Ducati DesertX Off-Road Review
Even without knowing a single specification—and most turned out to be impressive—the shape and stance of the DesertX tells the tale of a new presumptive heir to the dirtworthy adventure-bike throne. All of the ingredients are there: longish-travel suspension, a 21-inch front wheel, a tall handlebar placed behind a rally-style windscreen and dash. Then there’s the promise of dirt flung far and wide thanks to a 937cc Testastretta 11° V-twin. Ducati claims off-road excellence, but marketing can often overpromise, especially when it comes to multicylinder adventure bikes. A litmus test was necessary to see if the engineers in Borgo Panigale got it right when dirt roads give way to real off-roading.
Fit with crashbars, aluminum hand guards, skid plate, and Termignoni exhaust, our DesertX test unit tips the scales at 518 pounds with a full tank.
From the first moment of the DesertX’s announcement, I yearned to hammer it through the desert to see how much is hype and how much is the real deal. I waited for the press launch invite to come, and when it did I broke my ankle and had to hand the duties of flogging off to CW editor-at-large Blake Conner. He came back raving, and a pit grew in my stomach for the missed opportunity. Finally, months later, I got my chance, and I wasn’t going to go easy on the DesertX.
We’ve had plenty of on-road and touring testing on the DesertX; it’s clear how it performs on asphalt thanks to Conner’s first ride and a subsequent comparison with Husqvarna’s Norden 901 by Seth Richards. For this test I had little interest in any surface that could not be disrupted with a kick of my Alpinestars Tech 10 boots. But an adventure bike must do double if not triple duty in its role as a do-it-all machine. Road manners of the X are not up to the pavement-scorching abilities of its big brother, the Multistrada V4, but there is no doubt it is a Ducati. Even with the big hoop of a 21-inch front wheel, approximately 9 inches of suspension travel, 9.4 inches of ground clearance, and a 34.4-inch seat height, corner-carving manners of the DesertX are excellent. Both Conner and Richards found the air management from the rally screen superb, and ergonomics are big-mile friendly.
Ducati’s DesertX brings Paris-Dakar dreams to life.
Out here in the sand and rocks of Nevada’s Logandale OHV area, butted up against the stunning and very orange Valley of Fire State Park, I care little about comfort on the road. Ahead lies Moab-like rock formations with iron-oxide-tinted sugar-sand filling the wide-open spaces between. A well-sorted chassis and traction management is the only way through when the scales reveal a 518-pound mass with a full tank and accessory crashbars, aluminum hand guards, and aluminum skid plate installed. That’s significantly less than the behemoths of the ADV world like BMW’s R 1250 GS, but 50 pounds more than KTM’s 890 Adventure R without any accessories. More important than the overall weight is how the DesertX carries it.
With a full tank and in tight technical rock gardens and soft sand gullies, it does feel a little top-heavy when trying to muscle though the chunk that can easily push you off your intended line without momentum pushing the way forward. Twice I dropped the bike in highly technical terrain when it began to lean too far off vertical. Once it gets to its tipping point and without the space to pick it up on the throttle, that 5.5-gallon fuel tank really shows its position perched atop the airbox and trellis frame. Even with that bit of heft, it’s not unmanageable, just noticeable and unexpected. If it weren’t for KTM moving the fuel down in those “saddle” tanks that reach down beside the engine, we might not have complained. Plan your moves accordingly.
A 931cc Testastretta 11° V-twin cranks out 93.7 hp in full power mode.
With 93.7 hp at 9,100 rpm (nearly 30 more hp than what Orioli’s Elefant produced in race trim) and 57.1 lb.-ft. of torque at 6,200 rpm, as measured on the Cycle World Dynojet 250i dynamometer, the DesertX has more horsepower and nearly identical torque on tap when compared to the aforementioned KTM 890, so traction management is key to the Ducati’s fate in the dirt. Six riding modes—Sport, Touring, Urban, Wet, Enduro, and Rally—tailor the X’s power, ABS, traction control, and wheelie control. Only Enduro and Rally are useful here in the Nevada desert. Inside those modes the rider can adjust each parameter of Ducati’s rider aids, including turning off traction control and wheelie control. Power delivery can also be adjusted among full, high, medium, and low settings. Front ABS cannot be fully switched off (ominous foreshadowing) in off-road mode but you are free to disable it at the rear. Changes are made quickly and easily through the intuitive menus on the vertically arranged 5-inch TFT dash.
Maneuvers like this are much easier than they should be.
Putting the low-power-mode default of 75 hp through the optional Metzeler Karoo 4 knobs, the DesertX can crawl through tight situations and will find traction when the TC is switched off. In fact, with so much sand in the mix, turning the TC off is the only viable option. Even in the lowest TC setting, the DesertX will not move forward from a stop in the sand, and it severely limits forward momentum on very loose dirt trails and terrain. This is why Ducati allows it to be turned off. At faster speeds on fire roads, Level 1 is useful for controlling stand-up powerslides. With TC off, significant knee and footpeg pressure is needed to keep the rear end from passing the rider. Electronics can make all of us heroes these days.
Excellent ergonomics while standing make this an easy thing to do. The bike is narrow at the tank and seat while the motocross-sized footpegs are placed high, but not so high you can’t dig your knee into the tank while turning. A wide and tall handlebar gives plenty of leverage to push the front tire to where it needs to be. If you ride a dirt bike, you’ll immediately be comfortable.
Adjusting the parameters of the various riding modes on the DesertX is simple and intuitive on the 5-inch vertical TFT dash.
In the most extreme slow technical circumstances the DesertX does well enough. It’s not an enduro bike, but is one of the best options to ride in places where most sane riders would wish for a 300cc two-stroke dirt bike. Its manually adjustable KYB fork and shock, stroking through 9.1 and 8.7 inches, follow the terrain better than the stiffer and softer competitors. Compression and rebound damping is spot on for slow speeds, but also doesn’t come unraveled when the bike is pushed.
And when pushing the DesertX is when it begins to really shine as an off-road-worthy adventure bike. That top-heavy feel in the rocks disappears completely as you do your best Orioli impression. The front end is planted and communicative whether in sand or on hardpack and you always know how much bite is available from the Karoo 4 at the front. It begs to be cut and thrust in the sand but can also flow through two-track trails, moving inside to outside in corners simply by applying more or less throttle.
Ergonomics of the DesertX are superb and allow for exceptional control while standing up in rough terrain.
The DesertX absolutely shreds the dust and the sand and the rocks, and only really shows any limitations at the very edge of what should be attempted on an ADV. It not only looks the part of a multicylinder rally bike, but it plays it just as well. It’s no pretender. Ducati has built a real-deal off-road performer.
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