Just when you think that the peak has been reached in the Adventure segment, Ducati steps it up a notch with the DesertX Rally, the überverse of the engine that is already ready for the Dakar rally in standard trim.
It’s somehow unimaginable how quickly things can change. Where before the credit crisis the Supersport models were still selling like hot cakes and everyone was still condescending about the GS, fifteen years later the roles were completely reversed and it is precisely the big Allroads or Adventure motorcycles (whatever you want to call them) that get the full crowds and Supersports are barely being marketed.
This is also the case with Ducati. Growing up in WorldSBK, the focus has always been on sportsmanship on the street and on the track and has never taken a step towards unpaved. Until the world changed and Ducati suddenly started focusing on off-road. Initially with a more off-road suitable Rally version of the Multistada, and then really going all the way with DesertX. A motorcycle that seemed to be made to cross the Sahara.
For those who weren’t extreme enough, Ducati has now launched an über version of it: DesertX Rally, which is very striking thanks to its color scheme alone (did someone say Marlboro?). And although that is certainly the most striking feature, it is certainly not the most important. From a technical point of view, Ducati has really gone a step further with the Rally version.
Starting with the suspension, where the not exactly childish fully adjustable 46 mm KYB front fork with 230 mm travel has made way for a 48 mm closed cartridge front fork with Kashima coating on the outer legs and DLC on the inner legs. Also fully adjustable and with 250 mm of suspension travel. KYB has also supplied a different rear shock, with a larger piston and 240mm of travel, 20mm more than the regular DesertX. The swingarm has been adapted to the longer suspension travel.
Thanks to the longer suspension travel, the ground clearance has also made a huge step, from 250 mm to 280 mm, and Ducati has used a carbon fiber crankcase protection plate for the obstacles you still encounter. The downside of the longer suspension travel and greater ground clearance is that the seat height has also risen considerably, from 875 mm to now 910 mm, but you do not get any steps to take a seat.
Now Ducati has been smart enough to include a lower saddle in the option package, which lowers the seat height to 885 mm, and something tells us that this could soon be in high demand.
We will continue with the adjustments compared to the standard DesertX. Both versions have – of course – spoke wheels with Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR rubber, but on the Rally version Ducati has given the rear wheel a narrower rim, 4″ instead of 4.5″. Furthermore, the wheels have been reinforced, with more robust hubs, spokes and rims for more extreme off-road work, and inner tubes.
In terms of electronics, Ducati says it has adapted the six different riding modes (Sport, Touring, Urban, Wet, Enduro, Rally) with cornering ABS, Ducati Traction Control (DTC) and Ducati Wheelie Control (DWC) to the new chassis and more extreme off-road use . And about that chassis: the wheelbase is 17 mm longer and an Öhlins steering damper is now fitted as standard.
For those who are not extreme enough: the petrol tank can optionally be expanded with an 8-litre tank, so you can take 29 liters of fuel with you. Also optional is a Termignoni racing system, which gives you another 7% more power than the standard 110 hp at 9,250 rpm and 92 Nm at 6,500 rpm, but that is only for the Sahara, you are not allowed to take it on public roads. .
The DesertX Rally can be expected at the Ducati dealer in early January 2024, prices from € 25,490 (€ 22,595 BE).
– Thanks for information from Motorfreaks.