2017 DUCATI SCRAMBLER DESERT SLED
CW FIRST RIDE
AN HONEST TRIBUTE TO THE SCRAMBLERS OF YESTERYEAR
Bradley Adams
MotMotorcycle manufacturers are getting smarter. In the past they’d reinvent the wheel for every new model introduced, but they’ve since learned to adapt new pieces to existing platforms and then push the models in different directions. Within the scram-
bier world, this resulted in standards dressed with high pipes but also bikes that weren’t really intended for off-road duty. Ducati’s 2017 Scrambler Desert Sled hits the reset button.
Ducati isn’t trying to build a dirt bike, mind you, but rather a better tribute to the machines Steve McQueen, Bud Ekins, and men braver than I tore
through the California desert on in the 1960s and ’70s. The Desert Sled is an honest re-think of what a modern scrambler can and should be.
Key elements to this transition include an updated chassis with additional frame tubing and side plates at the swingarm/engine/frame junction that greatly increase chassis stiffness
THE DESERT SLED IS AN HONEST RE-THINK OF WHAT A MODERN SCRAMBLER CAN AND SHOULD BE.
(yes, for jumping). The swingarm is both reinforced and longer, while the triple clamps are updated and the inner-yoke clearance widened—all big changes over a bike like the Urban Enduro.
Suspension is beefed up, with the Desert Sled sporting a fully adjustable 46mm Kayaba fork and rebound/ preload-adjustable Kayaba shock with specially routed reservoir for optimum travel. Both have 7.9 inches of movement and work on spoked wheels (19-inch front, 17-inch rear) wrapped in specially designed Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR tires.
If you’re looking at the bike and wondering what’s left of the standard
Scrambler, the answer is not much; that list essentially begins and ends at Ducati’s 803CC V-twin engine, which was updated to meet Euro 4 emissions standards while still making a claimed 75 hp and 50 pound-feet of torque.
Unfortunately, the hardware mandated by those Euro 4 emissions standards and (much) beefier componentry has brought overall weight up. And while the Scrambler team says it fought hard to keep the pounds off, the Sled weighs a claimed 456 pounds, roughly 46 pounds more than the lesserequipped Scrambler Icon. With brawn comes new burdens.
Base-model Scramblers have always
felt cramped for bigger riders, but, with the Desert Sled’s tall handlebar and wider peg-to-seat gap, the bike is more accommodating to those with a longer inseam (ergos are great for standing up too). Fit and finish is every bit as good as on the rest of the range, and, with its Euro 4 update, fueling is smoother.
Jump onto a trail and the differences grow tenfold. No longer do you have to hunt your way around rocks, ruts, and sand. Stand up, shift your weight back, and the Desert Sled will gladly plow
its way through obstacles that’d stop other scramblers dead in their tracks.
It really is every bit the off-road bike the Scrambler team promised. If not more so.
That added off-road prowess doesn’t come at the expense of on-road performance either. The new seat is comfortable, the suspension feels very controlled midcorner, and the brakes (same as the Icon) have a nice bite and good power.
I never really noticed the weight until
the sand on our (very) technical riding route got really, really deep, at which point the wide front tire started to work against me. Otherwise, the only noticeable thing is the engine still feels very street-biased, delivering good power past 4,000 rpm but not as much of that low-end, single-cylinder-like torque needed to squirt out of tight, technical stuff.
Keep in mind Ducati’s goal was to build an off-road-capable scrambler, not a true dual-sport replacement. With the Desert Sled, it’s managed that. In a class chock-full of bikes that make compromises for the sake of looking pretty, here’s an option that pays homage to the original sleds and one that felt comfortable jumping over and over again. At $11,395 ($n,595 for White Mirage), you’re paying for the added ability and durability. But trust me when I say you’ll be glad that additional potential is there.
SPECS
2017 DUCATI SCRAMBLER DESERT SLED
BASE PRICE: $11,395 (Red Dusk) ENGINE: Air-cooled V-twin DISPLACEMENT: 803cc SEAT HEIGHT: 33.9 in. FUEL CAPACITY: 3.6 gal CLAIMED DRY WEIGHT: 421 lb.
