Keeping to its bi-weekly schedule, Ducati’s next installment was not only on-time, but also in the wheelhouse of what we were expecting from the Italian brand in its 2022 model year debut.
Showing us its new Scrambler machines, the standout addition is the new Ducati Scrambler Urban Motard. If the bike looks familiar to you, it should.
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.
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.
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.
There is a new Ducati Scrambler model coming for the 2019 model year. That is what we know. We know that this new model will debut on September 10th, ahead of the INTERMOT show in Germany. What that model will be, however, well…that is what is up for debate.
Our colleagues over at the UK’s Superbike Magazine, they think that a new Ducati Scrambler 800 model is in the works. Meanwhile, our sources have tipped us that a Ducati Scrambler Desert Sled 1100 is on the way. Both ideas make sense, though for different reasons.
We already got a good look at the 2018 Ducati Scrambler 1100 ahead of this year’s EICMA show, but now we have all the details on Ducati’s new heritage motorcycle. Surprisingly, it’s not just one motorcycle, but in fact three flavors of the Ducati Scrambler 1100 have debuted.
As such, there is the new Ducati Scrambler 1100, the Ducati Scrambler 1100 Special, and the more premium Ducati Scrambler 1100 Sport for the 2018 model year.
All three machines are built around Ducati’s venerable air-cooled v-twin engine design, which comes in a 1,079cc format and makes 84hp and 65 lbs•ft of peak torque.
The top of the food chain model for the Scrambler Ducati family, the Scrambler 1100 models all come with Bosch’s cornering ABS as standard, dual 320mm brake discs up front, which are mated to Brembo 4.32 calipers and a hydraulic master cylinder.
Ducati has also added 10-level traction control to the new Scrambler 1100 model, as well as a ride-by-wire throttle and an LED headlight. With an 18″ wheel up front, and a 17″ wheel in the back, the Ducati Scrambler 1100 series continues to sport the Pirelli MT60 RS tires.
The Scrambler Ducati models started out as a bid to capture the budding crop of millennial riders, who eschew from the current crop of values and segments that prop-up the motorcycle industry.
The Scrambler has become more for Ducati though, as it has given the Italian brand two things: 1) a pathway to sell more classic and affordable motorcycles, and 2) a pathway from being a pure on-street brand. This makes the Scrambler line very important to Bologna.
For the past few months now, we have been hearing about the next model(s) to come for the Scrambler Ducati line (you can hear more about it on this episode of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast, by the way), and now we are seeing our first glimpse of those machines.
Recent spy shots have been circling the internet this week, and they give us our best glimpse of what to expect from Ducati at the upcoming motorcycle trade shows.
I’m talking about the “Scrambler 1100 Enduro” – as the press is calling it – which will slot in above the Ducati Scrambler “800” bike, and offer more off-road prowess to the Scrambler name.
If you have been following Asphalt & Rubber for the past week, you would know I was just in Italy for World Ducati Week. A bi-annual gathering of Ducatisti from around the world, for three days the Misano circuit and surrounding areas are flooded with Ducati motorcycles.
The tagline for WDW2016 was “More than Red” and part of that credo is a nod to the addition of the Scrambler Ducati line, with the yellow-colored “Land of Joy” sitting in prominence at the circuit’s entrance.
With the Scrambler too came a new event for World Ducati Week, flat track racing, which featured eight GP and SBK riders competiting on Misano’s TT-styled flat track course. In competition were Andrea Dovizioso, Troy Bayliss, Tati Mercado, Davide Giugliano, Danilo Petrucci, Yonny Hernandez, and Alessandro Valia.
The racing was head-to-head, with a pair of riders battling against each other over three laps, from a staggered start of 100 meters or so. It was good fun to watch, and the crowd seemed into it. I only took a few shots from the races, but thought I’d share them with you.
Above “Desmo Dovi” on the gas, and on his way to a race win. There’s more after the jump.
The Ducati Scrambler is the bike from Bologna for 2015. Loyal Ducatisti might be more excited by the upgraded Ducati 1299 Panigale, or the all-new Ducati Multistrada 1200, but in terms of company growth and the future of the Italian brand, the Ducati Scrambler takes center stage.
With four waves of 30+ journalists coming to Palm Springs for the international press launch, it’s clear that Ducati is casting a wide net with the Scrambler, especially with the number of non-industry publications present.
The term “lifestyle brand” is often a four-letter word in the motorcycle industry, of course ignoring the obvious that all of motorcycling is a lifestyle choice in the first world, but nonetheless the term has been used liberally with Ducati and the company’s racing heritage.
That being said, the Ducati Scrambler is perhaps the most lifestyle-focused motorcycle ever to come from Bologna — so much so, Ducati made the Scrambler its own brand even.
This is an important element, as on its own merits the Ducati Scrambler is a great back-to-basics motorcycle for the Ducati line, and at $8,600 for the Icon model, it makes for a killer entry point model for any rider into the Ducati brand.
Having enough thrust to appease your motolust, the Ducati Scrambler Icon, as we tested it, is true to the basic Ducati performance heritage, and it fills Ducati’s need for a budget commuter, off-road scrambler, and just “fun” second bike. But there is another component to the Scrambler that gets lost in translation, depending on what sub-genre of two-wheeled freedom you hail from.
Production of the Ducati Scrambler began today in Borgo Panigale, marking the rebirth of the model in Ducati’s lineup and the start of Bologna’s new “Scrambler Ducati” brand and line.
As we reported earlier this year, the Scramblers produced at Borgo Panigale will not be arriving in the North American markets, which will instead receive models made by Ducati’s Thailand factory (no word on when that production will begin, if it hasn’t already).
Production strategies aside, the Ducati Scrambler marks many changes for the Italian company, which has been abashed in its pursuit of younger, let’s say more hip, motorcyclists with the Ducati Scrambler line.