Will Ducati’s DesertX Be Competitive in the Middleweight Adventure Bike Class?

Motorcyclist

Ducati’s 2023 DesertX is  the Bologna, Italy-based brand’s all-new middleweight adventure motorcycle. We teased it with our Ducati Reveals Two Scrambler Concepts at EICMA 2019 article, then officially unwrapped it in the 2022 Ducati DesertX Adventure Bike Preview write-up. Today, Ducati has brought this bike into North America for US consumption.  --  We love the aesthetic of this Duc, especially in its flat matte white colorway, which is a good thing seeing as that’s the only hue available for ’23. Overall, the DesertX looks like a brand-new version of the original mid-’90s Cagiva Elefant. Ducati did a remarkable job reworking styling elements from that foundational ADV.  The DesertX is powered by Ducati’s tried-and-true 937cc Testastretta 11° L-twin, an engine that’s been in Ducati’s lineup for a few years now. The unit has benefited from some updates along the way, and was mated to a new six-speed gearbox in the Monster last year. Its technical improvements can be seen in the 2021 Ducati Monster Review and 2021 Ducati Monster MC Commute Review articles, or take a few minutes to watch our videos...  Full story here: https://www.motorcyclistonline.com/story/reviews/ducati-desertx-first-ride-review-2023/  Motorcycle Gear Worn  Helmet: Arai XD4 Jersey: Rev’It Flow Pant: Rev’It Peninsula Gloves: Rev’It Massif Boots: Alpinestars Tech 7   Photography: Phewlid Flims Video: Phewlid Films Edit: Ray Gauger Media, Inc.  Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/c/MotorcyclistMag?sub_confirmation=1 Motorcyclist Shirts: https://teespring.com/stores/motorcyclist Shop Products We Use: https://www.amazon.com/shop/motorcyclistmagazine   See more from us: http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/

Transcript

00:00 (dramatic music)

00:02 Hey folks, we just got done riding

00:22 Ducati North America's 2023 Desert X.

00:27 This is an all new middleweight adventure touring bike

00:32 from Ducati out of Bologna, Italy.

00:35 Now, Ducati had teased this motorcycle extensively

00:39 when they unwrapped it at the EICMA show a few years ago.

00:44 Fast forward to today, and they finally imported

00:48 this vehicle into North America for US consumption.

00:53 Let's start with the styling.

00:56 I love the aesthetic of this vehicle,

01:00 especially in this flat, matte, white colorway.

01:05 I just love that this motorcycle literally looks

01:08 like a brand new version of the original

01:12 Cofiga Elephant from the late 80s.

01:15 I think Ducati did a really nice job

01:18 using styling elements from that motorcycle,

01:22 yet fitting modern hardware on that bike.

01:27 This motorcycle continues to be powered

01:30 by Ducati's tried and true 937cc Testastretta 11 degree L

01:35 twin.

01:38 This engine's been in Ducati's lineup for a few years now.

01:42 It has benefited from some updates along the way

01:46 with its new six speed gearbox

01:48 that it fitted on the Monster last year.

01:50 Ducati's fitted shorter transmission gear ratios

01:54 in first and second gear.

01:56 Now the shorter transmission ratios help this vehicle

02:01 when you are lugging up precarious terrain off road

02:05 or going down precarious terrain.

02:07 It just gives a little bit more acceleration

02:10 when you're climbing grades.

02:13 Other than that, this engine continues to offer

02:18 Ducati's advanced electronics package,

02:20 ride by wire, adjustable power modes,

02:23 traction control, adjustable wheelie control.

02:26 Ducati's added a new group setting,

02:29 so they continue to have urban, sport, wet, rain, touring,

02:33 but now they have a rally setting,

02:35 and the rally setting is basically

02:37 a spin off the enduro setting.

02:39 So the enduro setting used to have a low power,

02:41 now the rally setting has high power.

02:44 And most people who ride these bikes off road,

02:46 they want full power because you just need the extra oomph

02:50 when you're trying to get over obstacles

02:52 or climbing steep grades or whatever have you.

02:54 So now this bike has the rally setting.

02:57 The rally setting allows for a little bit more wheel spin

03:01 when you have DTC enabled.

03:03 And it's neat that Ducati offered that,

03:05 but it would have been really neat

03:06 if they would have added some incremental wheel slip setting

03:11 within the rally mode.

03:13 Other manufacturers in this segment

03:15 offer that on their IMU powered traction control,

03:18 so that would have been a nice addition.

03:21 Handling on this motorcycle,

03:23 I really like the handling on this motorcycle.

03:26 I generally don't really like motorcycles

03:28 that don't have linkages.

03:30 Usually I always want to have a linkage,

03:32 but this setup on this motorcycle worked pretty well.

03:35 To be fair, the roads around Denver, Aspen, Colorado

03:39 where we rode were pretty smooth.

03:41 You know, when we rode off road,

03:42 even the fire roads and the two track wasn't that rough.

03:47 So the jury's still kind of out

03:50 on how this suspension would work when it's really rough.

03:53 But for initial impressions, it worked really good.

03:57 Ergonomics on this motorcycle,

04:00 I like how cozy the seat is.

04:02 You really sit inside of it.

04:04 And when you're sitting there,

04:05 you don't really move back and forth

04:06 like you would on a flat dirt bike seat.

04:09 It's very cozy.

04:10 I like the big oversized foot pegs.

04:13 They have good grip against your boot

04:15 when you're riding on precarious terrain.

04:18 The handlebar is nice and wide.

04:20 It's got a little bit rearward sweep, but I like that.

04:24 The fuel tank, it's styled very nicely,

04:26 but it kind of does get,

04:28 it feels a little bit wide

04:29 when you're riding the bike in the standing position.

04:32 I wish Ducati engineers would have maybe had

04:34 that fuel tank a little bit flatter

04:37 and then made it wider, you know, farther ahead.

04:40 Like in this area, you kind of see how it just slopes

04:43 a little bit.

04:44 The slope is a little bit too much for me.

04:46 I wish it was flatter right there.

04:47 But besides that bugaboo,

04:49 the Desert X is an easy bike to ride

04:53 and easy bike to live with.

04:55 I love the 5.5 gallon fuel capacity.

04:58 Motorcycle manufacturers are always fitting

05:00 too small of fuel tanks on their motorcycles.

05:03 Finally, this bike has a good, generous fuel tank size

05:07 so we can log the miles.

05:08 Ducati also has a number of accessories

05:11 like these handle guards, like these crash bars,

05:14 like the heated grips that are fitted on this vehicle.

05:17 The accessory that I would really want to get my hands on

05:21 is the auxiliary 2.5 gallon fuel tank,

05:24 which actually sits right here on this rear passenger seat.

05:28 And it plugs into the main fuel tank

05:30 and literally the main fuel tank sucks the fuel in.

05:34 So with those fuel tanks,

05:36 you have almost eight gallons of fuel capacity,

05:39 which is awesome,

05:40 especially for a middleweight bike like this

05:42 that's not gonna drink the gasoline

05:45 like a liter and above size ADV bike would.

05:50 Overall, this bike is a really fun bike to ride.

05:55 Is it better than any of the bikes in the class?

05:57 I don't know.

05:58 You know, it handles nicely.

06:00 It has good power.

06:01 The electronics are nice.

06:02 It looks awesome.

06:04 That's what I really like about this bike is its aesthetics.

06:08 The other bikes in the segment, you know,

06:10 they're kind of ho-hum in the styling department,

06:12 but this thing looks totally awesome.

06:14 And that is reason enough for someone

06:18 that wants an adventure touring bike to get it.

06:20 All right, folks, that wraps up our review

06:22 of the 2023 Ducati Desert X.

06:26 Make sure to surf on over to MotorcyclistOnline.com.

06:30 That's where all of our written content lives.

06:33 Give this video a thumbs up if you liked it,

06:34 thumbs it down if you didn't,

06:36 and we'll see you next time.

06:37 Thanks for riding with us.

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