I guys, I just got back from a Desert Sled test ride here in Brisbane and here are my thoughts: here in Australia distances are long and taking a dirt bike on top a trailer, park both car and trailer, pay a ticket for few days, get the bike on the boat and so on is not worth it. With this thing instead, I can easily ride 1h, get the bike on a ferry, riding on the sand of Fraser Island, Moreton Island, Stradbroke Island, or simply ride on Rainbow Beach and camp wherever I want, with zero effort. And why not, on the way up to Mount Glorious, take some of the back roads sometimes. And stock looks great already, it carries the nicest stock exhaust ever. I imagine everything depends on where you live, here with 300 days of sun and beaches where you can ride on, trust me, it will sell a lot. I wouldn't buy it I was living in London.
My dads Norton P-11 when he first built it was a scrambles dirt racer of the 60's and also a mountain trail bike when riding with his bike club. later he converted the bike with Cafe bars and seat and it was his street bike. The Ducati desert sled very similar spec wise.
I almost bought Ducati Scrambler Urban(??? - i forgot name of the model) - it was most offroad model before they started Desert Sled....but company I used to work went out of business and my problem was solved - no money, no bike. :) I had Triumph Bonneville that time - wasn't easy to ride in the mud, dirt, rocks etc.
At that price it is insanely expensive, The Desert sled is almost the same Price as a KTM 1090 Adventure R/BMW F800GS, and if you want to go offroad you would most certainly get one of those. The Cafe Racer is also insanely expensive, almost the same price as the RnineT Cafe Racer and that has a beter engine for what it is IMO a cafe racer. and don't forget the SA 2016 Bike of the year, the Triumph Thruxton's(The ones which started the Scrambler and Cafe racer trend IMO) base model can be had at less than R150 000, and the R if you have money is only R10k more(or if you on a lease R200/month more). These ducati's should have been less than R130k as that is there market. If you want to have Fun the MT-07, Z650 or Street Cup can give just as much fun at a fraction of the price. But that is just my opinion.
Traded in my Scrambler for a new FZ-10. The Scrambler was fun around town but I got a bit tired of having two issues in a short amount of time that left me questioning long term reliability.
Deniz Erdem is that really how you could modify the engine? Can you please elaborate? What would the HP gain be? Btw, I have an 09 Monster 1100 S... any recommendations to gain about 20 HP on that engine?
Ok here is the thing. 2015 scramblers were really difficult to ride at slow speeds because of the way engine delivered the power. So a lot of owners, including myself, solved this problem by replacing the throttle cam. This way, when you twist the throttle, the first half of the turn gives less gas than the second half. The power output is exactly the same. It just comes later in the throttle turn. In 2017 models Ducati started doing the same thing but in an exaggerated manner. Now the bike is really docile in slow speed and wakes up much later in the throttle action. Owners now have 3 options basicly, use 2015 cam for a very aggressive power delivery, buy g2 throttle tamer for a somewhat easier to use but still aggressive actions, or use 2017 cam and expect the full power only when you really want it. In a model like Desert Sled, I think a docile throttle makes a lot of sense. I probably wouldn't change it. Search scrambler forums for pictures and stuff.
You guys should put the whole 30 minute programme up. Even if some of it is unique to SA, it's interesting for us overseas to see what you have going on there. 30 mins isn't too long at all, some of the motorbike RUclips videos I enjoy are over an hour long, and there's nothing much else worth watching on TV anyway.
0:25 What sort of jeans are these, please? Does the Desert Sled run on tubed tyres? Little low-down power is a mistake. Does it have less than the Icon etc? At 191 kg dry, it's only two kg lighter than my Buell Ulysses (which is a much better bike); are you sure you've got that right? Entertaining video, lads.
Jeans are made here in SA; X-Kulcha armoured riding jeans. Tubed tyres? Not sure. Weight is correct. Same power as all the other Scramblers; it was never a powerhouse motor!
We just feel that a 30 minute show would be too long for most youtubers! Added to that the fact that a bit of the content is South African-based and putting the whole show up would give us only one upload a week! We have just done a deal with the BBC here in SA to make a new series which will be completely separate from The Bike Show so, who knows; you may get whole episodes to yourself in the future, on TV!
30 minutes wouldn't be too long for me! - so much better than the bike show we get (well some of us get) here in Blighty.....keep up the good work chaps (P.S Will you be riding the Triumph Street Scrambler per chance? )
Yes I had a long termer from Triumph UK a few weeks back - loved it! I reckon it's possibly the best Bonnie Yet (though I love the T120 too, and the bobber, and the T100......)
I've been considering buying a scrambler to use as the base for a cafe racer project since they first came out, tbh the "scrambler cafe racer" from Ducati is a bit... meh I mean look at those wheels... hell look at that bike next to a Thruxton R for about the same price, or the Bonneville Cup for less. Don't get me wrong, I would still consider the Ducati as a project base specially now that it has a wheelbase redesigned for 17" wheels, and no ride-by-wire B.S. just a single throttle cable to the throttle bodies (yep 1 cable not the normal 2 cables, need to keep an eye on that maintenance wise, stuck cable could be exciting if it doesn't have a mate to pull the butterflies closed), it's a lovely simple bike but I can't help feeling Ducati lost interest in aesthetics about 75% into the project, looking from top to bottom. I mean seriously, crappy cast wheels from the scrambler parts bin... Would wire spoked wheels have been sooo much more expensive? Nope a lot cheaper than what we'd be expected to pay for those same 17" cast wheels from the dealer, but anywhoo... Still a very interesting family of bikes, and a nice excuse to keep the frankly great "old Ducati Monster" engine family going, losing those motors would be a tragedy. Bitching about the Cafe Racer wheels aside, if I wanted a retro scrambler the Sled would be right up at thee top of my list, the competitors are all huge and complicated, the Sled is perfect, it's what Steve McQueen would have jumped the fence with had The Great Escape been filmed today 👌
If you enjoy spinning wrenches, have at it. You can bolt things on day and night and maybe you'll find a decent combination at some point. Me, I bought a Thruxton. The extent of my wrench turning was bolting on passenger pegs. It is brilliant straight outta the box. I prefer to spend my time with it actually riding.
The Desert Sled is easily the better bike with adjustable suspension and real capability. The cafe racer's new geometry with steeper rake (21,8 degrees....insane) and no trail makes the bike handle like crap. The regular Scrambler was just fine. The suspension isn't any stiffer, just less travel. The cafe racer is actually worse. I test rode one.
@@luismora441 I'm speaking from a functional/performance point of view. Measurable things, no excuses. But if you love your bike, thats all that should matter to you!
nothing to see here buddy we have a lot of sports bikes here in india sold with a lot of tax and they cost a lot more like a freaking lot more than the usa canada or britain we have all brands solds here even the ducatii 1299 sells for 1crore
Thanks for the video - personally I would prefer to see a straightforward comparison between the bikes or even a test of each bike on its own merits. Is the "my bike's better than your bike" thing warranted?
Not really. Most European brands tend to require more maintenance and generally have more problems than Japanese bikes. Usually more expensive as well. If you're looking for something in the cafe racer style I'd suggest a Kawasaki z900rs, if you want a dual sport you have dozens of choices to pick from depending on what your priority is (speed/size/weight/price, etc). If money isnt an issue then you might as well go with a BMW R nine T for cafe racer or KTM 690 for dualsport
If you could get one of these with at least the 939 CC engine I'd probably get the Desert Sled... or at least if they figured out a way to hop up that 803 to at least about 110 HP somehow. That's about the minimum power level for me
Ducati not sell enough bikes to make an affordable even bargain bike? The name is one thing, but even the iPhone and Nintendo have competitive pricing.
timing belt instead of chain on the camshaft that needs to be replaced every 7500 miles. Almost $1000 USD job!!! I wanted this bike so bad until I spoke with the Ducati mechanic over the phone :(
200kg, 35 inch seat height? and its expensive you drop it off road which eventually sooner or later you do and it will cost money. if you will going to spend more time off road i think a CRF250L would be the better deal even if its only a 250. for the type of offroad shown in this video even the scrambler Icon would suit well and it costs less.
I think what we are looking at here is a styling exercise, rather than a serious attempt at an off-roader. To be honest, the Honda has pretty weedy performance and would soon get really boring around town, not to mention the 'cool' factor that is so important to the people who buy the Scrambler.
It's a dualsport so its to be expected that it has many compromises, it doesn't excel at anything but it does the job, look at the review that they done on the CRF250 Rally. but you are right people look also for the cool factor, not the value for money.
I guys, I just got back from a Desert Sled test ride here in Brisbane and here are my thoughts:
here in Australia distances are long and taking a dirt bike on top a trailer, park both car and trailer, pay a ticket for few days, get the bike on the boat and so on is not worth it.
With this thing instead, I can easily ride 1h, get the bike on a ferry, riding on the sand of Fraser Island, Moreton Island, Stradbroke Island, or simply ride on Rainbow Beach and camp wherever I want, with zero effort. And why not, on the way up to Mount Glorious, take some of the back roads sometimes.
And stock looks great already, it carries the nicest stock exhaust ever.
I imagine everything depends on where you live, here with 300 days of sun and beaches where you can ride on, trust me, it will sell a lot.
I wouldn't buy it I was living in London.
You wouldnt buy any bike in London... they get knicked as soon as you get off them!
@@jpsv9531 sad but true! You guys have to do something about that!
My dads Norton P-11 when he first built it was a scrambles dirt racer of the 60's and also a mountain trail bike when riding with his bike club. later he converted the bike with Cafe bars and seat and it was his street bike. The Ducati desert sled very similar spec wise.
How does 17” wheels give it a shorter wheelbase? Did they change the forks, triple tree or swingarm?
I almost bought Ducati Scrambler Urban(??? - i forgot name of the model) - it was most offroad model before they started Desert Sled....but company I used to work went out of business and my problem was solved - no money, no bike. :) I had Triumph Bonneville that time - wasn't easy to ride in the mud, dirt, rocks etc.
At that price it is insanely expensive, The Desert sled is almost the same Price as a KTM 1090 Adventure R/BMW F800GS, and if you want to go offroad you would most certainly get one of those. The Cafe Racer is also insanely expensive, almost the same price as the RnineT Cafe Racer and that has a beter engine for what it is IMO a cafe racer. and don't forget the SA 2016 Bike of the year, the Triumph Thruxton's(The ones which started the Scrambler and Cafe racer trend IMO) base model can be had at less than R150 000, and the R if you have money is only R10k more(or if you on a lease R200/month more). These ducati's should have been less than R130k as that is there market. If you want to have Fun the MT-07, Z650 or Street Cup can give just as much fun at a fraction of the price. But that is just my opinion.
One has to pay for riding in style.
Cool video - so I ride a Scrambler-Scrambler. That's why it's fun-fun
Traded in my Scrambler for a new FZ-10. The Scrambler was fun around town but I got a bit tired of having two issues in a short amount of time that left me questioning long term reliability.
How much fuel does it hold and are the tires tubeless?
the reason DS feels underpowered is the throttle tube that ducati tamed to oblivion. Just change the tube if you want performance.
Deniz Erdem is that really how you could modify the engine? Can you please elaborate? What would the HP gain be? Btw, I have an 09 Monster 1100 S... any recommendations to gain about 20 HP on that engine?
Deniz Erdem and thank you btw! I know I asked a lot of questions lol
Ok here is the thing. 2015 scramblers were really difficult to ride at slow speeds because of the way engine delivered the power. So a lot of owners, including myself, solved this problem by replacing the throttle cam. This way, when you twist the throttle, the first half of the turn gives less gas than the second half. The power output is exactly the same. It just comes later in the throttle turn.
In 2017 models Ducati started doing the same thing but in an exaggerated manner. Now the bike is really docile in slow speed and wakes up much later in the throttle action. Owners now have 3 options basicly, use 2015 cam for a very aggressive power delivery, buy g2 throttle tamer for a somewhat easier to use but still aggressive actions, or use 2017 cam and expect the full power only when you really want it.
In a model like Desert Sled, I think a docile throttle makes a lot of sense. I probably wouldn't change it.
Search scrambler forums for pictures and stuff.
You guys should put the whole 30 minute programme up. Even if some of it is unique to SA, it's interesting for us overseas to see what you have going on there. 30 mins isn't too long at all, some of the motorbike RUclips videos I enjoy are over an hour long, and there's nothing much else worth watching on TV anyway.
Sid Vicious on Scrambler Desert Sled! 😀
Thanks guys, love the video! What boots is Harry wearing on the Desert Sled? They look cool!
Fabulous video guys. Loved it.
0:25 What sort of jeans are these, please?
Does the Desert Sled run on tubed tyres?
Little low-down power is a mistake. Does it have less than the Icon etc?
At 191 kg dry, it's only two kg lighter than my Buell Ulysses (which is a much better bike); are you sure you've got that right?
Entertaining video, lads.
Jeans are made here in SA; X-Kulcha armoured riding jeans. Tubed tyres? Not sure. Weight is correct. Same power as all the other Scramblers; it was never a powerhouse motor!
Desert Sled runs Tubes in the tyres.
I know I'm probably being greedy but why can't you upload the whole program pls???
I love watching your uploads here in England by the way
We just feel that a 30 minute show would be too long for most youtubers! Added to that the fact that a bit of the content is South African-based and putting the whole show up would give us only one upload a week! We have just done a deal with the BBC here in SA to make a new series which will be completely separate from The Bike Show so, who knows; you may get whole episodes to yourself in the future, on TV!
30 minutes wouldn't be too long for me! - so much better than the bike show we get (well some of us get) here in Blighty.....keep up the good work chaps (P.S Will you be riding the Triumph Street Scrambler per chance? )
Great news about BBC, I cant wait. Been following you guys since Lean Angle / Two Wheels. You down the road from me.
Funny you should ask that; just had a call from Triumph SA to ask if we want it! Have you ridden it yet?
Yes I had a long termer from Triumph UK a few weeks back - loved it! I reckon it's possibly the best Bonnie Yet (though I love the T120 too, and the bobber, and the T100......)
Where is this shot? It's so beautiful?
Outside Johannesburg, South Africa
2 of my fav scrambler
Hi from Kazakhstan!
Wow. Hi from South Africa! Glad to have you watching.
glad to see frank zappa out on the bike again.....🤣🤣
I've been considering buying a scrambler to use as the base for a cafe racer project since they first came out, tbh the "scrambler cafe racer" from Ducati is a bit... meh I mean look at those wheels... hell look at that bike next to a Thruxton R for about the same price, or the Bonneville Cup for less. Don't get me wrong, I would still consider the Ducati as a project base specially now that it has a wheelbase redesigned for 17" wheels, and no ride-by-wire B.S. just a single throttle cable to the throttle bodies (yep 1 cable not the normal 2 cables, need to keep an eye on that maintenance wise, stuck cable could be exciting if it doesn't have a mate to pull the butterflies closed), it's a lovely simple bike but I can't help feeling Ducati lost interest in aesthetics about 75% into the project, looking from top to bottom. I mean seriously, crappy cast wheels from the scrambler parts bin... Would wire spoked wheels have been sooo much more expensive? Nope a lot cheaper than what we'd be expected to pay for those same 17" cast wheels from the dealer, but anywhoo... Still a very interesting family of bikes, and a nice excuse to keep the frankly great "old Ducati Monster" engine family going, losing those motors would be a tragedy. Bitching about the Cafe Racer wheels aside, if I wanted a retro scrambler the Sled would be right up at thee top of my list, the competitors are all huge and complicated, the Sled is perfect, it's what Steve McQueen would have jumped the fence with had The Great Escape been filmed today 👌
to me a cafe racer it's something that it's should be done from you, I mean it's something that should be hand made not ready from the dealer.
If you enjoy spinning wrenches, have at it. You can bolt things on day and night and maybe you'll find a decent combination at some point. Me, I bought a Thruxton. The extent of my wrench turning was bolting on passenger pegs. It is brilliant straight outta the box. I prefer to spend my time with it actually riding.
I think the desert sled’s tank might be better suited to Don’s bulging girth
The Desert Sled is easily the better bike with adjustable suspension and real capability. The cafe racer's new geometry with steeper rake (21,8 degrees....insane) and no trail makes the bike handle like crap. The regular Scrambler was just fine. The suspension isn't any stiffer, just less travel. The cafe racer is actually worse. I test rode one.
Human find every kind of excuses when they dont like something , ,,,
@@luismora441 I take it you own one and are offended lol?
@@luismora441 I'm speaking from a functional/performance point of view. Measurable things, no excuses. But if you love your bike, thats all that should matter to you!
Harry finally found a bike that fits him.
I'm just gonna call it the Ducatimaha XT800
I used to have an XT500!
sled would sell like hot cakes in india
balsara 675 it's because you all live in slums and can't afford it.
nothing to see here buddy we have a lot of sports bikes here in india sold with a lot of tax
and they cost a lot more like a freaking lot more than the usa
canada or britain
we have all brands solds here
even the ducatii 1299
sells for
1crore
^ racist fcvker. check his profile, he seems to have reviewed quite a number of bikes.
Indians don't really buy hot cakes though... So...
Thanks for the video - personally I would prefer to see a straightforward comparison between the bikes or even a test of each bike on its own merits.
Is the "my bike's better than your bike" thing warranted?
We just didn't think that two bikes that were completely the same mechanically and which only differed in styling merited two separate tests.
Fair enough and with, I guess, limited air time restricting your hand even more as well.
Is the Ducati a reliable brand?
You Toober no
Not really. Most European brands tend to require more maintenance and generally have more problems than Japanese bikes. Usually more expensive as well. If you're looking for something in the cafe racer style I'd suggest a Kawasaki z900rs, if you want a dual sport you have dozens of choices to pick from depending on what your priority is (speed/size/weight/price, etc). If money isnt an issue then you might as well go with a BMW R nine T for cafe racer or KTM 690 for dualsport
If you could get one of these with at least the 939 CC engine I'd probably get the Desert Sled... or at least if they figured out a way to hop up that 803 to at least about 110 HP somehow. That's about the minimum power level for me
For top speed or low end torque? Because you can change a sprocket if you really want to
Why doesn't Ducati program the Scrambler to bring on the torque lower in the rev range?
Ducati not sell enough bikes to make an affordable even bargain bike?
The name is one thing, but even the iPhone and Nintendo have competitive pricing.
Ducati is like the Harley Davidson of the "not cruiser world"
timing belt instead of chain on the camshaft that needs to be replaced every 7500 miles. Almost $1000 USD job!!! I wanted this bike so bad until I spoke with the Ducati mechanic over the phone :(
Fell in Love with the Icon, it does everything you want it to.
Footage from my recent Italian Adventure: ruclips.net/video/SO7Tkzh3W10/видео.html
200kg, 35 inch seat height? and its expensive you drop it off road which eventually sooner or later you do and it will cost money. if you will going to spend more time off road i think a CRF250L would be the better deal even if its only a 250. for the type of offroad shown in this video even the scrambler Icon would suit well and it costs less.
I think what we are looking at here is a styling exercise, rather than a serious attempt at an off-roader. To be honest, the Honda has pretty weedy performance and would soon get really boring around town, not to mention the 'cool' factor that is so important to the people who buy the Scrambler.
It's a dualsport so its to be expected that it has many compromises, it doesn't excel at anything but it does the job, look at the review that they done on the CRF250 Rally. but you are right people look also for the cool factor, not the value for money.
It depends if you go off road touring occasionally or off road riding. The latter being more aggressive
It's only 2 kg lighter dry than my 1203 cc Buell Ulysses.
I'd love a Ducati Scrambler but something in the back of my mind is saying no?
Just ignore all the voices in your head and buy it.
Dude on the cafe racer looks completely uncomfortable. Is that the point?
It would be a South African accent
Hahahaha... scrembler scrambler... desert sled desert sled... what the funny words.
That's not a vtwin motor you fool
It's L-twin
Same thing.
The desert sled cant do off road like a Honda crf1000 and the caferacer isnt fast and smoot like the ninet
Ducati become better than triumph 😂🙈
That cafe racer looks uncomfortable as fuck
Over priced bikes for the image/faux tradition image conscious pricksters. If they were cheaper I would buy one, though 🤔.
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