DUCATI DESERT SLED (2017-Present) Specs, Performance & Photos

The Ducati Scrambler was a V-twin powered standard or roadster motorcycle introduced at the 2014 Intermot Motorcycle Show. The US sales began in 2015, and the bike was offered in six 803cc configurations, including the Classic, Urban Enduro, Icon, Flat Track Pro, Full Throttle, and Italia Independent models, but also a 399cc version named Sixty2.

Starting with 2017, the Ducati Scrambler model was available in six different versions, including the Sixty2, Icon, Classic, Full Throttle, Cafe Racer, and Desert Sled models.

In 2017, the latest addition to Ducati's range was a new Scrambler Desert Sled, a motorcycle that harked back to the 1960s and 1970s when desert-style machines populated Southern California.

The 2017 Ducati Desert Sled was more like the Icon model, using a slightly modified frame, wire-spoke wheels with a 19-inch front wheel shod with Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR off-road tires, a headlight mesh guard, high-mounted mudguards, and an engine skid plate.

The 2017 Ducati Desert Sled had at its core an 803cc L-twin air-cooled engine with an Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI) system in charge, delivering an output power of 75 hp with a peak force at 8,250 rpm and 66 Nm (49 lb-ft) torque at 5,750 rpm.

The bike was fitted with a tubular steel Trellis frame that held together the front and rear suspension, which comprised a fully adjustable 46 mm USD fork on the front and a preload and rebound-adjustable Kayaba shock absorber on the rear.

As for the braking power, the machine packed a 330 mm disc with a four-piston caliper on the front wheel and a 245 mm disc with a one-piston caliper on the rear wheel.

The 2017 Ducati Desert Sled was for sale in 2023 (at the time of writing), with a price ranging from $8,500 to $11,000.