We are just starting to put a few miles on our 2015 Ducati Scrambler Icon test unit, and we wanted to report on our initial impressions of the bike. All the details are contained in our initial report on this model.
To begin with, this is a really small motorcycle. My 5’2″ spouse, who owned a Suzuki SV650 for many years, thinks the seat height might be even lower than it was on her old bike (Ducati claims a seat height of 31.1 inches, roughly 1/2 an inch shorter than an SV650). Suffice it to say that many shorter riders will be able to flatfoot this machine at stops.
In keeping with the short stature, the bike just looks small, and feels light, both at rest and while moving. Ducati claims the Scrambler Icon has a dry weight of 375 pounds, and a weight of 410 with a full gas tank.
The engine feels strong. In my mind, I was prepared to measure it against an SV650, which represents a modern, liquid cooled 90° V twin with fuel injection and four valve heads. The SV has always been considered quick for its displacement category. My first impression of the Scrambler 800 is that it has noticeably more power in the mid-range than an SV, but does not like to rev as far.
This engine has very good low-end (pulling usefully from 2,000 rpm) and mid-range, but signs off on top fairly quickly. Nevertheless, a very fun, responsive street motor.
The ergonomics are a little tight for taller riders, as would be expected for such a small motorcycle, but at 5’11” I was still quite comfortable, and it wasn’t something I thought about during the ride. The handlebars are very high, even higher than they are on most dual sport motorcycles. The Scrambler is very narrow between your knees, but spreads out as you reach the foot pegs, and your heels are spread out a bit by the swingarm, which flares away from its mounting position.
Perhaps, most importantly, I had a great deal of enjoyment during my first ride on the motorcycle. More fun than plenty of other new motorcycles I can think of, with light handling, good power and a sense of confidence as I rode through twisty mountain roads, as well as in a straight line at freeway speeds. Much more later (including action photography).
I wish I hadn’t seen this thing! Ache!
My wife had a 2003 Buell XB9S Lightning in bright yellow. It appears to be similar in size to the Ducati and was an absolute hoot to ride. I think they called it a hooligan bike.
The Buell did not require valve adjustments and because of a belt it did not even require chain adjustments. Unfortunately not many were interested because the motor was a derivative of a Sportster motor and was air cooled. Plus you had to go into a Harley dealer to buy one.
Give me Ducati cool! Give me a modern tech water cooled motor! Give me chain drive! Give me a bike that does not require maintenance!
Tough crowd to satisfy!
“had” is a past tense, so the wonderful bike wasn’t worth keeping? even though it was simple, a hoot to ride, and was practically maintenance free?
The bike was definitely worth keeping. Unfortunately for her she was a bit too old and the riding position hurt her knees on long rides which we do a lot of.
She now rides a Victory Vision Tour that fits her really well without complaints after a long day in the saddle. I have and ride (current tense) an 07 Buell with over 60,000 miles.
Think the Ducati Multistrada is cool but the Buell still makes me smile. If they can afford it, everyone should ride whatever bike makes them smile.
This bike looks like it has a foot longer wheelbase. The Buell’s stubby length and tall height is what made it wheelie prone to give the illusion of power. I’ve ridden them and they’re OK, not as much of a “hoot” as something like a DRZ400SM or a Duke.
I love the styling. But at 6’3″ it is just too small for me.
The valve clearance thing is also a pain.
If you really think about it, motorcycle manufacturers should address the valve clearance issue. I would hardly trust my dealer’s mechanics to adjust valves considering all the routine stuff they screw up. Yamaha nearly has it conquered with their 24,000 mile interval. But I seem to remember Honda used a sort of hydraulic lifter in the DOHC Nighthawk that never needed adjustment even though they revved past 9,000 rpms.
re: “The valve clearance thing is also a pain.”
yes, establishing discipline towards saving money IS a pain. it’s part of the BIG 3 new years resolutions. the other two are giving up smoking and weight loss.
Smoking and weight loss? Good luck. I’m batting .500. One thing at a time, I hope.
re: “If you really think about it”
I have, problem is i’m the only one who’s accepted your challenge. 🙁
re: “motorcycle manufacturers should address the valve clearance issue.”
they have, problem is motorcycle consumers want everybody ELSE to make changes, while they change DICKUS.
Wow! I’m surprised by the responses in this group. I think this bike is a shot straight at my 52 year old heart. After years of bike growing in size from something in this human scale to ever larger mechanized beasts that conquered the earth in speed, comfort and style, I find this bike refreshingly small yet powerful in its street intended purpose.
I had a 79 Bonni and it’s mid range and light weight was a delight to ride on the street. Yes I had to drag a magnet behind the bike to catch parts from the vibration but what a fun bike. I’ve ridden the modern Triumphs and they leave me cold. They feel heavy and odd to me. This bike captures me with a promise of light weight decent power and style that appeals to me. A fun and easy bike to ride with character. That 803cc engine in the old SS models was really fun. I’m a bit sad that they removed one of the velocity stacks for this bike. That effort to push it into a lower cost bracket probably did that and limited the motors top end. Yet I forgive Ducati for that and can see this bike in my garage. It will sit next to my old 996S so maybe I’m partial to Ducati. If Harley produced a bike like this as their Street 750 Flat Tracker (as seen in their X Games bike) I might be talking a different tune. I did look at the FZ-07 last year and thought about getting one for the same purpose as this bike. That to me is the competition. I’m just not a fan of the angular lines. Just a personal preference.
Aside from this, how many miles per year will these things even see? How far is Starbuck’s in any given city?
Q: Aside from this, how many miles per year will these things even see?
A: approximately 3750, give or take.
The 7500 mile service intervals are so that hipsters can go to the shop and spend half the day talking or have maintenance parties and stuff like that.
LOL.
I like it.
They could have called it the TW800.
To me that is what it is. A simple, inexpensive (relative I know), fat-tire, all-arounder like the TW200 but with 75Hp instead of 17.
I hope it sells a bunch and inspires lots of imitators! I would love a new motorbike category that is the “simple, good-power, fat-tire, all-arounder”
PS. I don’t really care who made what and what they called it in the past and who is copying who..
The bike tries to cash in on the current nostalgia wave. The problem is, 60s and 70s Ducatis never achieved the iconic status of, say, a Triumph Bonneville or a BMW R-series. Modern riders probably don’t even remember what old Ducs looked like. I remember what they looked like. They were ugly as he11. And they broke down a lot.
“let it go….let it go” (sung by my daughter to the tune from Frozen).
You’ll feel better when you let it go.
” (sung by my daughter to the tune from Frozen).”
Ahhhh. You too, eh?
Scrambler = Scrambling to scrape up valve adjustment money every 3 months.
Scrambler = The brain of the American motorcyclist (so called) after a decade’s bombardment by Wal-Mart advertising.
They put the front fender on backwards.
…and forgot to connect the rear fender.
That’s one reason why I prefer the Scrambler Classic that trades the dumbass “hugger” for a traditional rear fender and has a small, but normal, front fender.
Ducati seems to have real trouble dealing with rear fenders on its retro bikes. Remember the “SportClassic” series? The back fenders were so far above the rear tires that it looked like someone had tried to turn a motocross bike into a cafe racer.
Don’t forget to have a nice gorgonzola and some prosciutto to go with all that (Italian) whine.
Let’s face it. This bike isn’t designed for current motorcyclists.
I agree, looks like another bike built for midgets. Looks like it would be fun if my legs were 18″ shorter 🙂
Re: ” This bike isn’t designed for current motorcyclists.”
Excellent! The current market is dying off and not replacing itself with newer riders.
I don’t think it looks too bad, and I have been current since 1996. Its not a Guzzi though…..
Little too much whining.
Back in the late Seventies I was using an old CL350 Honda to commute about fifty miles a day back and forth to the Santa Maria airport from the Nipomo Mesa…when it came time to retire the CL, I ended up getting a VT500FT Ascot mainly because it was what I could afford….At that point I can remember telling those who questioned why I bought a new Honda vs. a Harley that Harley didn’t make anything that could do what the Ascot could. I would have loved to be able to get something like an XR750 styled bike that didn’t need a Harley race team to maintain it. I would have seriously looked at the Ducati Scrambler….which in my opinion is more like that XR750 than even Harleys own XR1200 ever could be….
What a fantastic machine! I bought my wife the VT500FT Ascot, while I had a Nighthawk S. I think the Far East hit their zenith during the 1980’s. Back then there were fewer limitations on what was acceptable, designs were simply more creative (technically and aesthetically) and unbound by established category.
Those were the bikes
A $1000 valve adjustment every 7K miles for this “simple” air cooled scrambler? Even if it’s $700 ouch.
In this day and age of WR250R having 21,000 mile valve check intervals, I find a 7k valve interval unacceptable for a DOT legal street bike. At least the liquid cooled Ducati’s have longer valve adjust intervals.
re: “simple air cooled scrambler?”
‘cept it’s NOT a simple air cooled scrambler, it’s a DESMO.
re: “In this day and age of WR250R having 21,000 mile valve check intervals, I find a 7k valve interval unacceptable”
shocking, but iirc wasn’t Hyundai the first car maker to introduced the 10 year, 100,000 mile warranty…? but of course, you’re no longer in the same class of vehicle. but that’s not really my point, what I’m really asking is…
where do we draw the line at making ridiculous comparisons…?
Re: “where do we draw the line at making ridiculous comparisons…?”
The Duc has a slower revving, less stressed engine, the Yamaha is practically a 1-cylinder F1 engine that somehow has a valve adjustment interval that is 3x longer. It isn’t a comparison of motorcycle category, just of the two companies abilities to answer the expectations of informed customers.
The Yamaha FZ 1 was a 20 valve 4 cyl with 26,000 mile valve adjustments. I believ the new FZ09 has the same valve adj recommendation
Adjust the valves yourself. It’s part of the Ducati mystique.
DIY still doesn’t address the short interval, especially for avid riders putting on miles
I guess this leaves just one quetion for Ducati. Will Hipsters ante-up to buy a new motorcycle or will the factory’s target audience stick with cobbled together CB550 cafe look-alikes?
My friend was fanatical about buying this bike,and had the money in hand to do so,but after a Ducati rep told him it needed a $1000 service every 7K,he said forget it!!!…..he’s keeping his Bonnie.
re: “after a Ducati rep told him it needed a $1000 service every 7K,he said forget it!!”
whoa, i ran this text through Google translator. now here’s what he REALLY said…
“since I don’t acknowledge that every vehicle ever made requires maintenance/has a cost of ownership, I use this as an excuse for my lack of discipline at saving/accruing $1000 in the 1-2 years time it’s going to realistically take me to put the 7500 miles on the bike anyway”
gentleman it’s 2015, you are out of excuses.
Bravo, Norm G.!
The biggest downside I’ve found with my CB1100 is the 8,000 miles valve checks. I’m averaging 1000 miles a month, 2 years I’m looking at checking the 16 valves 3 times.
Some of us like to ride. 20k+ valve checks are appealing.
Check it once and forget it.
Kevin several of the members on the CB1100forum.com have gone thru multiple valves checks and all valves always in spec, but another had 4 tight exhaust valves at 16,000 miles. I just wonder if his mechanic knew what he was doing? Seems strange to me that all 4 exhaust valves would be out of spec at the same time. My brother’s Triumph Bonnie (same valve system) has gone 30,000 miles with all valves in spec.
I’m a member of the site, I’ve seen the reports. Mine were in spec at 8k but I think they were at the tight end of the scale, I’ll have to double check my paperwork. I’ll have mine checked again, I ride my bike a lot harder than most CB owners and a lot of my miles are commuting and around town. I’d rather be sure.
Those don’t have 8 exhaust valves? Shim under bucket are easy to check, not so easy to adjust. Check them yourself, will probably find them to be in spec. Have checked shim under bucket valves on plenty of metric bikes and almost never have to remove cams to change shims. My own EX250 has gone 50,000 miles, valves checked 3 times and not one shim changed.
Don..yes 4 valves per cylinder. I meant valves exhaust valves on all 4 cylinders were reported as being tight
re: “Some of us like to ride. 20k+ valve checks are appealing.”
fairplay. some REALLY like to ride AND desire the performance benefit a springless valve system offers over traditional designs with like displacement. to that end desmodromics are appealing.
Horses for courses. It was the desmo servicing and mandatory timing belt changes that finally turned me off Ducatis (amongst othe things), after owning two. Definitely an acquired taste (that I never acquired despite trying).
“some REALLY like to ride AND desire the performance benefit a springless valve system offers over traditional designs with like displacement.”
We are talking about an engine that makes maybe 65hp at the wheel, here, and probably doesn’t rev much past 8500 rpm. Any benefit vs. modern springs in this particular application can only be realized at the Ducati brochure.
Lordy that’s funny.
I’ve discovered a company (“MBP”) that markets “valve collets” specifically for Ducati engines that are said to greatly lengthen valve maintenance intervals. ‘Seems like it would be worth looking into.
If the service shop properly reinstalls the valve keepers, which pound in and is one of the reasons you need to adjust the valves, they don’t go that far out of wack later. It’s when they are miss installed that they repound, and have to be adjusted again.
The answer is go to a good shop, find a good mechanic. Unfortunately that’s harder and harder to find.
Pounding in the valve keepers sounds so high tech. It must me a very expensive hammer that they are using that must be calibrated every 6 mos.
Maybe he should try another dealer or independent shop. Granted its been a while since I owned a Monster, but a service never cost me anywhere near that much on a two-valve Monster. I usually did it myself (changed oil, checked/adjusted valve lash, checked/changed timing belts, etc.). If nothing needs adjustment, I imagine a pro could get it done in 3.5 hours.
I’m probably a bit too tall for it, but a 375 lb. dry bike with 75 hp sounds perfect. Just need to find the mods to make it a bit taller so that fits a 6’1″ rider well.
Sat on one at the show. I liked it a lot. Fit me very well (5’9″) Didn’t look or feel cheap to me. I love the styling. It is high on my list of “next bikes”.
I’ll just be happy when the abbreviated tail section goes away. Lose that license plate pod thing and the back tire will pump rain and mud all over your back. I did three rainy days in Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg on a CB1000R street fighter thingy without the pod and got soaked and filthy every day.
So, you toured in the rain on a “street fighter” (where style takes precedence over weather protection), then berate the “thingy” for its lack of comfort because of its missing “pod”? OK, sure…
I’m a dirt biker by nature. A street fighter is about as close as you can rent to my preferred one up ride with is a supermoto (heavily modded XR650R). And yes. I’m 53 and I tour on a supermoto when I am home and I don’t need a ton of range between fills. A supermoto has enough fender to keep the back tire from pumping water and mud all down your back. My two up ride is an old school Ducati Multistrada that my wife picked out. I love that open class two valve engine.
That was my only complaint from the street fighter, other than my universal whine about street bikes being so heavy. But it was a pretty major complaint.
If I had to ride an off the rack street bike. I’d probably go with a street fighter. But I’d get a luggage rack or something to make it onto an all weather bike. Though the off the rack supermotos are slowly getting more attractive.
Yeah, I’ve got a Yamaha FZ-8S (Fazer 8) which has the very high and somewhat abbreviated tailsection with a long and ugly rear fender/turn signal mount thing. A lot of the guys install a tidy tail fender eliminator – I can only assume they don’t plan to ride in the rain.
It looks like a nice bike. The only thing that I don’t like is the short little front fender. That exposed front wheel will coat the engine with slew & sludge from the road. I don’t want to spend hours cleaning, so how about a foot long Fenda Extenda?
Looks like Ducati offers a bolt on mud guard: http://scramblerducati.com/en/accessori
Everything you see that is yellow is plastic; and not nice high end stuff. In person it just looks cheap; more like a knock off toy than an offering from a premier brand. I can’t believe that any of the reviewers have not mentioned this.
Just saw this in person at the motorcycle show; it is almost as bad as the HD Street…but everyone already knows that the finish quality of that bike is junk.
I had high hopes this would be the modern replacement for my beloved CL350, but it is a pass.
The gas tank is steel with a brushed aluminum side cover. The finish on the bike looks good. Where did you get the idea every yellow piece is plastic? Did you just make this up?
Maybe it was just a prototype at the motorcycle show… but the yellow tank was plastic. The aluminum side panels a not flush mounted; actually float out from the tank. Sounds cool, but in person it looks very cheap and very easy to break. My comments were based on seeing this in person.
Ducati website says the tank is steel.
Show bike was plastic. I guess it was pre-production.
The floating aluminum side panels are still awful.
There isn’t much yellow on it. I’d expect the fender to be plastic, I haven’t seen a metal fender since the early 80s, and I’ve owned a lot of bikes. The tank is metal (per Dirck). What else were you hoping is metal?
the 2015 Indian Scout { $10,995 } has a STEEL tank, front and rear fenders…..
so there goes your theory………….
the 2010-2014 Honda CB 1100s have steel tanks and both fenders
re: “In person it just looks cheap; more like a knock off toy than an offering from a premier brand.”
well is that really that far from the truth…?
it’s this moment one’s motoIQ should see them paying attention to price and positioning in the line up. it’s a premier brand (yes) but a deliberately decontented model. in fact, it’s the only air-cooled engine left innit…?
if one could pay the entry level price for say an A-class Mercedes, and yet get all the accoutrement of an S-class saloon, what then of the S-class saloon…?
Damm you Norm,
always shattering fragile notions
Although not expecting a luxury bike; the fit and finish on this bike were well below comparable entry priced models from other brands. Makes the CB500x, FZ7, FZ9, Bonneville, etc. etc. look great. The only bike I saw at the motorcycle show that was worse (actually much worse) was the HD Street 750. The old Monster 696 was about the same price as this Scrambler and it looked great (even with plastic tank panels) So Ducati is capable. This just did not live up to the media hype in person.
If you removed the Ducati name plate I think most people’s reaction would be, “Hmm, it looks kinda cheap.”
I think it looks very minimalist, but not cheap. But even if it does look “kinda cheap”, well, it IS kinda cheap after all.
If the “ergonomics are tight” I am concerned. A M900 Monster was the most uncomfortable bike I have ever owned. Still, I like the light weight and back to basics simple design.
Most importantly – Aside from all of the normal factors (weight, weight distribution, handling, highway stability, shift quality, comfort, etc.) Please rate this bikes “wheelie-ability” on a scale of 1-10 – (1 being any large, long cruiser, 10 being KTM 1290 SD).
Looks like an Italian version of a HD sportster.
Digg. Accurate.
I was just noticing that great up-swept muffler and outlet, does one cap that off on an especially rainy day when not riding? 🙂
I’m still not in love with the styling.
And, versus the Yamaha FZ-07?…
Correction: I meant to write: “did not produce a “Scrambler” until 2006”
tla wrote: “Hmmm, Ducati’s try at building a Triumph isn’t bad….”
Hmmm, in your magical world of make-believe, did Did Ducati not produce thousands of Scrambler models between 1962 and 1976? Did this 1960s Ducati Scrambler simply not exist?
http://www.ducati.ms/forums/attachments/vintage/22022-1965-scrambler-250-ducati-350-scrambler-orange.jpg
Ducati introduced its Scrambler motorcycles in 1962, producing thousands before ending production in 1976. Triumph, by contrast, did not produce a “Scrambler” in 2006. Like the Ducati Scramblers that preceded it by decades, the Triumph Scrambler sported off-road styling. Then, in 2014, Ducati introduced a new Scrambler with styling cues drawn straight from the Ducati Scramblers of the 1960s and ’70s. And you accuse Ducati of ‘trying to build a Triumph’? Amazing.
I really miss the pre-Internet days when we had editors who shielded us from ill-conceived, uninformed comments. It just made the world seem so much smarter.
Triumph is the one who successfully resurrected the scrambler genre.
This is Ducati’s attempt at copycat marketing. Low risk easy profit.
Capitalism at work. Nothing more, nothing less.
IMO Ducati should take a closer look at their own past work. They even built inline-4s.
There’s lots of resurrection potential at their disposal.
Triumph’s Scrambler NEVER garnered this much excitement and enthusiasm. Initial reviews report a more engaging bike.
I’m not down on Triuph, quite the opposite – Ducati has really struck a cord with this design.
Don’t believe me, “The Market” will tell all.
No, Bubba, this is Ducati building a bike that is a clear homage to its past, engineering the bike from ground-up. Triumph just lightly restyled an existing bike and appropriated a name that it never used within its own history. Not surprisingly, and as Blackcayman rightly pointed out, the Ducati has garnered much more excitement and enthusiasm than that this bike is a far more important bike to the market.
re: “They even built inline-4s.”
they built “A” inline-4. bubba you’re my “best good friend”, but what would the USP be in that exactly considering my late grandmother (god bless her motor-lube tasting cookies) built race winning I4’s…?
in contrast nobody builds a modern RVT, not even Honda and they’re papered up.
(ps, neither the KTM nor the Buell are RVT’s. they’re just VT’s “being raced”).
Norm G. wrote: “neither the KTM nor the Buell are RVT’s. they’re just VT’s “being raced””
Agreed. Both KTM and Buell design design superb sport bikes for the street. Sadly, there are many riders who can’t understand that the best race bike on the track is seldom the best sport bike on the street — and vice-versa.
Fred, Rather than lamenting the internet so you can try to sound smart, why not use it to actually research what it is you’re talking about?
Ducati may have used the name “scrambler”, but triumph had the trophy tr5 off road model prior to 1950. So, yes, ducati’s original “scrambler” was also a me-too design following the triumph. They used the category name for their bike after the category was already defined by another brand. It would be like hd producing their first mx bike this year, naming it “motocross”, then 50 years in the future having some pompous clown expound upon how hd’s retro styled “motocross” isn’t a take on the also retro styled kawasaki “motocross” that had already been on the market for 10 years, simply because hd called their bike by that name.
And no, i’m not saying kawa invented mx or that triumph invented the scrambler concept, even,i have no idea who is credited with that. I just dislike your tone in your post and felt obligated to correct you.
I like the duc scrambler, but arguing it’s the original is simply foolish. How many does your shop have on order?
You wrote: ” Rather than lamenting the internet so you can try to sound smart, why not use it to actually research what it is you’re talking about?”
I don’t need to research topics I know this well, as evidenced by your attempt to tell me about a model that I’ve known about for at least four decades (the Triumph TR5 Trophy). I don’t need to “try to sound smart” because I am smart.
You wrote: “Ducati may have used the name “scrambler”
They also now produce the only modern bike that looks like that Ducati Scrambler, so the claim that the 2015 Ducati Scrambler is “Ducati’s try at building a Triumph” is utter BS.
You wrote: “but triumph had the trophy tr5 off road model prior to 1950.”
Its existence not news to me (or likely anyone else here over 40). But since that Triumph shares neither name nor styling with the 2015 Ducati Scrambler, it’s irrelevant. But it does beg the question of why Triumph didn’t use the TR5 Trophy name for its “Scrambler” instead of appropriating a name famously used by Ducati and Honda. BTW, the Triumph TR5 Trophy was what we now call a dual sport; a road-legal bike with lights.
You wrote: “I just dislike your tone in your post”
It wasn’t aimed at you, so don’t get your panties in a bunch. I replied to someone who accused Ducati of attempting to ‘build a Triumph.’ Attacking Ducati for using a name from their own past on a bike paying homage to those earlier bikes is BS and my response was appropriate in tone and content.
You wrote: “and felt obligated to correct you.”
You did not “correct” me as you did not cite a single error in my post. In fact, you provided evidence to support my post, admitting that Triumph’s Scrambler is not named for any bike in their past. The only bike you could cite which might have inspired the current Triumph Scrambler looks nothing like the Ducati Scramblers of the 60s, 70s, or today.
You wrote: “I like the duc scrambler, but arguing it’s the original is simply foolish.”
Yes, it is foolish. And it’s a straw man argument that you invented rather than an argument that I made. My argument was, and remains, that Ducati’s 2015 Scrambler is a clear homage to the Ducati Scramblers of the 1960s and ’70s and is, in no way, an attempt to ‘build a Triumph.’ The photo I provided the link to proves that I am correct.
You wrote: “How many does your shop have on order?”
I wouldn’t know. I tried one out at the Washington, DC International Motorcycle Show and it’s just too cramped for my 6’2″ frame. It’s a shame, because it was on my short list of possible next motorcycles.
Wow, who let the grumpy in?
You’d have to ask the person who posted “Hmmm, Ducati’s try at building a Triumph isn’t bad….”
That should make just about any motorcycle aficionado grumpy. Ducati spent huge amounts of time and money to bring a truly new bike to market and that’s how they are rewarded for it?
1962-1976 Ducati builds thousands of Scrambler models
2006 Triumph appropriates the name Scrambler for a bike the looks nothing like the Ducati Scramblers.
2014 Ducati introduces a new Scrambler with styling directly inspired by their earlier line of Scramblers. It looks nothing like the Triumph Scrambler.
2015 Internet poster, completely ignorant of Ducati’s long history of making Scramblers, accuses Ducati of trying to build a Triumph solely because of the name Scrambler.
technically I think you both have valid points. They were running “Scrambles” races in England since the 1950s which morphed into Motocross, but no Brit mfg that I recall used the name “Scrambler” for a model motorcycle at that time.
in 1962 TWO manufacturers actually named a model scrambler, the Italian Ducati 250cc Scrambler single with low pipe and the Japanese CL 72 Scrambler parallel twin with high pipes
simmer down now
“It just made the world seem so much smarter.”
Now, that was just YOUR “magical world of make believe.” 🙂
Dirck, how did you find the clutch action? Light or heavy?
I’m not a fan of the styling, especially the rear end. Something about this bike reminds me of a Buell Blast, with a less squared off look. I really can’t pinpoint why it reminds me of the Blast, but it does. I like the idea, and generally like Ducati’s but this one misses the mark for me from a styling standpoint. Sounds Ike I may be in the minority.
Glad I’m not the only one who thinks Buell Blast.
Hey Dirck, are videos not going to be part of reviews any longer? I thought them to be a nice touch.
I had hoped to like this bike. Then I sat on this at the NY Motorcycle Show and was very disappointed by too low seat height, very plain controls, low quality look and feel of components especially for a Ducati.
In contrast the Monster 821 just felt and looked like it had a much higher level of fit and finish. I know there are different but the scrambler looked too boring for me to lust after.
However, a scrambler in red with an aftermarket exhaust, nicer shocks, nicer handlebars and maybe a few other upgrades could be fairly sweet.
It’s cool that Ducati is making cheaper models now which could be the start of some neat future developments. Personally I’d take a used Ducati 1000 GT with termi pipes and put flat track tires on it.
As a long time Hinckley Bonnie rider, I must admit, Ducati has very likely hit one out of the park with the Scrambler series.
Hinckley’s Bonnies are 14 years old, with only minor upgrades to performance (790cc to 865cc / carbs to EFI) during that period. For the most part they’re still 52-62 hp bikes – albeit very nice bikes. Ducati is coming in at 75hp.. with more available with exhaust and tuning.
Good luck, Ducati!..
Hmmm, Ducati’s try at building a Triumph isn’t bad….