If you bought a Ducati Scrambler Nightshift this year, then your bike is up for a recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for front and rear turn signals that don’t flash brightly enough.
Because the issue runs afoul of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, “Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment”, a recall is required. In total, 228 motorcycles are affected by this recall.
If you want to design motorcycles for a living, the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California is the premier place to begin your studies, and attending the school could very well lead to a position as a designer at a two-wheeled or four-wheeled manufacturer. There is no better proof of that than today’s story.
Partnering with the Ducati Scrambler brand, the ArtCenter had students working on designs that explored the future of the Scrambler lineup, and the winner of the competition was rewarded with a training internship at the Ducati Design Center in Bologna, Italy.
In total, 10 projects were submitted for review, and it was Peter Harkins who took home the winning prize. While many students explored electric concepts for the Scrambler brand, Harkins thought of a more classic approach for Ducati’s heritage-based sub-brand.
An unveiling we expected at the EICMA show last year, Ducati has chosen the new year to unveil the updates coming to its Scrambler 1100 lineup, which now come with a “Pro” moniker.
Late last year, there was much speculation regarding what the tipped” Pro” name would entail exactly, and today we learn that it is a modest upgrade to the Scrambler 1100 line, with mostly aesthetic changes being the name of the game.
According to the eagle eyes at BikeSocial, it would seem that Ducati has two new Scrambler models coming for the 2020 model year.
The two models were spotted in filings with the EPA, and are listed as “Pro” versions from the 1100 line – the “Ducati Scrambler 1100” and “Ducati Scrambler 1100 Sport Pro”.
What exactly is so “Pro” about this machines is not clear, but we are pretty certain that we will see the new Scramblers at Ducati’s special event in October, held on the Rimini coast.
What can one say about the Suzuki SV650 motorcycle? The bike is in its 20th year of production, and though the model has changed a little by little over time, the same basic formula has stayed the same.
Here, we have a special idea from Oberdan Bezzi, who takes the venerable SV650 and turns it into large-format off-roader.
Dubbed the Suzuki SV650 Rally, the concept looks quite convincing, and it plays into the strategy that Suzuki seems to be building off of.
We have been waiting for quite a while to see Norton’s Atlas street bike project in the flesh, and now it is here…in two varieties.
The two machines are called the Norton Atlas Ranger and the Norton Atlas Nomad, and they are both scrambler models. The Nomad is geared more towards road use however, with its 18″ front wheel; while the Ranger has taller suspension for better off-road capabilities, along with a 19″ front hoop.
Both bikes share the same 650cc parallel-twin engine with a 270° firing order, which makes 84hp and 47 lbs•ft of torque. The motor was co-developed with Norton’s V4 project, and it is essentially the four-cylinder engine with its rear cylinder bank lopped off.
We are big fans of what boutique Italian brand Fantic Motorcycles is doing with its 450cc lineup. To our eye, the Fantic Callabero 500 is modern vintage done right. It almost makes us wish we lived in Europe, so we could go ride the big thumper in anger.
New for this year’s EICMA show is another 450cc bike from the brand, the Fantic Caballero Rally 500. It isn’t an earth-shattering design, and it obviously borrows very heavily from the Fantic Caballero 500 scrambler, but we still enjoy it.
We have been waiting for the 2019 Triumph Scrambler 1200 for some time now, and the day is finally here that we get to see this heavyweight dual-sport.
The Triumph Scrambler 1200 comes in two flavors: the XC model (below) is more street-focused in its design, while the XE model (above) offers a more off-road oriented package for riders, along with more premium features.
Both bikes are based around the Bonneville’s “high power” 1,200cc parallel-twin engine, which means that the Triumph Scrambler 1200 makes 89hp and 81 lbs•ft of torque.
The Scrambler 1200 XC tips the scales at 452 lbs (dry), while the Scrambler 1200 XE model is four pounds heavier, at 456 lbs (dry) – making both bikes quite heavy for their stated purpose.
Ducati’s new model releases at INTERMOT was reserved, to say the least. Showing us some updates to the Scrambler Ducati lineup, the Italian brand debuted three new graphics for its Café Racer, Desert Sled, and Full Throttle models.
It might only be “bold new graphics” for these 2019 model year bikes, but the fresh liveries are very fetching.
The Full Throttle model is based off the Ducati Scrambler that is being raced in the Super Hooligan series in the United States, while the Café Racer design comes from the Ducati 125GP Desmo raced, with the blue and white livery a nod to racer Bruno Spiaggiari.
As for the white and red Desert Sled, well…that’s just delicious.
What you are looking at is the “new” Ducati Scrambler Icon. The changes are hard to spot from the original Icon model, but overall the machine gets a number refinements and enhancements, the most notable of which is the new cornering ABS package from Bosch.
Other changes include thicker aluminum side panels on the fuel tank, black paint on the engine (with brushed cylinder head fins), and machine-finished wheels. The headlight is new too, and features a daylight running light (DRL).
An auto-off feature has been added to the LED turn signals (thanks to the IMU powering the cornering ABS), and new switchgear is on the handlebars. On the more practical side of the spectrum, the LCD dash now includes a fuel level gauge.
Triumph continues to tease its big model reveal for the 2019 model year, the new Triumph Scrambler 1200. Releasing yet another teaser video (above) we get our first glimpse of the new machine.
Our sources tell us that the Triumph Scrambler 1200 will be a capable full-sized dual-sport, and it will be fitted with the “high torque” version of Triumph’s 1,200cc parallel-twin engine, which makes 80hp and 77 lbs•ft of torque.
Two model variations are also expected. One will be road-going, and have cast wheels and street-focused rubber. The other will have spoked wheels and knobby tires. We expect both bikes to have a robust electronics package (straight from the Tiger series, if our Bothan spies can be believed).