Ducati Desmo450 MX: Ducati Presents its First Ever Motocross Bike to the World

Ducati Desmo450MX motocross bike: 449.6cc, single-cylinder, DOHC, Desmodromic 4-valve

Ducati has unveiled its first ever motocross bike, Desmo450 MX, which marks a brand new milestone for the Italian motorcycle manufacturer. In fact, Ducati has been developing this very motorcycle with the Italian motocross champion Alessandro Lupino who raced it in the MX1 Italian Motocross Prestige Championship in 2024. The best part is that Lupino won the championship which cemented how well the motorcycle has been developed so far.

Alessandro Lupino will this year move on to Ducati Italian Championship to debut the Desmo250 MX, while the Desmo450 MX will be raced by Jeremy Seewer in the MXGP World Championship this year along with another rider. The Desmo450 MX can be ordered now and the deliveries will begin in June (starting in Europe) .

Engine is the cornerstone

The Desmo450 MX has been conceptualised around its engine. How? Take a look at its name, literally, there’s “Desmo” (short for Desmodromic) in it. The single-cylinder, liquid-cooled, 449.6cc, DOHC engine is the only engine in its category to have a Desmodromic valve system. What’s a Desmodromic valve system? The short version is that instead of using conventional valve springs to help close the valves, the Desmodromic system has cam lobes, among other things, to close the valves. There was a time when this system was a reliable solution for valve operation at very high RPMs. However, Ducati continues to use the Desmodromic system in its engines because it has become a part of the company’s identity. For a longer version, there will be another article.

Nevertheless, the Desmo system has helped Ducati in creating some of the best performance motorcycle engines, including what they use in MotoGP. In the Desmo450 MX, the intake valves are made of titanium and the exhaust valves are made of steel inside a hollow stem (filled with sodium for effective heat dissipation).

The 449.6cc engine is claimed to have excellent low-end torque for quick launches needed on a motocross track. It makes 63.5 HP of power @ 9,400 RPM and 53.5 NM of torque @ 7,500 RPM. 70-percent of that torque is available at 4,200 RPM only, making this engine easy and friendly to manage in tricky motocross conditions. This invariably also helps in reducing rider fatigue. The rhomboid-shaped radiators provide 6.5% more radiating surface for fantastic heat management without compromising the bike’s compactness.

The Desmo450 MX is developed around its all-new single-cylinder Desmo engine

Lightweight chassis for ultimate control

The chassis is made of aluminium with minimum welds to achieve the best possible combination of lightness, rigidity, and longevity. It weighs only 8.96 kg and is comprised of 11 pieces of cast, forged, and extruded components; thereby helping in achieving the overall bike weight of 104.8 kg without fuel. That is very very light indeed.

(Talking about the weight, Triumph has also recently launched its first ever enduro motorcycles, TF 250-E and TF 450-E, and they weigh 114.2 kg and 116.7 kg ready-to-ride, respectively. Although, it must be understood that the two Triumphs are also road legal that come with a headlight and all the required stuff. This might be even more remarkable).

Coming back to the Ducati, the frame is compact enough to further allow easy maintenance of the bike like removing and servicing the rear shock absorber. The compact frame creates a compact bike so that the rider has full control of the motorcycle in all situations. Braking setup is a mix of Brembo and Galfer; the floating calipers at the front and back are from Brembo while the discs (260mm front and 240mm rear) are from Galfer.

Innovative traction control and other electronics

Big companies always claim how they’re revolutionising bike tech especially when they’re launching something very new. But is it always as radical as it is made to sound like? In this case, Ducati claims that its traction control intervenes when it senses actual wheel slip with the help of several inertial measurements. The system also senses situations where it shouldn’t intervene even if the throttle input might cause the wheel to slip, such as on an incline right before taking a jump! How exactly does it isolates such situations is yet to be seen (maybe it gathers data from the rides under different riding conditions and uses that data to do a finer job at intervening).

Also, the traction control system can be momentarily deactivated instantly by gently pressing the clutch lever in situations where a rider may need to instantly override the system and let his wrist do all the talking. This is genuinely impressive. And the TC will then reactivate after a few seconds.

Now the fun part

Getting to know the maintenance schedule of your beloved motorcycle is always interesting, and at times even fun! The Desmo450 MX isn’t road legal and so its maintenance schedule doesn’t match with that of any road legal motorcycle either; oil and oil filter service is at 15 hours, piston replacement is at 45 hours, valve clearance adjustment is at 45 hours, and the entire engine service is at 90 hours. Of course, take these numbers with respect to the bike’s usage during motocross competitions.

The Ducati Desmo450 MX will be available across Europe from June, then North America from July, and eventually to the rest of the world.