Ducati says it’s going to bring a new adventure bike to market in December, aimed at proper offroad performance, and it should be just what customers have been waiting for.
Wayyyyy back in 2019, before anyone had heard of COVID-19, Ducati was flogging a very cool concept on the show circuit, the Scrambler Desert X. This full-sized ADV bike was styled like a mid-80s or early-90s Dakar sand dune bomber (minus the Marlboro adverts painted on the side). Muscle was provided by Ducati’s L-twin from the Scrambler 1100.
The concept got a lot of positive response, but never went into production. Instead, we see a new version starting a teaser campaign, simply known as the DesertX. The bodywork looks similar to the original Scrambler Desert X concept, but mechanically, it’s going to be updated from that machine. Here’s what Ducati’s website says:
“The DesertX is Ducati’s new Adventure bike, designed to offer great off-road capabilities thanks to an all-new chassis designed around a 21″ front wheel, and it will harness the performance and reliability of the liquid-cooled 937cc Testastretta engine.”
So, it sounds a bit like a Moto Guzzi V85 TT, but equipped with modern mechanical bits.
That 937 cc engine should make about 30 horsepower more than the 1100 L-twin in the original concept bike.
Ducati is promising a sneak peek at the new bike every two weeks, starting September 30, until its December 9 release. Pricing and Canadian availability are unknown, but we would certainly expect to see the bike available sometime for the 2022 riding season.
