SLED HEAD

Bg reckons that the prettiest Ducati Scrambler to date is, by a distance, the black 2018 Desert Sled, complete with spot on 80s styling details. The 2019 red and white livery reminds people of a certain Yamaha – cross branding, anyone? – and to this eye seems far less original. In fact the sole motivation for the Sled test was to see if the go could be as good as the show, which maybe a shallow motive, but  styling is a massive part of the whole Ducati Scrambler raison d’etre.    Plus, we reckoned it would be a laugh. And we’ve been meaning to do this for ages…

After a morning’s hooning down Somerset farm tracks and unclassifieds, the Sled looked less pretty. But way more authentic…. The Ducati is a heavy bike given available power. On the dyno the 803 Desmodue lump knocks out around 65 bhp, but that isn’t an issue. The issue is the 16 extra kilos the Sled has to cart around vs the scrambler it replaced, the Urban Enduro. The irony being, of course, that those 16 kilos are there to increase the bike’s off road capability, i.e. in the one environment outside of racing where excess weight is most critical. Sure, heavier bikes can dirt track, but the Sled’s 207 kilos at the kerb still seems plenty for a bike with genuine off road pretensions. 

I strongly suspect that the majority of Sled buyers wont venture off piste, but tonnage notwithstanding that would be a mistake. The longish wheelbase, beefed up suspenders, and excellent stand up position work well on firetracks and non technical (dryish) green lanes, but anything more challenging – like sand – could be tricky …..  On the other hand, the bike’s size (specs below) and 65 real world horses are enough to make life snap into sharp focus when you hit the slippery stuff. We didn’t find any bottomless ground when we tested the bike, but the Pirelli shod back end was sliding happily off the throttle given surprisingly little encouragement. Experienced dirt riders will love this, while novices – whom one suspects are more likely to be Sled borne – may find the bike’s output and size a little intimidating until they get used to breaking traction.  An interesting scrambler comparison can be made with the Fantic, which is 50 kilos(!), 25 bhp and £4k lighter than its fellow countryman. The latter urges you to get off road without thinking about it, irrespective of pilot experience, and in forthcoming Rally format will be at least the equal of a Sled once you get there. Despite its major concessions to the dirt, the Sled is a surprisingly able road bike, where unsurprisingly it aces the Fantic. Indeed, some scrambler enthusiasts rate the Sled as better on the tarmac than its lighter stablemates, the combination of high, wide bars and a longer wheelbase seeming to offer a really good balance between agility and stability.

In other words, on the road the Sled is an ideal chill out bike, unlikely to threaten your licence but with enough power and handling ability to keep things interesting, and very well suited to the current state of the average UK road surface….  Anyone half decent off road will have absolutely no qualms about heading for the dirt, nor should they. Novices are encouraged to go for light, low height, low power machines when they first venture off road, but I reckon with a bit of practice they’d learn the ways of the Sled soon enough. Just remember to lower the tyre pressures and disable the ABS before kick off…

But when all is said and done, if there’s one current production bike you could be forgiven for buying on the strength of looks alone, the black Sled is that bike.