Then there's Ducati’s 801 cc Desert Sled, the latest addition to the
Italian company’s Scrambler line, which promises to provide more
off-road capability. There’s a lot of buzz around these 21st century
scramblers. Are they legitimate dual-sport machines or lifestyle bikes
with bolt-on enduro styling for a millennial market?
I haven’t ridden all the new entries, but I did get nearly two weeks on
the Desert Sled. Eager to see how well the bike performed on and off
pavement, I put the Ducati through its paces over 700 miles and three
states, from Manhattan to mud.
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| The Ducati Scrambler Desert Sled promises to be the most dual-sport-like of the recent street-based scramblers. Ducati photo. |
Not your grandfather’s Scrambler
In name and concept, the
$11,395 Desert Sled
is a merger of two retro genres, both aimed at making the road machines
of yesteryear dirt-capable. By mods and design, the bike goes furthest
in Ducati’s Scrambler line — and beyond other scramblers on the market —
toward dual-sport use.
To start, the Sled got better suspension and clearance: a fully
adjustable KYB fork and shock give it nearly eight inches of travel
front and rear, compared to 5.9 inches on standard Scramblers.
Additional mods include a beefed-up frame and swingarm, spoked aluminum
wheels, MX-style handlebar, an off-road seat, more ground clearance,
mudguard fenders, and an underframe skid plate.
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| Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR tires aim for a balance of pavement and dirt use. Ducati photo. |
For skins, Ducati added Pirelli’s Scorpion Rally STR enduro tire.
With a full 3.57-gallon gas tank, the Desert Sled weighs 456 pounds, up
46 from a standard Scrambler. And keeping to Ducati form, the Sled
sports a pretty sleek dual-sport profile — more contemporary cool than
the Transformers look of many adventure bikes.
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| My ride on the Desert Sled started in Manhattan. Photo by Jake Bright. |
Road-biased, dirt-capable
I picked up the Desert Sled in Manhattan before taking it through
upstate New York, on to Connecticut, and then off-road. On the pavement,
from first wheel roll I found the new Ducati an incredibly fun bike to
ride.
The Desert Sled is easy to maneuver in tight urban areas, as I noted
taking it through NYC’s Soho. It was also stable and capable when I
upped the acceleration and corner angles out on the open road. In terms
of handling, the handlebar, seat, and overall ergonomics give it a
supermoto feel.
The Desert Sled’s 75-horsepower engine is quiet and smooth at low revs,
but comes alive with a growl as soon as you grab some throttle. Torque
isn’t a problem on the bike and it’s easy to pop the front wheel up from
first through third gear.
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| Traffic,
rain, wet manhole covers. Sometimes the city produces just as many
obstacles as the country off-road riding. Photo by Jake Bright. |
The 801 cc fuel-injected engine delivers solid power delivery. Out on
the highway, sixth gear required no downshifting as low as 4,200 rpm at
50 mph, and the engine still had plenty of rev left at 85 mph. The
Desert Sled’s Pirellis delivered great grip (even in the rain) and
produced little of that enduro tire vibration or hum, even when I opened
the bike up out on I-95.
So as a dual-sport, Ducati’s Desert Sled exceeded expectations on the
street, but how about off-road? To test that I took the bike to
Connecticut’s
Thomaston Dam riding area, which offers a lot of varied terrain.
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| If you're going to go off chasing rainbows, a Desert Sled is a pretty good choice for go-anywhere ability. Photo by Jake Bright. |
The Desert sled excelled on dirt roads and hard-pack trails, where it
felt stable riding at a decent pace. The suspension didn't bottom out or
leave me wobbling from being too soft. The bike felt solid off-road,
where nothing clanked or rattled. While I did get the Ducati airborne a
couple of times, it’s more of a two-wheels-on-the-ground motorcycle.
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| For
a street-biased, 456-pound machine, the Desert Sled performed well once
the going got muddy. Folding mirrors and Ducati's accessory aluminum
foot pegs would make it a better performer. Photo by Jake Bright. |
I
was able to navigate the Desert Sled through mud patches and technical
single-tracks, complete with loose rocks, inclines, and washed-out
declines. For the more challenging off-road terrain, I had to slow down
considerably and the Desert Sled's 456 pounds become more apparent than
on the street. Still, it got me through any dirt terrain I put in front
of it, even if it took some muscle and focused clutch, throttle, brake
coordination.
So the Desert Sled is a legitimate dual-sport machine, though one
should manage expectations of what it can do compared to lighter,
dirt-specific enduro bikes.
What to change
On and off-road, I found several pet peeves with the Desert Sled —
things that can be taken care of in the aftermarket or improved upon by
Ducati. The stock mirrors are cumbersome on tight trails and hard to
adjust without a wrench. The stock rubber-top pegs are a bit narrow and
lose grip when dirty or muddy. Ducati offers an aluminum
Scrambler accessory peg that can remedy this.
The one-piece stock shifter is easily tweaked in a spill and becomes
cramped when moving from a street to an off-road boot. For $164.70, Duc
offers a length-adjustable
fold-away lever. Ducati could also improve the Sled’s off-road handling by shedding some pounds on the bike.
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| A
scrambler should be versatile, so I took it for a ride from the
concrete canyons of Manhattan to the muddy trails of woodsy Connecticut.
Photo by Harriette Williams. |
The balance
All in all, I had a blast on Ducati’s Desert Sled. I was surprised a
motorcycle could perform so well on the street and still take me just
about anywhere I wanted to go off-road.
That said, and in context of the scrambler revival, I think people
should be realistic about what street platforms modified for dirt can do
off the pavement. There’s a reason scramblers of the past gave way to
much lighter, specialized dirt machines. Riders looking to spend the
majority of their time going fast off-road should probably target a true
enduro bike.
But for those who want a dual-sport motorcycle that balances substance
and style, Ducati’s latest Scrambler could be for you. If we could
reincarnate Steve McQueen and show him today’s bike offerings, chances
are he’d be cruising around on a Desert Sled.
