2014 DUCATI MULTISTRADA Complaints

The rear brake system chronically loses the ability to perform correctly. After having the dealer bleed the rear brake and confirm that the system is correct, the system will begin to require three pumps on the brake pedal to build enough pressure to make the brake work. This degradation of performance will happen in just a few weeks since being bled. I have been through this with the dealer three times. The condition makes the rear brake useless in quick stops or immediate hill-holds, since the three pumps have to be made on the brake pedal to get the brake to activate.

The rear brake has never worked--at all--since I bought this motorcycle new. The rear brake lever simply "goes to the floor" with no resistance against the foot or any application of the brake caliper. It is fundamentally useless. The front brakes work superbly. I am a mechanical engineer and am high skilled in the repair, modification, and maintenance of automobiles, airplanes and motorcycles. After a thorough bleed of the system, including the installation of additional bleed nipples on the master cylinder and the ABS unit to get ALL air out of the system, the rear brake will work for perhaps 50 miles, then it returns to mush. In addition to the added bleed nipples I have tried all manner of other equipment improvements and procedural changes including reverse bleeding from the caliper--as many other owners have done--with the same result. No rear brake. The dealer admits defeat, too.

The rear brake is terrible on this model bike, even after having it bled properly by the dealership.

MOTORCYCLES REAR BRAKE POWER IS VERY POOR AND IN MANY REPORTED CASES NON-EXISTANT. THE REAR BRAKE IS SO WEAK AS TO BE NORMALLY INCAPABLE OF EVEN ACTIVATING THE ABS SYSTEM AT THE REAR WHEEL. STOPPING THE MOTORCYCLE USING THE REAR BRAKE IS EFFECTIVELY IMPOSSIBLE IN NORMAL TRAFFIC CONDITIONS. I HAVE A DEGREE IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING AND HAVE BEEN A MOTORCYCLE RIDER FOR OVER 50 YEARS. I AM QUALIFIED AND ABLE TO DIAGNOSE THIS REAR BRAKE AS POORLY DESIGNED AND INCAPABLE OF PRODUCING PROPER STOPPING POWER. THE BRAKE HAS BEEN PROPERLY BLED, ABS SYSTEMS PROPERLY PRIMED AND BLED, ONLY THE HIGHEST QUALITY BRAKE FLUIDS HAVE BEEN USED (I.E. CASTROL SRF), THE VERY POOR BRAKING POWER PERSISTS. THIS IS A WELL KNOWN ISSUE WITH THESE MOTORCYCLES AND IS DISCUSSED IN LENGTH ON PUBLIC FORUMS WHERE OWNERS ARE TRYING TO FIND A FIX. NO SUITABLE FIX TO THE EXISTING SYSTEM IS KNOWN TO MY KNOWLEDGE OR SUBSTANTIAL RESEARCH. THIS IS A DESIGN DEFECT IN MY PROFESSIONAL OPINION.

THE REAR BRAKE FLUID WILL TURN A DARK COLOR AFTER LESS THAN 1000 MILES OF HAVING BEEN REPLACED AND BLED. THIS RENDERS THE REAR BRAKE ALMOST USELESS. THE REAR PEDAL WILL FEEL SPONGY AT FIRST, THEN I START TO NOTICE A LACK OF REAR BRAKING PERFORMANCE. IF I LEAVE IT FOR MORE THAN 1500 MILES WITHOUT ADDRESSING THE ISSUE, I WILL LOSE ALL REAR BRAKING PERFORMANCE/FUNCTION.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 DUCATI MULTISTRADA 1200 MOTORCYCLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH, THE FRONT FORK SEALS AND REAR BRAKES BECAME INOPERABLE AND COULD NOT STOP THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE RECURRED ON EIGHT OCCASIONS. THE MOTORCYCLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE FORK SEALS WAS FRACTURED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MOTORCYCLE WAS REPLACED, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 2,000.

THE KEY-LESS IGNITION FAILED TO OPERATE. EMERGENCY MODE HAD TO BE ACTIVATED. THIS WAS IN A PARKING LOT WITH HIGH RF INTERFERENCE. *TR