It was expected and now it’s here, the 2024 Ducati Desert-X Rally, with upgraded suspension and wheels. With an off-road focus, the Desert-X Rally comes with KYB 48 mm diameter closed cartridge forks with 250 mm of suspension travel with adjustable compression and rebound, compared to the 46 mm units on the “base model” Desert-X with 230 mm of travel and full adjustability.
In the rear, a KYB monoshock provides 240 mm of suspension travel, adjustable for rebound and preload with separate circuits for high and low speed damping. Meanwhile, Desert-X gets 230 mm travel from its fully-adjustable KYB monoshock. Wheels are similarly intended for off-road duty, the Desert-X Rally coming with Takasago Excel rims.
The spoked wheels are sized 21 x 2.15 inches in front and 18 x 4 inches at the back for the Desert-X Rally with hubs machined from solid. While the front wheel is identically sized to the Desert-X, the Desert-X’s rear wheel is half an inch narrower, compared to the 18 x 4.5 inch unit on the Desert-X.
Uogrades to the Desert-X Rally include fork clamps machined from solid alloy for greater strength and an adjustable Ohlins steering damper with ground clearance now 280 mm compared to 250 mm on the Desert-X. Billet machined from solid alloy adjustable brake and gear pedals are also included and exclusive to the Desert-X Rally.
The engine is similar to the base model, the Desert-X using Ducati’s Testastretta 11 937 cc engine with 110 hp at 9,250 rpm and 92 Nm at 6,500 rpm. The electronic riding suite is dedicated to off-roading with six customisable ride modes – Sport, Touring, Urban, Wet, Enduro, Rally – and four power modes with three selection levels.
Unique to the Desert-X Rally is “Iron Giant” livery, while an up-and-down quickshifter is standard equipment. In Malaysia, the 2023 Ducati Desert-X retails at RM112,900 excluding road tax, insurance and registration.
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