In 1990 and 1994, Edi Orioli won the Dakar Rally on Cagiva Elefant motorcycles, each moto powered by an air-cooled V-twin of around 900 cc supplied by Ducati. Cagiva didn’t make what were considered big bike engines for the time, and it owned Ducati, which did. It wasn’t until Ducati launched the Multistrada in 2003 that the Bolognese brand took to the trail on its own. Another 20 years later, with the launch of the 2024 Ducati DesertX Rally, it’s possible the Bologna company — owned by Audi since 2012 — could be considering a trip back to Dakar with a machine all its own. The DesertX Rally is an upgraded version of the standard Ducati DesertX adventure bike introduced for the 2023 model year, a two-wheeler designed for aggressive trail riding. The DesertX was the first Ducati in the modern era to fit a 21-inch front and 18-inch rear wheel, it’s low-gear ratios are perfect for slow off-road riding, and it has six driving modes, each of them tweaked through multiple levels of engine power, engine braking, traction control, wheelie control, and cornering ABS.
Now that 900-cc is considered a midsize bike and midsize bikes are hot, the DesertX Rally sticks to the same 937-cc V-twin Ducati uses in the standard bike, the Hypermotard 950, Monster, and Supersport 950. The motor makes 108 horsepower and 68 pound-feet of torque here. Overall weight is said to be up one kilogram, to about 447 pounds. Buyers who want more output can get a claimed 7% boost in output by swapping for a Termignoni race exhaust.
New features start with the billet triple-clamp and Ohlins steering damper that improve rigidity and stability. The race-derived 48-mm, adjustable KYB sealed-cartridge front fork extends travel 0.8 inch to 9.8 inches, and features hard-anodized tubes with diamond-like coating on the sliders for less friction. The thinner front mudguard sits higher up the forks instead of just over the wheel to keep muck from clogging the gap to the front wheel. In back, the new swingarm attachment point and larger adjustable KYB shock add another 0.8 inch of travel for 9.4 total inches. The suspension changes add a 1.2 inches of ground clearance, at 11 inches, and takes seat height to 35.8 inches. All of the riding modes — Enduro, Rally, Sport, Touring, Urban, Wet — and subsystems have been recalibrated for the new spec.
Beneath the adjustable billet aluminum shift and brake pedals, a forged carbon skid plate is ready to take a beating to protect the motor. At either end, carbon steel spokes hook into billet hubs and Takasago Excel Wheels that use inner tubes, instead of the slightly heavier tubeless wheels on the standard DesertX. Stock tires are Pirelli Scorpion Rally STRs, the option sheets offers Pirelli Scorpion Rally or Pirelli Scorpion Trail II tires as well.
The Ducati says the new ride will reach U.S. dealerships around March of next year, priced at $22,995, $5,000 above the DesertX.
