Highlights
- The pricing of the Ducati DesertX Rally, ex-showroom, is Rs. 23.71 lakh.
- It gains new suspension, lighter components, and additional features.
- The DesertX Rally has no direct competitors in India.
Design
To differentiate itself from the standard DesertX, the Ducati DesertX Rally now has a taller off-road mudguard and new artwork. The Rally also has special-edition artwork on its bodywork made of solid-coloured plastic, which helps it better withstand dings and scratches—common while riding off roadways.
The DesertX Rally still uses the steel trellis frame, but there have been a lot of improvements. The bike is equipped with a new adjustable Ohlins steering damper, a forged carbon sump guard, and an aluminium gear pedal, triple clamp, and rear brake lever. In addition, the bike has an aluminium swingarm that has a different connection point than the type that comes standard.
Engine and Gearbox
The engine of the motorcycle is still the same as the DesertX standard. With eight desmodromic-activated valves, the liquid-cooled 937 cc Testastretta L-twin engine maintains 92 Nm of peak torque at 6,500 rpm and 110 horsepower at 9,250 rpm. A 6-speed gearbox is mated to the engine.
Performance
Valve clearance checks are performed on the DesertX Rally every 30,000 km, or every 15,000 km, at service intervals of 24 months. The DesertX Rally also has lighter wheels, with carbon steel central spokes on inner tubes of high-strength Takasago Excel rims, all in an effort to save weight.
Features
With its extensive electronics suite, the DesertX Rally offers six riding modes: sport, touring, urban, wet, enduro, and rally. Standard features include an electronically controlled Ducati Quick Shift (up and down), traction control, cornering ABS, and wheelie control. The electronics are operated via a 5-inch TFT display, which is also intended to work with the Ducati Media System to provide smartphone connectivity for turn-by-turn navigation and additional information.
Suspension
The suspension of the DesertX Rally is one of the main improvements. The 48-mm Kayaba cartridge fork has an adjustable compression and rebound damping system in addition to a unique Kashima coating treatment on the inside of the stanchions. A diamond-like coating (DLC) is applied to the sliders to provide optimal smoothness even under the most demanding riding circumstances.
Wheels
The front wheel travel has increased to 250 mm, and the fork has been lengthened by 30 mm. The rear suspension gains 20 mm of additional travel, for a total of 240 mm of rear wheel travel, along with complete compression and rebound adjustment and remote preload adjustment.
Ground Clearance
The ground clearance increases by 30 mm with a taller suspension, going from 250 mm on the regular model to 280 mm on the Rally. The bike has an 18-inch rear wheel with a narrower rear-wheel channel that helps while riding off-road, and a 21-inch front wheel.
Braking
Top-tier braking components, including Brembo brakes with cornering ABS functionality, are included in the rally. The front of the vehicle has split brake lines, an axial master cylinder with adjustable levers, double 320 mm front discs with an aluminium flange, and Brembo M50 monobloc radial callipers with four 30 mm diameter pistons. A single 265-mm-diameter disc on a double-piston floating calliper, likewise made by Brembo, is located at the back.
Price
India is currently offering the Ducati DesertX Rally for sale, with a retail price of Rs. 23.71 lakh (ex-showroom). In addition to having slightly different proportions from the normal DesertX and an upgraded motocross-spec suspension, the ‘Rally’ costs Rs. 5.4 lakh more than the standard model.
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Bikes