Ducati scrambler 1100 sport
There’s a new Scrambler in town. It is bigger, smarter, and more powerful. Does it still retain that cheeky Scrambler vibe, though? We headed to the Nandi Hills to find out
The biggest scrambler yet, now ridden right here in India
When the scrambler line was resurrected by Ducati at intermot in 2014, the italian marque insisted that this neo-retro aircooled 800 wasn’t part of the primary, performance-hungry Ducati line-up; it would be a sub-brand and should by rights be referred to as scrambler Ducati. that arrangement for its moniker didn’t quite catch on; the bike, however, did. spawning four initial variants and with five more following and chalking up a combined 46,000 units sold worldwide, the scrambler family is one that’s been thriving since its revival. and now, four years later, that family has just gotten a lot bigger. enter the scrambler 1100. a range of three bikes, all powered by Ducati’s 1,079-cc air-cooled l-twin last seen on the Ducati monster eVo and very firmly embedded in the scrambler ethos. apart from the new(ish) engine, this range gets a new steel trellis frame and a rear aluminium sub-frame. it also gets beefier marzocchi 45-mm fully adjustable usD front forks and a Kayaba pre-load and rebound adjustable rear monoshock. as a result of the new chassis set-up, the scrambler 1100 becomes taller and wider. it comes with a longer wheelbase and even sports a bigger fuel-tank and chunkier tyres.
the 1100 comes in three variants: a base version reminiscent of the icon in the 800 line, a special that comes with black-spoked wheels, a bespoke brown seat, chrome exhaust pipes, and a glossy grey paint job, among other things (see our september 2018 issue for a lowdown on that variant); and, what we rode, the top-of-the-line sport variant. in typical scrambler fashion, there are also 30 accessories and 22 pieces of apparel on offer. the top-of-the-line sport variant that we rode came with a few additional tricks up its sleeve. First, out went the stock suspension and in came a 48-mm Öhlins usD instead, along with a monoshock from the swedish suspension-maker, too. it also gets a lower bar than its 1100 siblings, a bespoke black seat, custom black paint job with yellow pin-stripe accents, and my personal favourite, custom termignoni double-barrel pipes. When examined from near or from afar, the 1100’s size advantage over the smaller scrambler is apparent.
the redesigned tank isn’t as slim as before, the seat is still that same single and flat unit, but is now wider than before and the longer wheelbase makes for a more prominent stance. the headlamp is the same round unit as before; only now it is powered by lightemitting diodes (leD), as is the taillamp, and the wheels have been tweaked. While it follows the same scrambler design ethos, i think the 1100 is an even better looker than its