2014 Ducati Multistrada
Safety record from NHTSA: recalls, owner complaints, investigations and service bulletins.
Vehicles › Ducati › Multistrada › 2014
Safety record from NHTSA: recalls, owner complaints, investigations and service bulletins.
These records cover every 2014 Ducati Multistrada. To see whether one car still needs a recall repair, decode its VIN or check it with NHTSA.
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.
NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened these reviews into vehicles including this one.
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this Preliminary Evaluation (PE) based on twenty-two (22) Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs) for soft rear brakes caused by air seeping into the rear brake lines of model year (MY) 2012-2020 Ducati Monster, Multistrada, SuperSport, Panigale, Scrambler and Diavel motorcycles.The consumers were alleging that the rear brakes would not properly function unless the rear brake pedal was applied several times or that there was a total loss of rear braking during normal applications, increasing the risk of a crash. In a March 2020 meeting, Ducati indicated that they were aware of certain models in which air may enter the motorcycles' rear braking system through the brake lines, due to exposure to heat from the exhaust system. Although this condition compromises rear braking performance, Ducati stated that they did not consider this to be a safety defect because the front and rear brake systems are hydraulically independent from each other, and a motorcycle's front brake system performs most of the stopping. Additionally, they believed that routine brake fluid replacement would resolve consumers' concerns, however complainants and dealership service technicians reported that, in some cases, after a dealer serviced the rear brake system, the rear brake pedal would feel soft and spongy again (indicating compromised brake performance) less than a year later--well before the recommended two-year brake fluid service interval. As a precaution, Ducati issued a series of technical service bulletins (TSBs) to replace the brake lines with redesigned ones, rerouting them away from the exhaust system.ODI's position is that all of the brakes on a motorcycle are considered necessary for safety. Analysis of the data identified that neither the entire model line nor the entire model year range of motorcycles covered by the investigation were affected, but rather certain sub-models or narrower model year ranges of motorcycles incorporated brake lines with a higher exposure to the heat from the exhaust system. Because of the unique routing of each model's brake line, some motorcycles are more susceptible to the condition than others. As these specific models and model years were most likely to exhibit an increased risk of a crash from the lengthened stopping distance, Ducati converted the previously issued TSBs into a safety recall.After receiving a total of 94 VOQs, ODI is closing this PE with Ducati's safety recall 21V-315. With the recall action taken by Ducati, this investigation is closed. However, the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exist on other models or MY vehicles outside of the recall scope. The agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.
Technical service bulletins and other communications the manufacturer sent dealers about this vehicle. Ask a dealer for the full document by its number.
Bars are owner complaints, dots mark years with recalls. Select a year to open its report.