If you’ve driven an enduro motorcycle you know they are one of the world’s ultimate toys, capable of roaring down the highway or crawling through the forest over rough double-track with ease. I spent years blasting around an island in the Caribbean where I lived on a burnt-out 200cc model and loved every second of wind in my hair and gravel in the air.
Ducati bikes tend to be purebred street monsters with screaming acceleration and track-worthy handling. But a new bike, the Scrambler, is built for the adventure set.
The Scrambler Ducati (the company is putting “Scrambler” first) is a re-issue of a long absent but much beloved model that was produced decades ago.
It comes loaded with an 803cc L-Twin engine (with 75 horsepower at 8,250 rpm) and 50 foot-pounds of torque at 5,750 rpm. This steel steed will definitely walk the walk. It comes in four configurations — the differences are mostly aesthetic — and has an entry price of $8,495.
This enduro-style bike isn’t a dirt bike and definitely not designed for ripping singletrack, but with travel of 5.9 inches and wet weight of 410 pounds, it will be entirely capable for moderate off-road use.
The editors at Cycle World note: “Not only is the Scrambler pleasingly basic, it performs just as well as the hype made us hope it would. Its ease of handling and operation is exemplary, allowing the bike to mesh with broad demographics of ages, sex, styles, number of fingers, rider heights, and experience or lack of it.”
Sounds solid. We can’t wait to hop on for the ride.
