2017 Ducati Scrambler Cafe Racer & Desert Sled
Ducati has announced two new variations in the
Scrambler family: the sporty Café Racer and the off-road focused Desert Sled.
The new Café Racer features low, clip-on handlebars fitted with bar-end mirrors, Termignoni
exhaust with anodized black covers, a classic café racer-style humped seat with
a cover for the passenger section, number plates, a minimalist front fender,
fully adjustable upside-down fork and swingarm-mounted license plate holder.
It’s shod with sporty Pirelli Diablo Rosso II tires on 17-inch gold wheels both
front and rear.
The Café Racer’s 803cc L-twin air-and-oil-cooled
engine is Euro 4 compliant, and Ducati says it offers smoother power delivery
and better throttle response than the previous design, especially at lower rpm.
It claims a peak of 75 horsepower at 8,250 rpm, and 50.2 lb-ft of torque at
5,750 rpm. Bosch 9.1 ABS is standard.
The Café Racer is available in Black Coffee, with a
black frame and engine and gold wheels. It will be available in April 2017, at
a US retail price of US$ 11,395.
The Desert Sled replaces the Urban Enduro variation
for 2017, and represents a step further towards true off-road capability for
the Scrambler. The frame has been reinforced for off-road duty, and a new
aluminum swingarm is longer and stronger than that used on the other Scrambler
800 models. Integrated crash protection includes a skid plate, chain guard and
rear sprocket protection fin.
The big news for the Desert Sled’s off-road worthiness,
however, is its suspension. A new, beefier 46mm Kayaba fork is fully adjustable, and the rear Kayaba
shock is now adjustable for preload and rebound damping. Suspension travel has
been increased on both ends, from 5.9 inches on the Urban Enduro to 7.9 inches,
which to this point is the highest of any OE street scrambler on the market. It
also gets a 19-inch front wheel, opening up the tire possibilities to
include more dual-sport offerings. The Desert Sled comes shod with Pirelli
Scorpion Rally STR “enduro on/off-road” tires.
Like the other 2017 Scrambler models, the Desert
Sled’s 803cc L-twin, air-and-oil-cooled engine is Euro 4 compliant, and has
been reworked with a new throttle control and smoother response, especially at
lower rpm. It claims a peak of 75 horsepower at 8,250 rpm, and 50.2 lb-ft of
torque at 5,750 rpm. Bosch 9.1 ABS is standard.
The Desert Sled is available in White Mirage or Red
Dusk, both featuring a black frame and gold wire-spoked tubeless rims. It will
be available in March 2017, at a US retail price of US$ 11,395.
