I’m planning to sue Ducati under the Trade Descriptions Act, since its Scrambler 1100 is completely useless for scrambling.
For a start, the only place to put the eggs is on top of the seat and, when you start the engine to warm it up, the vibration of the V-twin makes them slide off.
Then when the engine does get warm, there’s not enough room between it and the tank to put the saucepan on and the only alternative is to pour the mixture directly onto the exhaust.
Result – complete mess and a terrible smell of scorched eggs.
Anyway, by the time I’d cleaned all that off, I went riding on it – and it’s flipping brilliant for that.
I really liked its 803cc predecessor, which weirdly looked dull in photos, but lovely in the flesh, down to the stylish single circular speedo, which when you turn on the ignition, produced a Technicolor welcome accompanied by an enthusiastic whirring sound.
It was the perfect bike for sticking on a battered but infinitely stylish leather jacket, an open-face helmet and a pair of goggles, going for a blast on A and B roads, and coming back with a grin from ear to ear and then back to there again.
The good news is that the mirrors are still excellent and the seating position still neutral with a hint of sportiness, tilting you very slightly forward to get a bit of weight over the front of the bike for better handling.
The bad news is that Ducati has dumped that lovely speedo and the replacement looks as if the two folks job-sharing the speedo section couldn’t decide between a round one and a rectangular one, so have gone for both, with speed and gear in the letterbox, and all the other info in the circle.
The result, frankly, just looks weird, and with its black-on-grey numbers, dull compared to the Technicolor TFT marvels now increasingly common from other manufacturers.
That’s all the bad news, since when you ride off, it’s one of those bikes you feel instantly at home on, with the narrow but comfortable seat allowing you to shift your weight around so easily that before long, you’re soaring around bends by instinct rather than effort.
It’s as if the bike’s reading your mind. Which isn’t too difficult in my case, to be honest.
It’s also a touch more stable than its predecessor, thanks to a slightly longer wheelbase.
Acceleration, with the power up from 75bhp at 8,250rpm to 85bhp at 7,500prm and torque up from 50 lb ft at 5,750rpm to 65 lb ft at 4,750rpm, was entirely satisfactory on the 803cc bike, but now packs a much bigger punch, especially since the bike’s a relatively lightweight 211kg.
Even better, since both are reached at lower revs, you don’t have to thrash it to death to get the best out of it, so progress is swift and seamless, aided and abetted by a slick six-speed gearbox.
There are three riding modes – City, with maximum traction control, a softer throttle response and 10bhp less power, then the weirdly named Journey and Active, aka Road and Sport, which give you full power and more instant throttle response.
Thankfully, the bike retains the last mode you selected when you switch it off.
The front brake, with Brembo calipers and two 320mm discs rather than the one of the 803cc Scrambler, is so good that I never went near the back brake.
Is it as good as its obvious rival, the new Triumph Scrambler 1200?
I prefer the Triumph’s looks, especially the dash, the Ducati sounds better and the performance and handling is so similar it’s not worth fighting about.
Either way, you won’t be disappointed, with my only slight complaints about the Ducati a big turning circle and a smallish 15-litre tank.
There are three bikes in the range – the standard at £10,695 with adjustable forks and shock and alloy wheels, the Special at £11,495 with spoked wheels, aluminium mudguards, brown seat, chrome exhaust pipes and gold-coloured fork sleeves, and the Sport at £12,295 with adjustable Ohlins forks and shock.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to buy some more eggs and make an omelette. In the kitchen at home.
Test bike supplied by Millsport Motors, millsportmotorcycles.com
The Facts
Engine: 1079cc air-cooled V-twin
Power: 85bhp @ 7,500prm
Torque: 65 lb ft @ 4,750rpm
Colours: Black; grey; yellow
Price: from £10,695