2020 Ducati Multistrada Problems
Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component
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What this page shows
Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 2020 Ducati Multistrada, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Reports by component
Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category
- Engine436.4%
- Fuel system327.3%
- Brakes218.2%
- Powertrain (other)218.2%
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
Each component in detail
What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words
Engine
Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components.
From owner reports, verbatim
Engine cutting off while in neutral. Engine shutdown also when downshifting from 2nd to 1st and holding in clutch. similar to many other ducati owners. Very dangerous as engine cut off is affecting my ability to control and distracting from riding properly. Only have 5500 miles on it. Happens every ride now and I can reproduce it fairly easily.
When the throttle is off, the revs go down to 0 then bounce back up to idle (most of the time anyway, if it doesn't stall). This happens when I am coming to a stop, downshifting to first/neutral. It is very distracting and with ambient road noise, if you are not paying attention, will catch you offguard and will leave you trying to restart bike while in traffic, cars beeping, and flying past you. very dangerous and needs to be check by Ducati. there are numerous others with the same situation.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Fuel system
Reports naming fuel storage or delivery — tanks, pumps, lines, injectors and fuel leaks.
From owner reports, verbatim
When the throttle is off, the revs go down to 0 then bounce back up to idle (most of the time anyway, if it doesn't stall). This happens when I am coming to a stop, downshifting to first/neutral. It is very distracting and with ambient road noise, if you are not paying attention, will catch you offguard and will leave you trying to restart bike while in traffic, cars beeping, and flying past you. very dangerous and needs to be check by Ducati. there are numerous others with the same situation.
Upon coming to a stop to make a left turn, while pulling in the clutch to engage first gear, the engine quit, stranding me in the middle of the roadway while attempting to restart motorcycle. Traffic to my rear could collide into me as well as possible cross traffic. This has happened multiple times in multiple situations. No warning lights or messages occurred prior to engine stalling. While personally investigating the problem I have found that this appears to be a common problem with this model of motorcycle and anecdotal reports indicate the manufacturer has developed an internal repair procedure to address this issue only after owners have reported it, which is after the potential safety issue has occurred. My motorcycle was purchased new from the dealership.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Brakes
Reports naming service brakes, the antilock braking system, brake hoses, master cylinders or the parking brake.
From owner reports, verbatim
Rear brake is vaguely responsive even with aggressive pressure.
The rear brake seems to be ineffective compared to other Ducati models I've owned. This condition has lead to depending on the front brakes more than the standard 70% due to the rears not performing their part. This has caused (In my humble opinion) the fronts to warp causing pulsing in the front brakes. This was noted with fewer than 1200 miles when first service was performed. Dealer noted nothing abnormal other then the sound of a horn (sounds like a trumpet) while rolling the bike at a walking pace. This issue became worse as I made my way across the country from San Fran to Sarasota Florida. Upon arrival with 3500 miles there is a notable pulsing from the front brake lever. Euro Cycles of Tampa took the bike in for warranty noting 6-9 thousandths runout. Ducati was provided this information and in return said I quote "Rotors are excluded from the Ducati Limited Warranty Policy". Under normal circumstances I can understand this policy but I believe there is an under lying issue being over looked here. If you look on any forum online there are numerous complaints of this very issue on the Multistrada from 2015-2020. Some of which Ducati "decided" to cover and some like mine they did not. For everyone coming after me I'd love to know what the root cause is. Oh By the way this is my 30th+ yr riding and probably 15th or 16th motorcycle and I've never had to replace rotors due to warping.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Powertrain (other)
Powertrain reports that are not specifically the engine or transmission — driveshafts, axles, transfer cases and differentials.
From owner reports, verbatim
Upon coming to a stop to make a left turn, while pulling in the clutch to engage first gear, the engine quit, stranding me in the middle of the roadway while attempting to restart motorcycle. Traffic to my rear could collide into me as well as possible cross traffic. This has happened multiple times in multiple situations. No warning lights or messages occurred prior to engine stalling. While personally investigating the problem I have found that this appears to be a common problem with this model of motorcycle and anecdotal reports indicate the manufacturer has developed an internal repair procedure to address this issue only after owners have reported it, which is after the potential safety issue has occurred. My motorcycle was purchased new from the dealership.
Upon starting from a stop, then rapidly stopping to avoid vehicle who had unexpectedly stopped in front of me, the engine quit, stranding me in the middle of the intersection while attempting to restart motorcycle. Traffic to my rear could collide into me as well as possible cross traffic. This has happened several times and I have video documentation. Dealer has not been able to duplicate problem. No warning lights or messages occurred prior to engine stalling. While personally investigating the problem I found that this appears to be a common problem with this year make and model of motorcycle which the manufacturerer either has been unable to or refuses to address. Note that I had previously owned and operated an earlier model of this motorcycle (2017) and had no such problems with it while putting over 20k miles on it.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Elsewhere on this vehicle
Data sources
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation — owner-reported complaints and the components recorded on them
Data on this page last refreshed .