Words: Matthew Shields

If you want to do retro right in this day and age, you need a machine that appeals to a lot of people. In the case of Ducati’s Scrambler its made for all kinds of tastes as its sales success shows. There’s your adventurer with the Enduro, sportsbike rider with the Full Throttle, learner with the Sixty2 and hipster with the Classic, purist with the Icon and inner racer with the Flat Track Pro.

Admittedly the Flat Track Pro is the same as the other Scramblers aside from a few specific details, the Flat Track Pro is a Full Throttle with numberboards and a dayglow yellow paint scheme. Inspired by the bike Troy Bayliss rode in the American Pro Flat Track Championship in 2015, it also sports a low, tapered handlebar, racier seat and billet footpegs, mirrors and front brake master cylinder cover. It’s meant to look more like a dirt track racer, and it does.

Image: Alex Gobert (Foremost Media).

Based on the 803cc, two-valve per-cylinder, Desmodue V-twin engine that powered the Monster 796, this engine is the most mellow platform that Ducati produces. The Sixty2 carriers a 400cc version of this mill but otherwise it is only the Scramblers that carry the engine that has lost a little bit of power and torque from the Monster through emissions regulations.

It’s relaxed, easy to use nature with plenty of strong midrange performance is perfectly suited to the Scrambler style. The engine from the 796 received a gentler cam profile, 50mm throttle body and new exhaust system, otherwise the rest of the engine is the same like the six-speed gearbox, slipper clutch and big, 12,000km service intervals. It delivers plenty of punch to excite and will wheelie if you are good enough.

More importantly the power delivery is smooth and strong right the way through the rev range pulling very strongly from low speeds. As has been the case with every Scrambler I have ridden – including the learner-legal Sixty2 – Ducati’s experience in perfecting the two-valve engine shows in the rider-friendly, real-world performance. The thing that really rounds the whole package off is the sound from the Termignoni pipe – it sure adds a little bit of soul to the ride than the more muted standard pipe does.

Image: Alex Gobert (Foremost Media).

The trellis frame’s rake is the same as the 796 Monster but the trail is a lot longer with an 18-inch front wheel. There’s not much difference in the wheelbase, and the handling dynamic through those changes makes for a predictable, manoeuvrable and compliant chassis dynamic. The old-school looking Pirelli’s provide great grip in the dry on tarmac and are good on dirt roads. In the wet they work much better than the 90s style wet-weather race tyres they look like!

The riding position is comfortable and the seat is noticeably sportier but you could hardly call the ride position sporty. Pillions are comfortable on the back and it won’t take any go out of the Scrambler’s performance. The only suspension adjustment is rear preload and that will take care of pillions and luggage easily. With 150mm of travel, the suspension works through a good amount of stroke but is superbly controlled over rough, hard bumps and doesn’t float around at high speed.

Braking is excellent and the Scrambler runs Brembo brakes using the Bosch 9.1 MP AMS system. Up front is a single radial-mount caliper and while the braking isn’t aggressive and has plenty of feel through the lever, it is strong. Weighing in at 186kg fully fuelled, the Scrambler is on the lighter size for a bike of its capacity and the short seat height and low centre of gravity ensure it isn’t intimidating in size.

Image: Alex Gobert (Foremost Media).

As I mentioned earlier, there are a number of different styles of Scrambler and each has a different base colour scheme and different genuine accessories to give it a unique style. Buying individual items works out more expensive, but underlying each bike is the same stylish, customisable, high-performance roadster that has made Ducati’s Scrambler a worldwide success. Not only does it look good, it goes even better – there’s not many retro machines you can say that about.

While it might have all the style of a flat track racer, the Flat Track Pro is definitely a machine that is most at home on the road. It’s a comfortable, easy ride and sporty enough for a road ride that will excite the most experienced and competent riders as much as it will riders that are on their first big bike. The roadster class is getting highly populated these days, but the 800cc Scrambler is hard to beat all-round in terms of price and performance.

At $2000 more than the Full Throttle, you are quids ahead of buying a Full Throttle and optioning it up to the level of extra accessories the Flat Track Pro has. It does stand apart from the other Scramblers most notably for the number-boards, and I reckon that day-glow yellow, pin striping on the wheels and sticking in the seat makes it the sharpest-looking bike of the bunch.

Specifications

Capacity: 803cc
Power: 55kW @ 8250rpm
Torque: 68Nm @ 5750rpm
Wet weight: 186kg
Seat height: 790mm
Price: $16,990 plus ORC
Detailed specs: www.ducati.com.au