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00:02 Hey folks, we just got done riding
00:22 Ducati North America's 2023 Desert X.
00:27 This is an all new middleweight adventure touring bike
00:32 from Ducati out of Bologna, Italy.
00:35 Now, Ducati had teased this motorcycle extensively
00:39 when they unwrapped it at the EICMA show a few years ago.
00:44 Fast forward to today, and they finally imported
00:48 this vehicle into North America for US consumption.
00:53 Let's start with the styling.
00:56 I love the aesthetic of this vehicle,
01:00 especially in this flat, matte, white colorway.
01:05 I just love that this motorcycle literally looks
01:08 like a brand new version of the original
01:12 Cofiga Elephant from the late 80s.
01:15 I think Ducati did a really nice job
01:18 using styling elements from that motorcycle,
01:22 yet fitting modern hardware on that bike.
01:27 This motorcycle continues to be powered
01:30 by Ducati's tried and true 937cc Testastretta 11 degree L
01:35 twin.
01:38 This engine's been in Ducati's lineup for a few years now.
01:42 It has benefited from some updates along the way
01:46 with its new six speed gearbox
01:48 that it fitted on the Monster last year.
01:50 Ducati's fitted shorter transmission gear ratios
01:54 in first and second gear.
01:56 Now the shorter transmission ratios help this vehicle
02:01 when you are lugging up precarious terrain off road
02:05 or going down precarious terrain.
02:07 It just gives a little bit more acceleration
02:10 when you're climbing grades.
02:13 Other than that, this engine continues to offer
02:18 Ducati's advanced electronics package,
02:20 ride by wire, adjustable power modes,
02:23 traction control, adjustable wheelie control.
02:26 Ducati's added a new group setting,
02:29 so they continue to have urban, sport, wet, rain, touring,
02:33 but now they have a rally setting,
02:35 and the rally setting is basically
02:37 a spin off the enduro setting.
02:39 So the enduro setting used to have a low power,
02:41 now the rally setting has high power.
02:44 And most people who ride these bikes off road,
02:46 they want full power because you just need the extra oomph
02:50 when you're trying to get over obstacles
02:52 or climbing steep grades or whatever have you.
02:54 So now this bike has the rally setting.
02:57 The rally setting allows for a little bit more wheel spin
03:01 when you have DTC enabled.
03:03 And it's neat that Ducati offered that,
03:05 but it would have been really neat
03:06 if they would have added some incremental wheel slip setting
03:11 within the rally mode.
03:13 Other manufacturers in this segment
03:15 offer that on their IMU powered traction control,
03:18 so that would have been a nice addition.
03:21 Handling on this motorcycle,
03:23 I really like the handling on this motorcycle.
03:26 I generally don't really like motorcycles
03:28 that don't have linkages.
03:30 Usually I always want to have a linkage,
03:32 but this setup on this motorcycle worked pretty well.
03:35 To be fair, the roads around Denver, Aspen, Colorado
03:39 where we rode were pretty smooth.
03:41 You know, when we rode off road,
03:42 even the fire roads and the two track wasn't that rough.
03:47 So the jury's still kind of out
03:50 on how this suspension would work when it's really rough.
03:53 But for initial impressions, it worked really good.
03:57 Ergonomics on this motorcycle,
04:00 I like how cozy the seat is.
04:02 You really sit inside of it.
04:04 And when you're sitting there,
04:05 you don't really move back and forth
04:06 like you would on a flat dirt bike seat.
04:09 It's very cozy.
04:10 I like the big oversized foot pegs.
04:13 They have good grip against your boot
04:15 when you're riding on precarious terrain.
04:18 The handlebar is nice and wide.
04:20 It's got a little bit rearward sweep, but I like that.
04:24 The fuel tank, it's styled very nicely,
04:26 but it kind of does get,
04:28 it feels a little bit wide
04:29 when you're riding the bike in the standing position.
04:32 I wish Ducati engineers would have maybe had
04:34 that fuel tank a little bit flatter
04:37 and then made it wider, you know, farther ahead.
04:40 Like in this area, you kind of see how it just slopes
04:43 a little bit.
04:44 The slope is a little bit too much for me.
04:46 I wish it was flatter right there.
04:47 But besides that bugaboo,
04:49 the Desert X is an easy bike to ride
04:53 and easy bike to live with.
04:55 I love the 5.5 gallon fuel capacity.
04:58 Motorcycle manufacturers are always fitting
05:00 too small of fuel tanks on their motorcycles.
05:03 Finally, this bike has a good, generous fuel tank size
05:07 so we can log the miles.
05:08 Ducati also has a number of accessories
05:11 like these handle guards, like these crash bars,
05:14 like the heated grips that are fitted on this vehicle.
05:17 The accessory that I would really want to get my hands on
05:21 is the auxiliary 2.5 gallon fuel tank,
05:24 which actually sits right here on this rear passenger seat.
05:28 And it plugs into the main fuel tank
05:30 and literally the main fuel tank sucks the fuel in.
05:34 So with those fuel tanks,
05:36 you have almost eight gallons of fuel capacity,
05:39 which is awesome,
05:40 especially for a middleweight bike like this
05:42 that's not gonna drink the gasoline
05:45 like a liter and above size ADV bike would.
05:50 Overall, this bike is a really fun bike to ride.
05:55 Is it better than any of the bikes in the class?
05:57 I don't know.
05:58 You know, it handles nicely.
06:00 It has good power.
06:01 The electronics are nice.
06:02 It looks awesome.
06:04 That's what I really like about this bike is its aesthetics.
06:08 The other bikes in the segment, you know,
06:10 they're kind of ho-hum in the styling department,
06:12 but this thing looks totally awesome.
06:14 And that is reason enough for someone
06:18 that wants an adventure touring bike to get it.
06:20 All right, folks, that wraps up our review
06:22 of the 2023 Ducati Desert X.
06:26 Make sure to surf on over to MotorcyclistOnline.com.
06:30 That's where all of our written content lives.
06:33 Give this video a thumbs up if you liked it,
06:34 thumbs it down if you didn't,
06:36 and we'll see you next time.
06:37 Thanks for riding with us.
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