The Ducati World Premier held on November 7, just two days before the Milan motorcycle show, kicked off with two exciting new variants of the entry-level motorcycle, the Scrambler. Led by a presentation of Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali, the bikes were launched before a global audience of almost 420,000.
Scrambler Cafe Racer
Cafe racers certainly seem to be the theme for 2016, with both Triumph and BMW Motorrad unveiling the retro racing versions of their Street Twin and R NineT, respectively, at Intermot last month. Now it was Ducati's turn. The Scrambler Cafe Racer doesn't deviate mechanically from the base bike and maintains the same frame, engine and even the fuel tank. What have changed are the handlebars, with this bike featuring low-slung clip-ons, along with bar end mounted mirrors. To add to the leaned over posture, there's also a new cafe racer seat with a passenger cover. Minimalism is the mantra with this Cafe racer as it gets a tiny fairing behind its single instrument pod as well as a short front mudguard. The fact that now both wheels are of the same size -- 17" -- and sport Pirelli Diablo Rosso II tyres (a far cry from the on-off road tyres from the standard Scrambler) is another big change. Keeping in line with the whole "racer" part of its new moniker, the bike also gets a radial front brake pump to increase braking performance. Some new details include a new logo on the tank, a black engine with brushed fins and a black anodised aluminium cover over the Termignoni exhaust.
Scrambler Desert Sled
While the Scrambler has always hinted at a bit of off-road pedigree, none of the models so far have really delivered on the promise of mixing it up in the dirt. Until now that is. This new Scrambler Desert Sled packs a whole lot of changes to make it extremely capable on the rough stuff. This includes a completely reinforced chassis along with fully-adjustable long-stroke suspension at both ends, offering 200mm of wheel travel at front and rear. The wheels are now 19"-17" (front-rear) rugged wire-spoke units and are shod with specially designed Scorpion Rally STR on-off road tyres. There's also a new tougher aluminium swing arm to handle riding on loose surfaces. To help with better control when mixing it up in the dirt, this Scrambler gets a flatter seat which now sports a height of 860mm. These apart, the Desert Sled gets a raised front fender, a new stronger handlebar with a crossbar, as well as a safety grille on the headlight.
Both these Scramblers are now Euro IV compliant and we expect them in India sometime next year.
Azaman Chothia
Vishal Venugopal
Ved Janve
