Behind The Scenes: Ducati DesertX vs. Erzbergrodeo

[advrider]

We’ve heard it all before: “Big bikes just aren’t very good off-road.” But while a proper enduro will always be a better choice than a full-sized flagship ADV, a big bike can be very capable with some basic updates, as Ducati factory rider Antoine Meo proved at this year’s Erzbergrodeo hard enduro. And now, above, you can see what it took to prep the bike for the event.

The biggest serious modification was updated suspension, to help that big bike off-road. Some new tires, a skid plate, and this bike was pretty much good to go.

At the Erzbergrodeo, Meo won his class in the Prologue qualifier, which is itself a difficult race. His L-twin DesertX would have faced considerable opposition from other singles and twin-cylinder bikes from companies with more off-road racing heritage than Ducati.

However, Meo flogged the DesertX to a class win there and then finished fourth overall (fastest twin-cylinder) in the Mitas Rocket Ride, which is kind if a sideshow tacked on to the Erzbergrodeo, an uphill drag race on dirt. The Duc was the only twin to put in such a showing.

In the main Erzbergrodeo competition, the DesertX did not get on the scoreboard, although rival big-bike racer Pol Tarres did take a Yamaha Tenere 700 to 131st overall. That proves its possible to finish on such a large machine, and we expect Ducati and Meo will be keen to contest the big race again next year, since they’ve proved they can get into the event with convincing performance on both Prologue days!

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