2024 Ducati DesertX Rally Breaks Cover

The Ducati DesertX is an incredibly desirable motorcycle. Be it its punchy engine, off-road performance or even its achingly beautiful retro design, they all make you want to put down money for the bike immediately. But now, Ducati has taken that very desirability quotient up several notches by unveiling the DesertX Rally, a bike that looks ready to race in the Dakar Rally, especially in this hot livery. 

And it’s not just looks, for this one has 20mm extra suspension travel at both ends, making it a colossal 250mm at the front and 240mm at the rear. And that means that even the seat height is at a Dakar racer-esque 910mm. The 48mm closed cartridge USD fork and the 46mm rear shock are both KYB units and Ducati says that they have tech straight from MX and enduro bikes. What can take more beating are the new wheels and rims, both of which are lighter than before. Interestingly, Ducati has opted for a tube tyre setup, which it claims is lighter. 

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Heck, even the bike’s plastics are mass-coloured and unpainted, meaning scratches will be a lot less visible. Hence, everything on the bike has been made with one thing in mind: to set the dirt trails on fire! Surprisingly, though, the DesertX Rally’s 937cc L-twin engine hasn’t been altered, and makes 110PS and 92Nm. Furthermore, A2 licence holders can also get a detuned 35kW version of the DesertX Rally. So… a 48PS DesertX. Sounds funny, doesn’t it?

Ducati has a knack of bringing all its motorcycles to India and it’s quite likely that the DesertX Rally will come here too. However, all the kit won’t be cheap, and you can expect a Rs 4-5 lakh premium over the standard DesertX’Rs 17.91 lakh (ex-showroom) price tag.