Ducati has revealed two scrambler-based concept bikes at EICMA in Milan to show how future versions might look.
The first, dubbed ‘DesertX’ is based on the Scrambler 1100 and takes its styling cues from 1980s rallye-raid bikes. In fact, there’s no mistaking the fact that its inspiration is the Lucky Strike sponsored Cagiva Elefant Dakar bikes. While Cagiva might be a dormant company now, owned by rival MV Agusta, back then it was part of the Ducat family and the Elefant used Ducati’s air-cooled 900cc engine – a direct ancestor of the Scrambler 1100’s motor.
The second model, based on the Scrambler 800, is simply called Motard and, as the name suggests, it takes a supermoto-inspired angle to its styling. It’s much closer to a stock production machine than the DesertX; the number board nose and beak-like front mudguard are the main departures, along with motocross-style bars with hand guards.
Both machines stand a pretty decent chance of morphing into production models in the future, particularly the DesertX as Ducati is currently missing an entrant in the growing Dakar-inspired adventure bike market.
