2016 Ducati Scrambler Motorcycle Review

Behold, an air and oil cooled tribute to those California desert racers of the late sixties, early nineteen seventies, the Ducati Scrambler. This striking, lightweight motorcycle with it’s retro styling and classic paint scheme offers a really nice balance. Hanging under that classic trellis frame is a new version of Ducati’s air and oil cooled 800CC fuel injected V-Twin desmo engine which cranks out a claimed 75 horsepower and fifty glorious foot pounds of torque. As far as the ABS assisted stopping power is concerned the scrambler is fitted with a big three hundred and thirty single disc up front with a radial mount four piston Brembo squeezer while out back, a two hundred and fifty millimeter disc clamped by a single piston floater. In the suspension department, Ducati also delivered ont eh modern goods. Check out the non-adjustable forty one millimeter inverted fork while an aluminium banana swing arm directly hammers a cantilevered shock out back. Overall it’s a sweet piece, and it certainly looks the Scrambler part right down to those aggressively cut chunky tires. Also looking the part this week is our guest Road Tester, Derek Silvera

 

Dave

We pulled into the parking lot today and we had the Scrambler, the Thruxton, we had the Moto Guzzi lined up. What was your first impression when you saw it?

 

Derek

Well I was super excited to be riding the Scrambler because I’ve been doing some research and I just found that these things are an all around great bike and, I don’t know, it caught my eye right away because of the styling. It’s super modern compared to the other bikes that we’re riding today. I’m used to riding a seventy-two Honda so I really didn’t know what to expect from this bike because it’s brand new but it handles really well. But yeah, I can’t say enough good things about it, really.

 

Dave

Let’s break it down to a couple things about it. You fire up the motor, is this the first time you’ve ridden a v-twin.

 

Derek

Yeah, for sure.
Dave

What was the riding experience for you just from an engine stand point. Did you like the torque, feel any vibration, the power, how does it all work for you?

 

Derek

The engine, right off the bat, I felt like this thing’s got a lot of torque because as soon as I touched the throttle I was like, gone. It woke me up a little bit, you know. And I was like, okay, I got to get used to this. And then the road, every time I switched gears it still had that torque there so, I don’t know, it was a really cool experience.

 

Dave

How did you like the brakes? We’ve got Brembo brakes up front…

 

Derek

It was great, um, lots of braking power. The front brake was super touchy so I was using the back mostly but yeah, no complaints there. This thing could stop on a dime I think.

 

Dave

How about the suspension. I mean, it’s got an inverted fork, it’s got a pretty beefy shock on the back. Did you like the ride? We were hitting a lot of pot holes today, a lot of twisties… what did you think of the suspension?

 

Derek

I thought the suspension was nice. I thought it would be softer than it was because from sitting on it, it felt like it compressed a lot but on the road it felt a little ebit tight. It kind of felt like riding a dirt bike or something. You know, I was a little bit iffy about the bars being so high at first but I got used to it and it’s really responsive. Being that wide and I felt like I could jump a bunch of school buses on this thing.

 

Dave

Really.

 

Derek

It has that feeling about it.

 

Dave

Yeah. Of the three bikes we’re testing today, this one’s got the narrowest saddle. Were you able to get comfortable on the bike in terms of the saddle?

 

Derek

Yeah. That was one thing I was a little bit worried about because I’m like five six or something like that so I thought this bike might e a little bit tall for me but right away I sat on it and immediately felt comfortable and felt like I could ride this thing.

 

Dave

Kind of different from the other bikes too this day having the digital gauge and not much of anything else, did it work for you, did you like the layout of the switch gear, the mirrors, the gauge… did you like that?

 

Derek

Yeah I love it. The layout’s super nice, it’s super modern, it gets rid of everything you don’t need. I mean, everything’s built into the single gauge, like the gas, everything. Yeah I was pretty comfortable with it. I like how the revs were sort of electronic on there, so you can keep track of that. Yeah and it just makes the bike look infinitely cooler. The fit and finish, I think, looks great. I mean, you can see that it’s super modern and it’s completely different from the other bikes we rode today.

 

Dave

Yeah.

 

Derek

I haven’t seen many bikes like it around so it looks like an old school bike that’s got this futuristic styling to it. I don’t know, it’s really unique.

 

Dave

Who’s going to ride this bike and what are they going to do with it. Is it just strictly for hauling around in the city?

 

Derek

Uh, I think this is probably a great bike for anyone who wants to haul around in the city, but also to get away for the weekend to places out in the country. You know, you could put your girlfriend on the back or some luggage and go camping with it. I don’t know, it’s a pretty good all around bike I’d say.

 

Dave

So did you have fun, is this your first time down in Prince Edward County?

 

Derek

Yeah it is.

 

Dave

So did you have fun, is this a way to see the countryside?

 

Derek

Yeah it was great, it was a great time riding all the bikes and testing out all these new bikes. Yeah. Yeah I had a blast.

 

Dave

Derek, thank you so much, you did a great job.

 

Derek

Great to meet you. Thanks.

 

Dave

Nice.