Ducati’s latest offering , the Scrambler, could be one of those bikes in the recent history that the paparazzi just couldn’t manage to click before its official launch. In fact, the only spy image that we remember talking about was one that showed little more than one-fourth of the bike (covering the heart of the matter though). So, when Ducati officially unveiled the motorcycle at the Intermot show this year, it pulled crowds like no other motorcycle did, save for the Ninja H2R perhaps… Still, if an entry-level Ducati can boast of that much magnetism, it says a lot about the brand’s as well as the type’s (scrambler) appeal, right?
The international press had predicted the bike’s launch in early 2015, which remains true, but what has come as a pleasant surprise is the news on zigwheels.com which says that the Scrambler will be launched in India in the first half of next year! Zigwheels claim to have had a chat with the the CEO of Ducati, Claudio Domenicali, who told them that the Thai-made Scrambler will be available in India by ‘Spring 2015’. The price has not been declared by the company but expect Ducati to position the entry-level Icon variant just above the Monster 795 in India . There are three more versions of the Scrambler though – Urban Enduro, Full Throttle, and Classic, and only time would tell if all would be launched in India.
All variants of the Scrambler are built around a steel-tube trellis frame, which houses an 803 cc L-twin motor. Basically, it’s the same engine that powers the Monster 796 but the capacity has been increased for its application in the new bike. The Scrambler will put out 76 PS and 66 Nm torque, which, in a bike weighing 168 kg dry, will be enormous fun on our roads! A six-speed gearbox should keep the rider engaged while the USD forks and standard ABS (on all four models) will inspire confidence.
Also, a simple but thoughtful touch by Ducati has been the inclusion of a charging point for your cellphone in an underseat compartment. Another good news for the current and future Ducati owners in India is that the company will most probably make an official re-entry in India with this motorcycle as it was earlier being represented here by a private distributor, and everything from the availability of motorcycles to their servicing was in a sad state of affairs. In fact, shortly after Audi acquired Ducati last year, the Italian company had announced that it will be re-entering India. Price-wise, the Scrambler will primarily compete with Triumph’s Street Triple at present, until the British company launches its own Scrambler, which is essentially a variant of its Bonneville. All of that simply means good times for bike enthusiasts in India!
