Super-sized Scrambler Ducati 1100 Desmodue next?

Ducati has dropped a very strong hint that its popular Scrambler, currently on the market with 800 and 400 cc, air-cooled, 90-degree V-twin Desmodue engines, might be super-sized with a 1,100 cc engine. Following the model ethos set by the original Scrambler 250 back in 1962, the possible large-capacity Scrambler 1100 might use the 1,100 cc Desmodue engine, which was discontinued in 2013 and last used in the Monster EVO.

According to a Visordown report, the possibility of a 200 hp, 1,299 cc, Superquadro-engined Scrambler would be out of the question, with Ducati project manager Frederico Sabbioni saying that any Scrambler would stay true to the bike’s design philosophy of a two-valve, air-cooled engine. Such a large-capacity air-cooled twin would, of course, have to be made Euro 4 compliant.

“We’ve got the engines, there is room to make something bigger. We’ll see, we have a number of ideas and we’re thinking about it There is a volcano of ideas,” said Sabbioni. “I think we will continue to apply this kind of engine, we have in the past made a number of different displacements of this engine so we have experience and room to do a different version in terms of engine sizing. There’s great possibility to stretch the brand with the 800 cc engine, then of course there’s also the possibility to make the bigger engine.”

In both mid-sized and three-quarter engine forms, Ducati’s Scrambler has garnered wide interest in the young and stylish crowd, who sometimes value image over sheer performance. The Scrambler range currently runs to the Sixty2, Urban Enduro, Classic, Icon, Full Throttle, Flat Track Pro and Italia Independent.

On the question if Ducati would consider coming down to the quarter-liter class with a low-cost, entry-level version of the Scrambler with the possibility of producing such an engine in India or Thailand, in light of BMW Motorrad’s impending release of the G310R, Sabbioni said such a model would be damaging to the Italian brand’s prestige.

“250 cc is too small. We think 400 cc is the bottom line and we have to respect that. We should not stretch our brand and our values too much to the lower end. We didn’t want to just copy the old Scrambler 30 years later, we want to re-imagine them in a post-heritage way, try to add contemporary technology and innovation but keeping the style and inspiration of the old bike,” he said.

There are currently four models of the Scrambler Ducati available in Malaysia, and sold by Naza – the Icon at RM63,999, the Full Throttle, the Urban Enduro and the Classic, all at RM69,999. As for the author, well, a Scrambler Ducati with a three-digit power output would suddenly make this “lifestyle” bike very interesting to ride.