2025 Ducati DesertX

Save for the rare exception, Ducati has had a scattershot history of building off-road motorcycles. The Bologna-based brand has highlighted the two bright spots, however, reinventing the Scrambler as a “post-heritage” runabout, and in 2022, delivering the DesertX, a middleweight ADV built in the shadow of the Desmodue-powered Cagiva Elefant desert racer, an example of which is on display in the Ducati museum in Borgo Panigale. The, er, elephant in the room is that both Ducati and MV Agusta share legitimate claims to the Elefant legacy: Both brands were owned by Cagiva and the Castiglioni family at the time the Elefant was stampeding through Dakar.

Using strong aesthetic details to link it to the Elefant legacy, Ducati apparently had no qualms about positioning the DesertX as an off-road-focused ADV meant to contend with the likes of the KTM 890 Adventure R. While the DesertX outweighs the KTM by 20-plus pounds—and feels comparatively top-heavy—its 937cc Testastretta 11° engine, long-travel suspension, long wheelbase, superb electronic controls, and quality components give it its own lane through the dunes. Although it shouldn’t come as a surprise from a bike built in Borgo Panigale, despite its off-road capability, the DesertX’s on-road performance is surprisingly great. It may be a rarity in the brand’s near-100-year history, but the DesertX is an off-roader that can live up to the reputation for performance that Ducati spent decades building on the pavement.

The standard DesertX starts at $17,995 for Star Silk White, the Elefant conjuring scheme that we first fell in love with; the R22 livery, inspired by the Audi RS Q e-tron hybrid Dakar race car, costs $500 more. The DesertX Discovery ($19,995) features an array of included accessories, including aluminum panniers, crashbars, a skid plate, and a larger windscreen that make it a plug-and-play adventure-tourer. The DesertX Rally ($23,395) lives up to its name by using burlier longer-travel KYB suspension, off-road-ready wheels with trick Excel Takasago rims, a forged carbon skid plate, billet aluminum controls, and more.