Desert X

I was lucky enough to be present at the official launch in the Netherlands of the DesertX.

For reference, I have quite some offroad experience when I drove my Africa Twin 750 from Amsterdam to Nepal in 2018 (via countries such as Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan etc). So I think I can sort of judge what a true adventure bike needs. The DesertX is something quite special. It really delivers offroad, but the most surprising for me was how good it felt on road.

It felt pretty close to my former MTS950 in terms of cornering, which was a huge surprise to me. The softish suspension has its limits when you're really pushing it, but it works well and gives a very comfortable ride and keeps the bike very stable if you hit some bumps while leaned over.

For the more difficult offroad the bike is still a very heavy beast, but it can definitely compete with the Tenere 700, the KTM 890 / Norden 901.



Link to my more extensive write up on ADVforum here: https://www.advrider.com/f/threads/ducati-desertx.1413132/page-59#post-45111145

 

you can or will be able to use soft luggage with extended tank from what I hear

 

have you seen boothy's 44 teeth or foggys reviews on this bike on you tube? I ordered one the back of them and after a test ride I can assure you it is not what you think it is on paper and yes I would imagine with a good pilot it would go round the outside of many a sports bike rider on a track and in the right hands it is more than capable off road too, they really have nailed it with this one and every accolade is deserved in my opinion plus it looks like an Elefant reboot which is a bonus eh? get mine on Thursday and I cannot bloody wait!

 

Dooooooooo it !!

 

Bloody hell. I haven’t been around here much in recent years and I barely recognise the place. “Hello again” to the few familiar names I remember, and just “Hello” to those I don’t

Anyways, I reckon I might just pull the trigger on one of these.

Test ride arranged for tomorrow.

I’ll let you know what I think.

 

Had a feeling you might pop up on this thread, they are right up your street mate. Hope all is well with you and the family mate

 

Hello Jimmy ... long time no see. SP3 now eh? Nice

 

The Mrs has decided to come with me … we’ll see what the verdict is from the pillion seat.

 

Had that 10 years mate… it’s been a while eh?

 

Send Donna my best

 

Browsing reviews last night, as you do. Best one I found by far is this one



This bike looks like it could be just the ticket for me … if it had been available it may well have been the one I would’ve bought back in 2016 when I first started getting into the whole “adventure” thing. My trusty old CRF1000 has done me well on road trips to France and Germany and on/off road in Spain, Morocco and Iceland and it’s now waiting for me in Nairobi for a 2 month 6,000 mile trip down to Cape Town which I start this Wednesday. I wouldn’t want to do that on Ducati, but the thing is with the increasingly bigger trips I’m planning these days I’m going to be bikeless for weeks on end when it is being shipped to and fro. I was planning on getting one of my old sports bikes back on the road but they don’t really suit most of the riding I’m doing in the UK these days round our Devon B-roads, lanes and tracks, and being older Ducatis the servicing is a bit of a pain when they aren’t doing loads of miles.

I was even thinking about getting a second 2016 Africa Twin, but the DesertX should be better both off-road and on, and even though it is a lot more modern it looks like it isn’t too overburdened and festooned with the latest electronic gimmicks that I hate like keyless bloody ignition. For adventure riding in countries where Ducati has the necessary dealer support for when it gets broken I reckon this could be spot-on. I wouldn’t risk taking it on a big trip in Africa or Asia, but Europe, North America and maybe even South America … yeah maybe.

I’m really looking forward to the test ride today. I need to get on Google maps to see if I can get to a half decent off-road track within 20 mins or so from the dealer ;-)

 

Enjoy mate, sounds like you have been up to loads since we last spoke

 

Thing is Dave this could be perfect for you, as you do tour on and off road. Be interesting to get your verdict

 

Here’s the verdict … what a cracking bike! What Ducati have pulled-off here with their first attempt at a purpose built off-road chassis with a proper 21” front wheel is quite honestly amazing!!!

I love my Africa Twin for its do-it-all capabilities and simplicity but the DesertX is lighter, more powerful, better handling both on-road and off and has a few modern gadgets that are actually useful like cruise control and a quick shifter. I only needed a short test ride with a bit of cheeky gravel and green lane thrown in to make my mind up. I’ll have one of these waiting for me when I get home again in October. Just need to spec it up now

 

it defies convention, it is the best all round two wheeled purchase I have made, takes all the best bits of my old SMT and adds off road ability which I will look forward to getting involved with, just brilliant

 

Congrats, that looks like a great bike