Ducati Presents Two Scrambler Concept Bikes at Bike Shed

[Hugh Janus]

Ducati has just revealed two new concept bikes, based on its Scrambler series, at the London Bike Shed Show. (Ducati/)

When it was first launched in 2015, Ducati’s modern-classic Scrambler series boasted as many as five submodels, with even a cafe racer in the mix at one point. But by the time the 2023 redesign came around, the popular lineup had been whittled down to just three bikes: the Icon, the Full Throttle, and the Nightshift, all retaining the 803cc L-twin engine and steel trellis frame. For some pundits, the diminishing stable signaled trouble ahead, but never fear, Ducatisti, the Scrambler brand has just presented two new concepts at the Bike Shed Moto Show London, including one that’s a modern update of its Café Racer (which was discontinued in 2020).

The CR24I concept pushes the lines of that first Café Racer model from 2017 even further, while the Scrambler RR24I is emphatically minimalist, calling to mind a Mad Max aesthetic. According to Ducati, both are “showcasing once again how…creative customization embodies the post-heritage Ducati world.”

The CR24I concept is Ducati’s take on a modern Scrambler-ized cafe racer. (Ducati/)

Both bikes were penned entirely by the Centro Stile Ducati workshop, using the second-generation Scrambler as a foundation, but the CR241 concept is a more evolved version of the cafe racer concept, even as it manages to echo some of those 1960s design cues. The narrow, tank-mounted fairing hearkens back to Ducati icons like the Pantah and the 750 SS, but with a more modern flow, while the color scheme, according to Ducati, is meant to “…stir the emotions of the most nostalgic and passionate fans of ‘60s British rockers iconography.”

Flowing lines of the CR24I concept, with removable cover on the pillion section. (Ducati/)

Key elements include the 17-inch front rim with road tires and the sporting clip-on handlebars with bar-end mirrors. Thanks to the detachable cover for the passenger section, the saddle can be converted into a single-seat unit, thus recalling the classic “panettone” saddles of 1970s sportbikes.

Maintaining the design language and feel of the modern Scrambler line but hearkening back to the 1960s with that sleek fairing. (Ducati/)

The RR24I model, meanwhile, gets a bit post-apocalyptic with its minimalist aesthetic and leans into motorcycle design basics: two wheels, a tank, an engine, and handlebars. All the aluminum parts are left exposed, while the tank is stripped of its covers and replaced by a frame to which riders can attach a tank bag for the essentials. The pillion part of the saddle is also removable to create a luggage rack while the high-mounted Termignoni exhaust pushes a trackerlike look for this concept.

The off-road-ready RR-24I concept feels a bit more post-apocalyptic. (Ducati/)

The rough-and-ready look is further complemented by knobby Pirelli Scorpion Rally tires on 18- and 17-inch rims and a high front fender that speaks to off-road possibility.

Both concepts will be displayed to the public at the London Bike Shed Moto Show, from May 24–26, but Ducati didn’t provide any other details or hint at a production schedule. There’s a chance that at least the CR24I concept will see the light of an assembly line next year, but we’ll know more at the next Intermot Show, so stay tuned.

Knobbies, high-mount exhaust and jerrycans for the run across the desert. (Ducati/)

Source

[boboneleg]

A Scrambler is just that , not a Cafe Racer 

[Pedro]

You take a standard road bike, turn it offroady, then you get a Ducati Scrambler. But then you have too much grapa on a friday night, and you take the street bike turned offroady, and make it into a cafe racer with a fairing.

Next, they’ll take the cafe racer with a fairing and make it more offroady again, and then …

[Buckster]

18 minutes ago, Pedro said:

You take a standard road bike, turn it offroady, then you get a Ducati Scrambler. But then you have too much grapa on a friday night, and you take the street bike turned offroady, and make it into a cafe racer with a fairing.

Next, they’ll take the cafe racer with a fairing and make it more offroady again, and then …

They can come up with a new genre, “two sport” perhaps?

[Pedro]

21 minutes ago, Buckster said:

They can come up with a new genre, “two sport” perhaps?

That sounds like it needs perfecting.

[Buckster]

I quite like the look of the cafe racer but it will be tiny. Only short people like @Marcel le Moose Fondler will be able to ride them.