“Make more Multistradas!”

Ducati UK have asked the Italian factory to increase production of the new Multistrada 1200 after British dealers took over 200 deposits and ‘far exceeded expected order levels’. And that’s before anyone has even ridden the bike.

UK bosses made the request after the bike’s appearance at the MCN Carole Nash London Show and tour of dealerships created a surge of interest.

Ducati Manchester have taken over 30 deposits for the150bhp bike, with similar numbers taken at stores in Glasgow, London and Coventry.

All dealers are experiencing unprecedented levels of interest, say Ducati.

Eighty per cent of the orders are for the £14,295 S model with semi-active suspension, ABS and traction control, rather than the £10,995 base model.

The high-tech V-twin will take on adventure-style bikes such as the BMW R1200GS and Triumph Tiger plus traditional sports tourers such as Honda’s new VFR1200F.

Ducati dealers report it’s also stealing sales from big sportsbikes such as the Yamaha R1, Honda Fireblade and even BMW’s new S1000RR.

The first Multistrada demonstrators are expected to arrive in dealerships at the beginning of April with deliveries of the ‘S’ model arriving soon after.

The first S shipments are already sold-out, so the earliest you can expect to get an S is mid-summer.

Read MCN executive editor Phil West’s world first ride of the Mulitstrada 1200 in next week’s MCN, out Wednesday March 3.