Ducati DesertX review torture test: adventure wannabe or serious contender?︱Cross Training Adventure

http://tractionerag.com Our Ducati DesertX review after several days of hard core riding! Ducati enters the booming adventure motorbike market with the Ducati DesertX. And despite their road heritage, Ducati claims to have really focused on the off-road capabilities. So my Canadian cousins were keen to put this to the test. Ducati is aiming for a slice of this market. Welcome to Cross Training Adventure for this Ducati Desert X review, we are into all things dual sport and adventure on the east coast of Australia. But are the off-road credentials just marketing hype? Enter our Ducati DesertX review! From a design angle the Ducati DesertX looks great. 21 inch and 18 rear wheels. The gearbox has very low first and second gears for gnarlier terrain. The standard footpegs are very wide, a pleasant surprise when many adventure riders have to upgrade these. But does the Ducati DesertX actually work? Our Canadian cousins gave the DesertX (Ducati Desert X is the wrong spelling) a thorough off-road test. In a nutshell? Nowadays a lot of promotion is focused on expert riders doing crazy things on these big adventure motorbikes. Pol Tarres with the Tenere 700. Check out our reviews of various adventure bikes and dual sport bikes. Toni Bou on the Honda Africa Twin. And Chris Birch on the big KTMs. If you like dual sport riding in Australia then you might like our adventure riding vids. They really liked it. It actually handles nasty offroad terrain surprisingly well. Excellent forks. Keen on adventure riding in Australia? Check out our vids. A common point in other reviews is the front end is very stable and doesn't get knocked offline easily - our riders concur. From an aesthetic angle, our guys didn't like the rear end of the Ducati DesertX, but loved the look of the front. Of course this is a purely personal thing. At least compared to the KTM 890 where there has been more focus on keeping the engine weight low. The overall weight is pretty typical in its class - 492lb fueled (223kg). The wide range gearbox was brilliant for slow hard riding with a very low first and second gear, but the jump up to third gear seemed a bit too far for at least one rider. We have seen all sorts of comments claiming the DesertX is butt-ugly or an Italian work of art. The price? It's two to three thousand dollars more than the competition - motorbikes like the Honda Africa Twin, Triumph Tiger, KTM 890 and Husqvarna Norden 901. But we are sure many will fork out the extra cash if they appreciate Italian machines. Very linear power with great torque. The 110hp engine should be rock solid as it's already been proven in Ducati's road models. It should be quite low maintenance too with valve adjustments at 18000 miles and oil changes at 9000 miles. All the Ducati DesertX electronic adjustments actually work well. It's a roomy motorbike which will really suit taller riders. The seat might look as though it has little padding to keep the height low. But it was surprisingly comfortable for all day rides. What didn't the guys like about the Ducati DesertX? Nerds and tech-heads will love the endless tinkering that is possible with all the electronic modes. Others may find it overwhelming and just try to find settings that work in most situations and stay in that mode. This isn't necessarily a criticism, but when you turn the engine off the electronic settings stay in place. The rims are cross-spoked to allow tubeless tyres and quick puncture repairs. There's an impressive 250mm ground clearance. Suspension travel is 230 mm (9.1in) at the front and 220 mm at the rear. vBut the seat height is still an acceptable 875mm (34.4in) with a lowering kit available. The ergonomics are well thought out and standing on the footpegs is very comfortable, unlike many big adventure bikes. The vertical display is set up for easy viewing when standing. Some riders may see this as a positive. Ducati has done a very good job. The biggest issue will probably be dealer support and parts. How far away is your nearest Ducati dealer? And are they well stocked with parts? Could you see yourself on this Italian beast? Anyone bought one yet? We are keen to hear your impressions! For example, if you had turned off your ABS, it will be turned on next time you ride the Ducati DesertX. Cross Training Adventure actively avoids sponsorship. We like doing seriously critical reviews. Or don't subscribe to our Cross Training Adventure riding channel. The main thing is get out and ride while you can with dual sport riding or Adventure riding in Australia, Canada, Vietnam, Romania and beyond! So check out Cross Training Adventure. The Ducati DesertX can feel top-heavy with a full tank.
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