Taking a Ducati through the middle of a desert might not?ve been very high on a lot of peoples priority list before 2019. Since then though, and thanks to the introduction of the Ducati DesertX, if it isn?t on your list of priorities, it should be. And even more so now, because Ducati have just announced a new, updated for 2022, DesertX.

If you didn?t know, the DesertX is powered by Ducati?s 937cc Testastretta 11° desmodromic engine. That means the 2022 model has benefited from all the updates that the latest Monster and the new for 2021 Multistrada V2 have benefitted from. The engine alone is 1.7kg lighter, partially thanks to a new clutch, you get 110bhp (at 9,250rpm) and 92Nm (at 6,500rpm). The (biggest) difference between the Multistrada V2 and DesertX version of the engine is the gearbox. To make the bike a bit easier to ride off-road, the DesertX has shorter ratios, especially in the lower gears. Sixth gear is actually the same; so if you?re sat on the motorway, you don?t need to rev the testicles off it.
And for off-road riding, the 21? front and 18? rear wheels, bags of suspension travel and 250mm ground clearance are definitely going to come in handy too. You?d have to say that this is a bike that Ducati genuinely want people to take off-road; or perhaps more specifically, into the desert.

Damping

The Kayaba suspension is (manually) adjustable all round for compression damping, rebound damping and preload. It has 230mm of travel at the fron...