[Sterndog]

Had the opportunity to swing a leg over the scrambler today at the phx show. First impressions are that Ducati really went in a new direction with this bike. Overall look is high quality with a couple disappointing outliers (gas cap and gauges). The bike felt very light with a lower center of gravity. Size wise the motorcycle is smaller than what i am used to seeing out there, I consider this a good thing, though i would worry about long trips and/or windy conditions.

Most of my interest has been towards the enduro version, first impressions there were that the skid plate needed to be larger and suspension changed out. Engine guards would have been nice to see as well considering the price increase. Spoked wheels looked nice and the green paint is just as rugged/ugly as it looks in the photos. It will be interesting to see how comfy the seat is for long periods of time. Also looking forward to some offroad reviews, i would love to see the ducati scrambler overtake the vstrom and versys in the entry level adventure market.

Main worries for the bike are where to mount luggage and the price/interval of service. I really like the bike overall but dropping $1100 for a service every 4000-5000 miles seems ridiculous, anyone have any idea on what the service interval and expected price(hours) for service will be?

Lot of potential from this bike given its small size, could see it being turned into a stunt bike, beach cruiser, as well as (gasp) an adventure bike given there are applicable aftermarket parts.

I did notice the large size of the rear tire, my guess was this would help the scrambler ride over sand (thinking of a beach) anyone able to confirm or deny the rear tires size?

 

[Sterndog]

**correction gas cap looked great, was thinking about a different bike (its been a long week)

 

[pacman]

Nice write-up! I love the ugly green too.
The specs show the rear tire as a 180/55 on a 5.5" rim--definitely fat for a bike this size, but I think the rear tire looks great, and would ride well on the pavement.

Was the bike comfortable to sit on despite being smaller?

What didn't you like about the gauge?

 

[Sterndog]

The bike was very comfortable, i was a big fan of the ergonomics. Seat well cushioned, im not sure how comfortable it would be after 3 or 4 hours in the saddle but for what its ment to do you wont have any problems. The gauge seemed like it was tacked on at the last minute, and just didnt look "solid". There were a lot of places i would have put it other than the off center position they decided on as well, alas im no engineer / ducati historian so it might make sense to some of you out there.

For a personal note, i absolutely plan on having the bike on the road for more than 4 hours at a time (i took my sportster 883 from seattle to phoenix in 4 days, taking the scenic route through PCH, Napa, Yosemite, death valley, and vegas) i dont think it will be the most comfortable but i do think it will be doable to do some mild adventure/sport touring in this thing. My main concern would be the weight of the bike with crosswinds through the mountains.

 

[pacman]

Thanks for the feedback.

My main concern would be the weight of the bike with crosswinds through the mountains.

My KLR weighs about the same as the scrambler, but is much, much taller. I actually think the scrambler might do well in the winds, since it has a smaller profile and a low center of gravity.

 

[Robert Rear]

I'm not sure about all the service intervals but from what I have been told the dealers don't even have this information yet. They did say that the valves needed to be adjusted at 15,000 miles and expect at least six to seven hours for that one. Since it's basically a 796 motor tweaked to be a 803 they should be about the same right? I'm not familiar with Ducati at all so I can only relay the information that is given to me by my dealer I hope at least this little bit helps. I will be looking into the cost of ownership myself once the Dealer gets that information.

 

[DenverDuc]

I'm not sure about all the service intervals but from what I have been told the dealers don't even have this information yet. They did say that the valves needed to be adjusted at 15,000 miles and expect at least six to seven hours for that one. Since it's basically a 796 motor tweaked to be a 803 they should be about the same right? I'm not familiar with Ducati at all so I can only relay the information that is given to me by my dealer I hope at least this little bit helps. I will be looking into the cost of ownership myself once the Dealer gets that information.

The 796 motor is 803cc. The 796 moniker is merely a marketing thing to make it sound "cooler" and fit in better in the lineup with the 696 Monster.

 

[Robert Rear]

Thanks Denver I had no idea so it's probably safe to say the service will be the same? If so what kind of ownership cost can we expect?

 

[project]

welcome to the festivities and cheers on the insight!!!

 

[DenverDuc]

Thanks Denver I had no idea so it's probably safe to say the service will be the same? If so what kind of ownership cost can we expect?

The service intervals on the Monster 796 are every 7,500 miles, and from what I've read they've stretched it to 15,000 miles on the Scrambler. I imagine they did a little tweaking in the motor to get the valve adjustments that far apart, but I don't have hard data to back that up. Depending on the shop/dealer, the 7,500 mile service runs anywhere between $600-$1,000 which will be a nice change to wait for 15k on the Scrambler if that ends up being the case.