Enduro21’s first riding test impressions of the all-new Ducati Desmo 450 MX takes us by surprise – can the Italian manufacturer’s first dirt bike really be this good?

Clocking our eyes on the first 12 bikes off the Ducati production line delivered to any other country than Italy feels like a bit of a privilege. It was certainly a rare treat and something we’d been asking for: when can we ride the bike?

The buzz around the Desmo 450 has been big and even though we’re all about enduro and off-road here at Enduro21, not motocross, there’s obvious interest to find out more about this all-new Italian stallion.

First impressions – like nothing else

So here we are with a nearly 12,000rpm revving, 104kg, 63-horsepower, 450cc motocross bike. A bike which has a 250 model brother coming soon, has already won in motocross, and also in Cross-Country racing with former SuperEnduro Junior World Champion Will Hoare taking victory at a British XC race just last weekend.

Without doubt, the first and most impressive thing about the Desmo 450 is the look of it. In a world where some manufacturers are clearly cutting manufacturing quality on certain parts of their motorcycles – and in a world where low-cost Chinese motorcycles are flooding the market – this new bike has a build quality clearly on par with Honda or Yamaha.

To our eyes, it looks a bit like some other bikes on the market, but at the same time like nothing else.

Specs and technical details at a glance:

• 104kg
• 7.2-litre tank
• 63hp
• Piston replacement and valve check after 45 hrs. “Very reliable,” Ducati add
• 49mm Showa fork and Showa shock with a trademark yellow spring. Dealers will fit different (choice of four) springs front and rear when you buy the bike.
• Brembo brakes
• Galfer discs
• Five-spring clutch (not diaphragm type), hydraulic Brembo lever
• Test bikes shown have aftermarket Akrapovic exhausts (more about weight than power)
• Traction control and quick shifter as standard
• Ducati App allows a wide range of changeable parameters
• Traction control is from the gearbox, like MotoGP, not a wheel like other manufacturers (some say taking it from a wheel is not real traction control).
• Desmo means desmodromic limit is 11,900rpm but “we could go higher.” “In second and third gears try to hold it harder in the revs to feel the power.”
• Desmo head takes more room so one headache was shoehorning it into the chassis.
• Main frame is pretty complex to look at close, there are lots of sections to it. Ducati say this is to help make it fit around the motor and maintain the overall kg count.
• Price: Just over £11K (GBP/USD) and just over €13K

Enduro21 covered the technical specifications in more detail here: Ducati Desmo 450 First Look 

Premium performance and build quality

The good looks are matched by performance on track. Although it’s fair to say this was not the best test track to explore the Desmo power, we were limited to second and third gear at best and the baked hard-pack surface made using the throttle a cautious business. Pushing the suspension hard in corners was near impossible on flat turns with no berms also.

But the riding impressions are hugely positive from the first laps. This is an awesome motorcycle when you consider it is Ducati’s first. Straight out of the box it’s ready to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with any 450 MX model.

Two first riding impressions: it feels “right” and has a tonne of power

The brakes, the suspension, the bar and footrest position, the chassis agility and overall rider comfort to ride a moto track are hands-down comparable to anything else on the market. With that spec list it should feel this way but, just to confirm, it feels bang-on from teh first moment we swung a leg over.

You cannot fail to be blown away by the power either. Admittedly, for an enduro rider and someone not used to 450 MX engines, it was always partly going to be like that, but still, this has some horses on tap which was a little daunting on this track.

Those horses come galloping at you through the mid-range and as we were limited on the tight and hard track, the power on tap in second and third gears was hard to tame but equally impossible not to have a massive smile on your face about.

There’s more than enough torque to ride around in any gear in actual fact; it would pull fourth and fifth gears no problem without gear changes for a whole lap, even in the tight corners.

On that note also the spring clutch has a light enough feel on the lever, not quite as heavy as some 450 machines we would say.

You also have huge parameters to play with in the App to adjust the power delivery, plus traction control options, which help to dampen or increase the amount of horse depending on track conditions and your enthusiasm with your right hand. Using the map buttons on the left-side handlebars is naturally easy too.

The sharpness and agility of the chassis and handling also stand out on the tight track. Your feel for the ground, the Ducati chassis’ ability to seek out the line in a corner, was impressive and one of the overriding feelings we came away with is the Desmo 450 steers amazingly well.

Can it do Enduro?

Well, it doesn’t take a genius to work out we could and should expect another Desmo model in the future, one with an 18-inch rear wheel, and if rumours are to be believed, development is well underway. Ducati are taking it one bike at a time and the 250 MX model is coming soonest, but having that French fella Antoine Meo on your books must be for more than showing off their Rally Adventure bike.

More gears to play with would help the Desmo 450 and we happily take expert advice from David Knight, who was also here on this test, that an 18-inch rear would help with feel for the bike in corners too. Not that there isn’t an immense amount of feel for the front end but more of a rounded rear tyre would help with grip and feel.

It’s already winning – Will Hoare took a British Cross-Country series race win first time out on a bog-standard Desmo 450.

Could it take a bigger fuel tank? That would be good, but the design of the Desmo head might prohibit that or at least make life hard for the product designers trying to keep the same shape and lines around the top of the bike – there’s simply not much room up there.

Enduro21 Verdict

Overall, our first riding impressions of the Ducati Desmo 450 are massively positive. We’re bowled over by how good the build quality is and how nice it was to ride, especially as a first dirt bike from Ducati. The build quality and looks alone will stand out in any paddock.

Check out our verdict on the test day here with David Knight giving us the benefit of his huge experience:

Why has Ducati made a dirt bike?

The reasons behind Ducati making a dirt bike in the first place are simple. They explained to us at this launch test it’s things like how many times you ask a person what their first motorcycle was and the answer is “a dirt bike.”

Ducati want to be in at that lower rung on the riding ladder, they say, although we’d suggest this is not your ideal first bike!

It’s also things like seeing so many people who work at the Bologna factory coming in on a Friday with their vans and bikes ready to go for a weekend riding off-road straight from work. “We wanted some of those bikes to be Red,” they told us.

Plus naturally, they are incredibly successful at racing in MotoGP and World Superbike, “we wanted to continue that in the off-road world.”

The dealer network might be an issue for the traditional off-road market – maybe not, we’ll see. But if you’re in the market for a 450, one with high manufacturing standards, high specification and something new and different, you’ll want to check out your nearest dealer.

Where to buy?

Buying a Ducati Desmo 450 is different to “normal” off-road bikes in that you’ll only find them in limited showrooms, and only Ducati showrooms at that. Specialist trained mechanics in just six Ducati dealers in the UK (a similar pattern globally) are the ones who have the expertise to set up, sell and service the Desmo, so it is kind of exclusive.

Six dealers in the UK is not a lot, they know, but Ducati are strict about those dealers being trained and having the passion and knowledge both for the Desmo 450 and for off-road. You can’t get the bikes, spares or servicing from any other Ducati dealer.

Find a Ducati dealer here: www.ducati.com

This bike test was at the Ducati Experience, an off-road training school in the UK which has just launched. It’s a great place to check out the bikes. More information on the school: www.ducatimxexperience.co.uk

Photo Credit: Mantis Pro Media