The Italians have left the best of their six-part motorcycle Teaser campaign for the 2022 model year because today we finally have all the details about the Ducati DesertX Adventure Bike. In a way, we already knew the important details about DesertX after seeing the concept of Bike at the EIMCA 2019. However, since this Milanese revelation, the idea has been linked to the air-cooled engine with which it was presented in Milan, which is now replaced by the venerable Ducati water-cooled Testastretta 11 ° 937cc engine.
It is therefore not surprising that the Ducati DesertX 2022 develops 108 hp (81 kW) at 9,250 rpm and uses a maximum torque of 68 lbs • ft (92 Nm) at 6,500 rpm. In addition, the gearbox has been equipped with a six-speed configuration with a wide gear ratio for an optimal choice of off-road gears, with an emphasis on a high sixth gear for highway trips and shorter first and second gears for low-speed creep maneuvers.
This engine drinks from a 5.5 gallon (21 liters) fuel tank in the standard form of the bike, but if that’s not enough for you, a second additional rear-mounted tank is available to add an additional 2.1 gallons (8 liters). for a total of 7.6 gallons of Go juice. The transfer of fuel from the front tank to the rear tank is activated when the fuel level in the main tank drops below a certain point, which prompts the driver on the dashboard to change the sources of the fuel tank.
As mentioned earlier, the front wheel is a 21″ Tubeless design, while the rear wheel is an 18″ tire. The suspension adopts Kayaba with 46 mm forks offering travel of 230 mm (9 inches). The rear surprise absorber has a travel of 220 mm (8.6 inches), which allows the Ducati DesertX to reach its ground clearance of 250 mm (9.8 inches), while the seat height is adjusted to 850 mm (34.4 inches). Braking is provided by Brembo with four-piston M50 calipers at the front and two 320 discs. However, Ducati has made the curious choice of using an axial master cylinder in this application.
On the electronics front, Ducati announces a new configuration of the six-mode driving mode, which includes two modes for off-road driving: Enduro and Rally. The cornering ABS system can be completely disabled in these two off-road modes using a special button. The dashboard is a 5″ TFT unit in portrait mode to imitate the appearance of a Rally-Raid roadbook.
The rest of the Ducati electronic suite includes IMU-assisted traction control, Wheelie control, engine brake control, cruise control and a quick Up/Down switch. Ducati indicates a wet weight of 492 pounds (223 kg), which makes the DesertX one of the heaviest motorcycles in the medium-weight Adv category.