model in the Multistrada family is designed for ambitious adventurers and aimed squarely at the BMW R1200GS Adventure and KTM 1190 Adventure R, two bikes that dominate the off-road segment of the vast ADV class. Compared to the base-model Multistrada—which is a fantastic all-round machine with a feisty personality, sportbike handling, and all-day comfort—the new Enduro has more suspension travel (nearly 8 inches), a larger fuel tank (7.9 gallons!), a bigger front wheel, and numerous other changes aimed at making it more capable off road. According to Ducati, the Enduro has 266 new or redesigned parts, and that doesn't include simple stuff like fasteners.

To put the bike through its paces Ducati flew journalists to the rugged island of Sardinia, located in the Mediterranean west of the Italian peninsula. A teaser video released late last year showed the Enduro catching big air on a motocross track, and the invite for the launch included a line warning that "Only extremely experienced off-road riders will be present for the launch." The invite also suggested bringing both touring apparel and motocross gear—will we be charging it on a Vet track tomorrow? I'm not sure, but I'm up for anything!

More likely we’ll be bashing about the island’s rough interior. Just inland of our posh beachside villa are some seriously rugged-looking mountains. Is the new Enduro rugged enough to handle them? I’m here to find out. Check back in a few days to see how the new bike performs.

Tomorrow won't be the first time we've ridden a Ducati off road, but it will be the first time we've ridden a Ducati that was designed for it! Last year Zack Courts and I took a Ducati Scrambler deep into the Rocky Mountains (click here to watch Scramblers in the Rockies now), and on another occasion we took a Multistrada 1200 S off-road (click here for On Two Wheels: Tested to the Limit), to the track, and too the dragstrip!