With every European motorcycle manufacturer having their foot firmly planted in the proverbial ADV door, it left many of us asking; “when is Ducati going to hop on the bandwagon?”. Although the Multistrada has been a mainstay in their lineup for quite some time, we still haven’t seen anything really geared towards hardcore offroad riding. If you put a Honda Africa Twin next to a Multistrada V4S, it’s pretty difficult to find similarities between the two on the basis of both functionality and off-road capabilities.

Luckily for us, the explosion in popularity of middleweight off-road-centric ADV motorcycles have given this Italian pipedream an opportunity to finally flourish in the form of the DesertX. Being a brand new edition to Ducati’s 2022 model lineup, the Italian motorcycle manufacturer has put its best foot forward when it comes to filling the gaps in its lineup. The DesertX is finally here to compete with the likes of Husqvarna’s Norden 901 and Honda’s Africa Twin; and hopefully, it’s here to stay.

The Multistrada V2’s tried and true 937cc Testastretta L-Twin engine gets to come back up on stage for an encore with the DesertX featuring a re-tuned 110 horsepower (and 68 lb-ft of torque) version of the same motor. However – beyond the engine – the DesertX is still a completely different beast.

Putting aside the fact that this machine looks like it was purpose-built for Dakar enduro riding (on a strictly visual basis), it also has the technology and componentry to back it up. Equipped with a six-axis IMU, shorter gearing for optimized off-road riding, fully adjustable Kayaba suspension (with roughly 9 inches of front and rear travel), spoked rims wrapped in Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR rubber, and even an extra 2.1-gallon tank in addition to the standard 5.5-gallon tank found in the front (for a total of 7.6 gallons); this bike means serious ADV business.

As this is still a fairly new model, we’ll still have to wait to find out if the specs found on paper can translate to a truly competitive edge when the DesertX is stacked against other dominating models in the same market segment.

The 2022 Ducati DesertX starts at $16,795 USD / $19,295 CAD.

On this page: we’ve curated specs, features, news, photos/videos, etc. so you can read up on the new 2022 Ducati DesertX in one place.

21 ”front and 18” rear wheels, long stroke suspension, generous ground clearance (250mm) and an off-road frame designed and tested to withstand the toughest conditions.

Ergonomics and aerodynamic study give life to a motorcycle that has off-road as a natural territory and at the same time remains comfortable, easy and safe for urban commuting and long travels.

The versatility of DesertX is also reflected in the Riding Modes: there’s 6 of them, with Enduro and Rally dedicated specifically to the off-road riding experience.

DesertX is equipped with the latest evolution of the 937 cc Testastretta 11th desmo, lighter by 1.7 kg compared to the previous generation and equipped with a new gear ratio to ensure the best off-road behavior.

Ducati World Première 2022 Episode 6 | DesertX | Dream Wilder

2022 Ducati Desert X // First Impressions & What You Should Know!!

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