Ducati rolls into 2020 with an all-new flagship model for its Scrambler family; the 1100 Sport PRO. The Sport PRO builds on the base 1100 PRO to bring the best the factory has to offer. I'm talking about top-drawer electronics and Öhlins suspension equipment that collectively deliver safety and comfort with all the adjustments needed to dial in the ride to suit the conditions and/or your personal taste. Of course, it all comes wrapped around the proven, 80-plus horsepower, air-cooled L-Twin powerplant that delivers a deep torque well and a tractable nature.

2020 Ducati Scrambler 1100 Sport PRO Design

Many of the early scrambler bikes were homejob-custom bikes built on the Universal Japanese Motorcycle platforms so ubiquitous in the '60s and '70s. Ducati keeps to tradition with a similar “standard” base on the Scrambler 1100 Sport PRO.

The custom connection manifests itself in a number of ways, but it starts with generous blackout treatment throughout that combines with the “Matt Black” sheet metal to make this a very dark machine indeed. A small fender takes care of business up front with a bobbed and vented to keep weight to a minimum. The fender uprights don't quite provide full coverage for the swept area of the inner fork tubes, so it would seem that their main function is as a spoiler that steers the wind around the forks to improve penetration.

A round cyclops headlight splits the night and keeps the front end looking clean and classic with a metal “X” mounted behind the glass in a nod to the taped-on X riders used to add back in the day for lens protection. It's an old-school look with contemporary tech in the form of a Blue Vision bulb and LED daytime running lights to make sure that you can see and be seen, no matter what the ambient light levels may be. LED blinkers wrap up the forward lighting from a fairly safe location at the sides of the headlight can.

The handlebar is a bit shorter than the 1100 PRO's and it comes with bar-end mirrors to lend the Sport PRO a bit of a café-tastic flavor. Go ahead and pencil me in as a fan, 'cause I love me some bar-end looking glasses.

An LCD instrument display uses a round screen with a bar-shaped addition to handle all of the instrumentation and act as a rider interface for the higher electronic features. All of the control-area details are laid out to minimize clutter and streamline operation, and I think it's safe to say mission accomplie 'cause the hand-control area is not very busy-looking at all.

The 3.96-gallon fuel tank sports a classic teardrop profile, and like the rest of the Scrambler family, it rocks a pair of aluminum inserts that can be mixed and matched with other models to make your very own look. A 31.9-inch tall bench-style saddle accommodates both pilot and passenger with a model-unique seat cover and set of frame-mount, fold-up footpegs, and like the front, the rear is fairly uncluttered with a bobbed rear fender and hugger arrangement. There's also a USB port for your mobile devices under the seat to let you recharge on the run. The taillight and back blinkers ride up high, all with LED tech, and the tag mounts down on the hugger to leave the rear end looking clean and sharp.

2020 Ducati Scrambler 1100 Sport PRO Chassis

Welded steel tubing on the Scrambler 1100 Sport PRO makes up the Trellis main frame, but it's a rather sparse skeleton that relies on the engine as a stressed member to keep overall weight low. A gull-wing swingarm articulates for the rear wheel with an Öhlins monoshock on damping and support duties. Up front, Öhlins 48 mm inverted forks are completely adjustable opposite the variable preload and rebound out back.

The steering head mounts the forks at 24.5 degrees of rake with 4.4 inches of trail to put the 1100 Sport PRO decidedly at the nimble end of the spectrum, and the steering swings through a 33-degree arc lock to lock for parking-lot maneuvers.

Brembo anchors take care of business through a pair of four-piston M 4.32B monobloc calipers that bite dual 320 mm front discs and a uni-pot caliper that grabs the 245 mm rear disc out back. Not only does it come with ABS, but it's the lean-sensitive variety that adds a layer of safety by calculating the available traction and modulating the levels of intervention accordingly. That's a wonderful feature, but if you're an old pro or just someone who enjoys a bit of shenaniganery when they ride, then I got bad news for ya' – the ABS is non-switchable, so you'll have it engaged all the time whether you want it or not.

2020 Ducati Scrambler 1100 Sport PRO Drivetrain

The Scrambler 1100 Sport PRO is a Ducati, so you know it's going to have a Desmodromic valvetrain to actuate the two-valve heads. If you're unfamiliar with that term, it means that the valve springs are replaced with a pull-closed cam that provides positive poppet closure and eliminates the harmonic valve float that can develop at high revs. The engine itself is air cooled, but it carries a small radiator high under the steering head to cool the engine oil and prevent thermal breakdown of same.

A 98 mm bore and 71 mm stroke gives it a 1,079 cc total displacement with an 11-to-1 compression ratio that'll demand premium fuel. Rev control falls to the ride-by-wire throttle and 55 mm throttle body, but there are a couple of modifiers to the performance that have yet to be disclosed. Namely, the switchable, four-stage traction control feature and a trio of riding modes that let you dial in the power delivery and dictate the engine's personality.

What kind of power can you expect? Well, at the 7,250 rpm top end there are 83 ponies at your command, but the full 66.7 pound-feet of torque comes on at 4,750 rpm to give you plenty of usable grunt down low. This gives you a broad powerband, one in which the engine has something to give at nearly any point of the rev range. A slipper-type clutch couples engine power to the six-speed transmixxer with a chain-type final drive, and the overall drive ratio turns in a top speed of 130 mph.

2020 Ducati Scrambler 1100 Sport PRO Pricing

This is Duc's top-shelf Scrambler, and it's priced accordingly at $15,495. Ducati gives you plenty of opportunity to make it your own with a full range of accessories. For 2020, the Scrambler 1100 Sport PRO comes in a Matt Black colorway.

2020 Ducati Scrambler 1100 Sport PRO Competitors

Triumph Motorcycles has its own history with scramblers to draw upon, and that is made manifest in its Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE.

Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE

Like the Duc 1100 Sport PRO, the Triumph carries itself with old-school standard proportions that strike a balance between comfort and performance. The Trumpet has even more of a classic panache with a teardrop tank and bench-style seat that gives it a flyline that would blend in with any of a number of Bonneville rides throughout history.

The XE's stems are fully adjustable front and rear to garner a slight edge over the Italian ride in the comfort column, but the brakes break even with cornering ABS as a constant across the board. Triumph again gains an edge in safety with lean-sensitive traction control against Ducati's vanilla TC feature.

A parallel-twin engine drives the Trumpet, and it does have that timeless British-twin look about it. But, it's water cooled and there's nothing to be done to hide the radiator up front though the factory certainly tries to make it inconspicuous through the blackout treatment. The Brit churns out a bit more power with 89 ponies and 81.1 pounds o' grunt against 83/66.7 for yet another advantage. To compound the pain for Ducati, the Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE starts at $15,400 to remove price as any kind of saving grace for the 1100 Sport PRO.

Read our full review of the Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE.

He Said

“Not only does the Triumph cost less, but it's arguably a bit more bike than the Ducati, and as a personal preference I gotta' say the Brit looks better. Not only better, but more rooted in history, as well. That's a real selling point for older riders like myself, though I imagine there are some younger riders out there with really good taste that would agree.”

She Said

My wife and fellow motorcycle writer, Allyn Hinton, says, “This is the same engine the Scrambler 1100s have had for a few years now, so performance should not be a surprise. Smooth acceleration, plenty of grunt down low, and a broad powerband so you can expect strong roll-on anywhere in the rev range. The new exhaust looks so much better than what the 1100s had last year, and the black over black-out with the brown saddle gives it a nice visual appeal. The Öhlins suspension is an upgrade over the norm, and if I have anything negative to say, it's that the ABS isn't switchable. I mean, c'mon. It's a scrambler. If I want to use it as a scrambler, I wanna turn off the ABS and slide that baby around. Sometimes you just want to run with scissors, ya know?”

2020 Ducati Scrambler 1100 Sport PRO Specifications

Further Reading

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