The Best Adventure Motorcycle – Ducati DesertX Review

This looks like retrofuturism. Because it is. Ducati copied their own homework from the 1990s. Dual headlights. Scoops of pearl white. Of the 1995 Kojiva Elephant 906 SP, we must assume only a front fairing still remains. Because when Ducati's designers got here, they just... Finito. It isn't a nice rear end. It isn't a bad rear end. It just isn't. Unidiomatically out to lunch, Ducati specked a zip tie as factory finishing. A Ducati. Zip tie. I don't know how to feel about this. Let me check my Bible. Ah, forgive me. It's actually a revolutionary rear end in that Ducati sells an ox tank to complete it. Making Ducati the first ever manufacturer to design the front of a motorcycle with the rear sold separately. They're also the first to design one-step chain tensioning. Step one, visit Ducati-authorized service center. What else? Ducati pioneered the two-position handlebar. Laid down for road, up high for dirt. Pivotable by visiting a Ducati-authorized service center. Topping up coolant? Visit Ducati-authorized service center. Checking clutch fluid? Visit Ducati-authorized service center. But what really impresses is the air filter cleaning. See, Ducati runs L-twins, so there's space for an air filter between the cylinders under the gas tank. It sounds like a post-ride pain to blow out the dust. I envision torque specs and sequential steps. And yet, visit Ducati-authorized service center. How simple is that? When I'm crossing Saharan sands, I need only remember that help is a dealership away. I've actually made a little Ed memoir here. And horsepower. A meaningful number, because at the height of its legend, the R1200GS made 110 horsepower. Yet this is Ducati's 937cc Testastretta, Italian for narrow head. I do not embellish in saying the Ducati is a foot narrower than the Beemer. It feels impossible to sit something as spelt as a T7 with heavyweight power. Another tactical illusion. This 21-inch wheel feels like 17. See, adventure tires must be large to roll over logs. Large is heavy, heavy is slow, and that's why everyone complains ADV bikes handle vague. It's the innate kind of problem that goes unsolved for three decades. Until Ducati builds a 21-incher. Ducati does not deign to less than sport bike handling, so Ducati spends for a 14-kilogram wheel build, 22% below average. Ducati spends for Brembo M50s, 700 grams and $700 each. And if a duck goes fast, turns fast, and stops fast, it is fast. I'm comfortable saying this is the highest pavement-performing dirt bike in existence. It's damn close to undercover sport bikes like the Multistrada V4S. And it isn't even red. The only things marring flawless feedback are handlebars that play without the forks, a throttle that plays way too much without the engine, and a seat that plays without the chassis. Who installs a rocking chair in a Ferrari? I actually like the split-saddle in theory, because that makes an ideal spot for my adventure kit. I rarely take passengers anyway, and when I do, well, so what if the cost of a ride is having to sit on my tool? And now our sponsor. If you're wondering about these shots, they're taken on an Insta360 X3. Now 360 cameras take everything, so we can shoot first and frame later. The only trouble in asking a sensor to see the entire globe is that you're asking to lose quality. So Fortnite uses an X3 because it has Mi Mode, a setting that takes the inward-facing 180 only, so its processor can handle 60 frames per second at higher quality. Mi Mode also renders the stick invisible for us, so our editor has more time to devote elsewhere. Right, 672,405. Excellent. This feels weight class is better than an Africa Twin. Tiger, an F850, I'd put it on level dirt with the middleweight T7. Just ludicrous given 40 extra pounds. See, momentum should be my main pain point. A rut rails the front off-line, which pulls the rear out from under my bike, and now 492 pounds is bent on turning left. But the Desert X stretches its weight across a 63.3-inch wheelbase, longer than any ADV on the market, meaning front deflections only minorly displace the rear. However much it does step out, the long lever recorrects more gently. And when the Desert X flies, it flies more level, since kickers kick a longer airframe. I won't say it's fastest. I'm quicker on both the Touareg and 890. But it is most forgiving. On baby-head hills, the steering damper noticeably holds trajectory for me, and that rear tank is pumpable. So if I bin, I can patch the puncture, then refill. With the offset fuel cap, I bet we'll eventually see three tanks, three pumps, three baskets to put fuel eggs into. And with 110 horses, we can moat it down to 75 and get forgiving power. See, passing emissions mean most bikes fuel with a lull and a spike, but tuned-down Ducati is nowhere near the limit, so they just fuel for controllability. We need to stop pretending we want more, because nobody—no, nobody—can put 110 HP into dust. Or snow. Dakar's motorcycle class is capped at 450s, making 75 horsepower. Danilo Petrucci, this guy, yeah, this guy, says he prefers the Desert X at 75 horsepower. Because it's easier to move the needle that 5, 10, 15 HP the terrain can withstand when you're working with a 75-horsepower haystack. If you must, power could also be set to 95 or 110. Throttle dynamic or smooth, quickshifter on or off. There are three engine braking modes, eight traction control, four wheelie control, and four lean-sensitive ABS. That makes 4,608 possible combinations. And according to Moto Journalists, you don't need that many. Yeah, so sliding traction control works really good, but, you know, I just preferred it off. Now, off-road ABS is very nice, but, you know, I just turned it off. Now, the cushions have many settings, but, you know, I just maxed preload because my dick's so big. The reality is no one rides like that. No one is impressed by the modes you select with your fingy, and everyone will be faster with rider aids. Of 4,608, the two I saved are EBC2, DQS on, DWC off, DTC1, ABS2, throttle dynamic, and power 75. EBC1, DQS on, DWC2, DTC6, ABS3, throttle dynamic, and power 110. With that, this is no longer a DesertX. It's my DesertX. And I'd quite like to buy one. It's the one. And I say that knowing that if I do the rear tank and dealer services, I'll click over 20k in year one, which is two T7s. But let me explain. What are adventure bikes for? Road performance and dirt performance. Something like the V4S would be up here. Something like the Touareg 660 would be over here. And that makes it hard to expense a DesertX because it won't win either category. But fill out this chart with every adventure bike I've ridden, and you see this trend. This barrier where dirt and road performance cease to coexist until you plot the Ducati. It's the only ADV I can buy with no concessions. So if you're wondering what it's like to buy a Ducati, come see. RyanF9, do you believe in Ducati, creator of heavenly mirth? I do. Do you renounce the T7 and all its financial prudence? I do renounce them. Do you renounce KTM and all their racing pomp? I do renounce them. Do you renounce BMW and all their adventure heritage? I do renounce them. Thank you very much for watching, and thanks to Insta360 for sponsoring this video. If you happen to buy a camera, clicking the link below will comp a motorcycle mounting bundle.