Ducati Scrambler Cafe Racer Top Speed
2019 Ducati Scrambler 800 Café Racer review
The recently updated Ducati Scrambler 800 Café Racer is a big improvement for the breed, and also one of the prettiest things in Ducati's line-up…
The 2019 Ducati Scrambler 800 Café Racer is a perfect blend of form and function, in a world where not so many bikes can tread this line with such poise.
If we're being honest with each other, motorcycles are something of an indulgence, legitimised perhaps by the fact you can go to work on them. At best they're slightly less practical than a two-seat sports car but without the weather protection or boot space.
Unless you're buying something for the sole purpose of avoiding public transport, or you're aesthetically challenged, your purchasing decision will in part be based on how good the thing looks, and rightly so. Like the old saying goes, "If you don't turn around and have a look at your bike as you walk away, you bought the wrong bike"…
With that in mind, the 2019 Ducati Scrambler Café Racer should just about fly off the showroom floors quicker than Ducati can pop them out of the mould. I can honestly say this bike has prompted more random comments from passers-by than any other bike I've ridden in years, and I've pretty much lost count of the number of riders and drivers who've asked me about it in traffic. One guy was astonished that it wasn't a custom build…
I must say this is one stunning motorcycle, and one that makes the old one look like a bit of an ugly duckling in comparison. If you ask me, the predecessor's brown seat and even browner paint (or 'Coffee', as Ducati called it) didn't do it many favours – but I digress…
Related reading:
2019 Ducati Scrambler Icon
First ride: Ducati Scrambler Full Throttle
Intermot Show: 2019 Ducati Scrambler range
Mirror, mirror...
The overall silhouette of the Café Racer hasn't changed much for 2019 but the matte silver finish with three-tone blue stripes and striking electric-blue frame flatter the bike immensely. I don't usually dig coloured frames on motorcycles but the colour and finish on this Ducati Scrambler 800 Café Racer are exceptional.
It doesn't seem too overdone either, which is perhaps a little odd to say about something this bright and sparkly. What's more, the new black rims, laced with chrome spokes, spinning on beautifully machined shiny alloy hubs really do look the part.
Even the seat, for which many rare blue cows gave up their hides, seems totally appropriate. In truth the whole effect is, shall we say, somewhat less butch than the outgoing model but, even though 'beauty is in the eye' and all that, you'd be a harsh critic to dislike this bike in the flesh.
What's more, the level of detail and overall finish is pretty close to perfect. The metal plaque on the top yoke, bearing the Scrambler logo, looks very classy, as do the dimpled fork-caps which echo the drilled head-bearing cover.
The lettering on the tank is raised rather than just being a flat sticker or paint and is a really nice detail. The number-boards on the side are gloss rather than the matte finish on the rest of the bike and match the new, more-up-market, shiny finish on the engine cases and belt covers.
If you're interested, the '54' is a reference to Bruno Spaggiari, who was a Ducati racer and then successful manager for the Ducati 750 SS Desmo team in Italy in the mid-'70s. If you ask me, with the combination of colours, there's a certain homage to the Paul Smart 750 Desmo too.
Love at first bite
Refinements go further than just flashy paint and sexy wheels though. The LED indicators are new and the clutch is now hydraulically operated via a cool-looking Brembo master cylinder, matching that on the other handlebar.
The clocks have had an update and now feature a handy gear indicator and fuel gauge. Both were requested by previous owners apparently, so it's good to know Ducati is listening to its audience.
Perhaps more significantly, the bike now features Cornering ABS (which also facilitated the inclusion of the self-cancelling indicators) and the confidence this system instils is excellent. For such a beefy looking set-up, with a huge four-pot Brembo caliper and 310mm disc, the initial bite isn't as ferocious as you might expect, but the power is certainly there if you give the span-adjustable shorty lever a good squeeze and the rear can be used hard before the ABS chimes in.
Ergonomics on this bike are way different to any of the other more 'scrambley' Scramblers, although unchanged from last year's model, with the rider sitting higher and the clip-ons significantly lower and further forward. Scramblers are pretty small and skinny anyway and on the Café Racer you feel right over the front and curled up around the tank.
It's a surprisingly comfortable position for all that and at 182cm, or just under six foot, I never had a single issue sitting on it for longer periods. It'll use its 13.5lt of fuel in about 200km anyway, so there's plenty of getting-off time in the day. The advantage is there's extra weight over the front tyre helping give good grip plus plenty of feedback for the rider – both welcome when trying to conserve momentum through the curves.
I was surprised when I first rode a Ducati Scrambler Icon how well it handled and that baton has been taken up by this model. With a shorter wheelbase, a steeper 21.8-degree rake and less trail than the Icon, the Café Racer is definitely more sporty in the turns, can be flicked from 'peg to 'peg with ease and feels totally composed at big lean angles.
Power and torque are the same as all the other 800s, which means the bike gathers speed in quite a tame manner rather than punching out of corners or firing off the line. It's not underpowered as such but with only 75hp dragging 196kg (wet) around you can imagine it's performance is invigorating rather than terrifying.
Lots of corner speed and heroic lean angles are the way to get the best out of this bike in the wiggly bits, both of which are well within the capabilities of the tyres and the chassis. In fact it's epic fun to chuck this thing at some bends and have a brilliant laugh without being stupidly naughty.
What's more, this easily earns its keep as a commuter tool and even with the bar-end mirrors seems to slice through gaps with ease: a louder pipe wouldn't hurt, and one is available in the expansive Scrambler accessories catalogue.
Whizzing through the urban jungle ceases to be a chore on this bike and even if you do get stuck in traffic it does your ego no harm sitting there smugly lapping up all the admiring looks, some of which are just you looking at your own reflection in the shop window.
Clutching at straws
Life is rarely perfect though and a couple of things niggled me about the Ducati Scrambler 800 Café Racer. The clutch takes up right at the very end of the lever travel for one thing, and is pretty grabby for another. It's something you get used to but it almost always requires a certain level of concentration to get it right. The gearbox was also a bit reluctant to swap from first to neutral at a standstill, which might have been part of the same issue, although once on the move it was faultless: accurate and light.
The only other thing I disliked was the fit of the saddle: not in relation to my backside but more how it attached to the bike. No matter how many times I took it off and put it back on again, making doubly sure to correctly fit the plastic tongue at the front into the bracket on the frame, it always had a noticeable bit of side-to-side wobble. Luckily it's not something that matters that much once you're sitting on it.
That's literally the only negative across what is an otherwise immaculate build quality. At $18,990 ride away this is the most expensive Scrambler in the shop, all bar the Desert Sled, but it's certainly a step ahead of the rest of the range in terms of looks, finish and components.
Scramble on
So, even though the Café Racer is built around a common powerplant and pretty much the same frame as the others, I'm sure some people are asking themselves whether this bike should even be called a Scrambler, given its complete lack of off-road pretensions.
In my book, the Icon, Full Throttle and most of the others are at best soft-roaders and in Ducati's own words, they're not really intended for "heavy off-road use" anyway. If that's what you want, I'd suggest looking at the Desert Sled, which has a whole different level of ability in the rough stuff.
If, however, you regard the name Scrambler as simply a way to describe a range of bikes where the main purpose is to offer a fun, unintimidating ride with a massive dollop of street-cred and great looks on the side, then the Café Racer fits the bill.
Summing up
I was going to call the Scrambler range Ducati's sub-brand, but it contributes so much to the company's bottom line that that would have been a bit of an insult. I'm pretty sure a bike that was, for a time, the best-selling motorcycle in Italy pays for a big chunk of Ducati's MotoGP effort, not to mention Ducati Motor CEO Claudio Domenicali's expertly tailored suits. I sincerely hope that whoever came up with the original idea is now living aboard a gold-plated yacht on Lake Como, sipping expensive champagne from Dovi's boot. They certainly deserve to be.
I had this in my possession for about a month and absolutely loved every minute riding what is an excellent motorcycle with real-world improvements over the previous model. Not only that, but it made me feel, dare I say, smiley and happy every time I slung a leg over it, almost as if the marketing campaign was talking directly to me.
And yes, I did always give it a glance as I walked away… and peeked in on it as I went off to bed too – which made my new internal garage door seem well worth the money…
SPECS: 2019 Ducati Scrambler 800 Café Racer
ENGINE
Type: Air-cooled, Desmodromic, two-valves-per-cylinder, four-stroke, 90-degree L-twin
Capacity: 803cc
Bore x stroke: 88mm x 66mm
Compression ratio: 11:1
Fuel system: Electronic fuel injection, 50mm throttle body
PERFORMANCE
Claimed maximum power: 75hp (54kW) at 8250rpm
Claimed maximum torque: 68Nm at 5750rpm
TRANSMISSION
Type: Six-speed
Clutch: Wet multi-disc, slipper clutch
Final drive: Chain
CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR
Frame: Tubular-steel trellis
Front suspension: 41mm USD Kayaba fork, 150mm travel, non-adjustable
Rear suspension: Kayaba monoshock, 150mm travel
Front brakes: Single 330mm disc with radial-mount four-piston caliper, Bosch cornering ABS
Rear brake: Single 245mm disc, single-piston floating caliper, Bosch cornering ABS
Wheels: Spoked aluminium-alloy; front 3.50 x 17, rear 5.50 x 17
Tyres: Pirelli Diablo Rosso III; 120/70-17 front, 180/55-17 rear
DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES
Rake: 21.8 degrees
Trail: 93.9mm
Wheelbase: 1436mm
Seat height: 805mm
Claimed wet weight: 196kg
Fuel capacity: 13.5 litres
Fuel consumption: 5.3lt/100km
OTHER STUFF
Price: $18,990 ride away
Colors: Silver Matte Ice
Bike supplied by: Ducati Australia
Warranty: 24 months unlimited kilometres
Ducati Scrambler Cafe Racer Top Speed
Source: https://www.bikesales.com.au/editorial/details/2019-ducati-scrambler-800-cafe-racer-review-119503/
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