Has the new Café Racer managed to combine Ducati’s sportiness and the easy nature of the Scrambler range? Roland Brown found out…
The ride on twisty roads in the hills south of Bologna is fabulous, and I’m pretty sure that the Scrambler Café Racer has got what it takes to be a hit. But not because of how it’s working right now.
After all, the black-and-gold finished Café Racer is in its element on these smooth-surfaced Apennine switchbacks. It’s a slim, light Ducati V-twin, designed to resemble the legendary 900SS that was among the world’s great superbikes back in 1978. But you’d expect any Ducati to work well here, on the sinuous roads where the local firm’s test riders have been developing bikes for decades – and where any light, sporty machine with clip-on bars, a decent chassis and plenty of ground clearance would be a blast.
What’s done more to convince me that this latest addition to the Scrambler family will be a success is how well it worked before we got here. Back down in the city its gentle throttle response, effortless agility, reasonably upright riding position and generous suspension travel made battling with traffic on bumpy Bolognese streets relatively painless.
If Ducati’s development team had a motto for the Café Racer, it would perhaps be ‘once bitten, twice shy’ because the firm has been here before, creating a modern V-twin roadster with sporty looks to resemble a famous old model. And the experience wasn’t a huge success, at least commercially.
The Sport 1000 that began the SportClassic range in 2006 was inspired by the 750 Sport from the early Seventies. It had an aggressive riding position thanks to low-set clip-ons, and punchy performance from a torquey 992cc engine. It looked good and went well, but proved too racy and uncomfortable for many of the relatively old riders who bought one.
This story is from the August 2017 edition of Motorcycle Sport & Leisure.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 2017 edition of Motorcycle Sport & Leisure.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Honda CRF1100L ES Africa Twin
Without panniers he was adventuring nowhere - so at least Bertie's got something sorted now
BMW R 12 nineT
Chad gets a track day surprise when BMW's R 12 nineT turns out to be surprisingly fun on track
Test fleet: VOGE 525 DSX
After testing the Voge's abilities on a long ride, it was time to take it to the Cotswolds and see how it would manage on the rougher stuff
Portuguese Perambulations
Nearly over before it had begun, a brief workshop stint allows Spain and Portugal to be explored
Highway to Heaven
Three friends take on the challenge of riding the length of Canada, from Vancouver in the southwest to Inuvik in the north. The road is long, the conditions merciless, and wildfires are tearing through the country. To top it all off, the final leg of the journey is the ultimate test of gravel riding skills, nerves, and courage - it's the legendary Dempster Highway...
Battlaxes at the ready!
We tend to take tyres for granted, never really looking at them in any detail, or at how they work, just hoping that they keep us shiny side up at all times. Even in the wet
Ducati Riding Experience
When I rode the Ducati DesertX to France last year, I did have a bit of an explore on some easy fire roads and gentle green lanes in the wilds of the Médoc area, but was left with the feeling that, had I the experience, the DesertX would have been capable of taking me along some more extreme trails to some even more exciting places. If only there was a way of finding out just how well the Italian adventure bike could cope with some more extreme terrain...
Four pot flyer
Many said that sports bikes, and particularly bikes in the traditional Supersports class that was populated by 600cc inline fours, were dead. Maybe they spoke too soon?...
Eastern adventurer
With an increasing interest in smaller capacity adventure bikes, the market expands with a new entry
First Time Lucky?
It's ironic that the first all-new MV Agusta model to hit the marketplace right after Italy's No.1 trophy brand was acquired by Austrian giant Pierer Mobility, owner of off-road titans KTM, should be the company's first dual-purpose model of the modern era, powered by MV's all-new 931cc three-cylinder engine that's destined to form the basis of a whole series of new models in coming months and years.