New Ducati Scrambler Cafe Racer
Ducati Scrambler Cafe Racer, which has now been discontinued. It’s been designed by their Centro Stile, which is their design center in Italy.
I think it has to be said this is a very good-looking bike.
Scrambler Cafe Racer: A Contradiction
Scrambler Cafe Racer, as a name, you might think is a little bit of a contradiction. How can a scrambler also a cafe racer.
what Ducati says, this actually shows the flexibility and versatility of the scrambler platform.
Engine and Chassis Specifications
You’ve got a brilliant air-cooled L-Twin engine that makes about 70 horsepower, nice and talky, lots of character to it, and then a nice lightweight flickable chassis that they’ve just enhanced a little bit with a few Mods on this version.
Changes in Wheel Size
Now, the big change is that most of the icons and bikes like that actually get an 18-inch front wheel, which is slightly oversized.
And while it does help to give them a little bit of that slightly really retro esthetic and also a slight scrambler vibe, of course, with a bigger front wheel, you’re going to compromise a little bit on manners in terms of road handling.
This one, though, gets a 17 inches, so it should feel a little bit quicker to turn at the front. New Ducati Scrambler Cafe Racer
Road Handling with Sporty Tires
And they’ve also fitted it with some sporty road rubber in the form of the Pirelli Diablo Rosso 4s, whereas the standard bike comes on their MT60 RS, which are a little bit flat track-inspired, semi-nobly, and so not quite as sticky and grippy as something like this.
Variants and Handlebars
Now, also on the three variants of the scrambler that are available at the moment.
So you’ve got the icon, you’ve got the full throttle, you’ve got the night shift as well.
They all come with fairly high and wide handlebars to play into that scrambler vibe. But with this one, they’ve gone for clip-ons to get you a little bit lower at the front.
And also, they help to tuck your arms in a touch and give you that more sporty sensation when you’re riding the bike.
I wouldn’t imagine that there are any major changes to the seat height or the pegs or anything like that. New Ducati Scrambler Cafe Racer
Fairing Design
Speaking of which, I really think they’ve done a very nice job of the fairing on this bike.
They say it’s tank mounted, so it flows into the tank, and it reminds me actually of a fairing kit that was available for the Vipillan 401.
It’s got a similar vibe, but just with that Ducati flair and treatment, it’s got a little bit more detail to it.
Paint Job and Graphics
With that champagne base coat on the paint job, the red, white, and black graphics over the top.
I think it just all makes for a very striking-looking package. Now, they say it’s a little bit of a tribute to bikes like the Ducati Pantah or 750 SS that era of bike that do have fairings with a slightly similar esthetic.
Also, they’ve given it a single seat cover at the back, and they say it recalls a classic Panettoni saddle of the 1970s. New Ducati Scrambler Cafe Racer
Production Speculations
Now look, I think we can all agree that this is a great-looking motorcycle, but as for whether it will become a production Ducati Scrambler, well, on the one hand, like I say, they did have that Cafe Racer version back in 2017, so it’s not completely unimaginable.
But on the flip side, I suppose the Cafe Racer production bikes have died off quite a bit recently. You can still buy for example, a Royal Enfield Continental GT.
But this year, try and finance that they were winding up their Thruxton Cafe Racer with its final addition. New Ducati Scrambler Cafe Racer
So after this year, you’ll no longer be able to buy it. And BMW’s R9T racer was discontinued a few years back as well.
But generally, I would assume it’s because these bikes aren’t necessarily that comfortable.
So the idea of them and the looks of them are maybe more appealing than the reality of owning them.
But then again, who knows? It looks really brilliant. And so I’m sure plenty of people would be sniffing around it if it was in dealers.
Off-Road Capabilities
Now, next up, we’ve got this much more rugged and utilitarian-looking bike, which is potentially, I suppose, a little bit of a successor to a bike like the Desert Sled.
That’s another bike that was discontinued recently, but it’s a much more off-road capable version of the Ducati Scrambler.
I will say a little bit of a cult bike. The people who rode it really loved it and said it was such a good off-roader to the extent where someone,
Henry Crü, took it actually round the world successfully and came back absolutely glowing about the way the bike rides. New Ducati Scrambler Cafe Racer
Aesthetic and Functional Modifications
This maybe could be something similar. It’s not quite as functionally off-road focus. The Desert Sled had stuff like taller suspension and a reinforced frame.
This really looks like the icon much more with an accessory pack fitted, but it has to be said, esthetically, it really does make a bit of an impact.
It’s meant to be a little bit of a post-apocalyptic take on the scrambler. It’s got a bit of that Mad Max vibe to it.
they’ve removed the tank covers and fitted them with little racks so you can strap on luggage. New Ducati Scrambler Cafe Racer
Also, they’ve removed the pillion seat and there’s a removable rack back there as well. So it’s really built to carry stuff.
Off-Road Styling
They’ve even fitted a little tool bag on the side of the engine there as well.
And then, yeah, you’ve got some more typical scramblery off-road-y styling cues like the Nobbly Pirelli Scorpion Rally ties.
It’s got spoke wheels as well, still with the 18-incher up front. I think these might be off the night shift, actually.
A high front mud guard at the front there and also high-level termine unit silencer, which is very typical, of course, of the scrambler genre.
I really do like the paint job on this one as well. A little bit of a pop of bright yellow, just with the logo on the tanks, gives it a little bit of a lift, and they’ve tied that in with the paint on the shock spring as well.
Clip-On Handlebars: Pros and Cons
The only thing that stands out to me is a little bit counterintuitive negative about it is it does get the same clip on style handlebars as the Cafe Racer.
Now, it makes sense to be low and over the front with a sporty bike, but with a bit of an off roader like this, although they are quite set up, I don’t think it quite goes along with the intended use of this bike, but it does give it quite a cool look.
Personally, I’d be going for the big high wide bars that you get as standard on the icon. New Ducati Scrambler Cafe Racer
But overall, I really do like the look of this bike, and I think it’s a little bit more achievable if you wanted to build your own from a base icon model than something like the Cafe Racer, which is going to take a lot of skill and time to build your own bodywork.