WELCOME to the Ducati Desert X Thread!

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BiG DoM

Desert Dog
Joined
May 22, 2007
Messages
20,971
Reaction score
1,016
Location
Grahamstown EC
Bike
Ducati Desert X
Owners and those interested, please feel free to post here. Please try and add to threads rather than duplicating topics as this will save moderator time and energy. DREAM WILDER! and enjoy! :cool:
 
Great idea to start this group, thank you. I was owner number 5 of my first DDx in Cape Town and now almost 9000km on my second after an unfortunate drowning of my first.
tell us a little bit more :unsure:.... that tip of the handlebar sticking out the water looks like the final scene in 1 of the terminator movies. 😂
 
sooooo, due to Dom's enthusiasm and demo ride.. I am suddenly all motivated to do some farkling on my Dx 😂
First, do some graphics.. DabRabbit? Then definitely a crash guard/sump guard combo, maybe a rear rack for soft luggage? What are/have you guys done so far? There are so many options out there.. the OEM stuff is crazy expensive.
 
Had a look at the Dabrabbit graphic kits. Its expensive and I'm an ex-KLR owner which means I'm a cheapskate so for now I got some vinyl and covered some bits of the tank to protect it.

Bikegear has lots of bits. Mostly SW-Motech. Have their centre stand, rear and pannier racks. Can't comment on their crashbars and skidplate but the OEM ones look stronger. OEM crashbars do vibrate at exactly 3800rpm though.
 

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Fantatsic Dolf, thanks of the feedback. Amazing how bulky those guards/racks make the bike look! Not in a bad way of course.. I have heard some stories about the vibrations.. some say it is due to missing rubber inserts/spacers? Not sure if true.
 
Had a look at the Dabrabbit graphic kits. Its expensive and I'm an ex-KLR owner which means I'm a cheapskate so for now I got some vinyl and covered some bits of the tank to protect it.

Bikegear has lots of bits. Mostly SW-Motech. Have their centre stand, rear and pannier racks. Can't comment on their crashbars and skidplate but the OEM ones look stronger. OEM crashbars do vibrate
Oem crash bars are crap and expensive. I've been told the RocFox crash bars are much better value and actually work on the DDX.
 
Got the OEM ones with the bike. Emailed Rockfox some time ago to find out whether their crash bars work with OEM optional bash plate but never got a response. From the photos on their website it doesn't look like it will....
 
Fantatsic Dolf, thanks of the feedback. Amazing how bulky those guards/racks make the bike look! Not in a bad way of course.. I have heard some stories about the vibrations.. some say it is due to missing rubber inserts/spacers? Not sure if true.
Thought so as well so I refitted them and torqued all the bolts but didn't help much. Some said it could be the water pump guard as well. Turns out the vibes were coming from the brace at the bottom of the radiator. I glued some wheel balancing weights to the flat section which has reduced the vibes by about 90%.
 

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sooooo, due to Dom's enthusiasm and demo ride.. I am suddenly all motivated to do some farkling on my Dx 😂
First, do some graphics.. DabRabbit? Then definitely a crash guard/sump guard combo, maybe a rear rack for soft luggage? What are/have you guys done so far? There are so many options out

DabRabbit looks stupidly expensive? Wonder what designs Bandit have for them?
 
sooooo, due to Dom's enthusiasm and demo ride.. I am suddenly all motivated to do some farkling on my Dx 😂
First, do some graphics.. DabRabbit? Then definitely a crash guard/sump guard combo, maybe a rear rack for soft luggage? What are/have you guys done so far? There are so many options out there.. the OEM stuff is crazy expensive.
I have some dabrabbit on my 890. Very happy with the quality. They were very fast shipping to me here in NL.
 
Had a look at the Dabrabbit graphic kits. Its expensive and I'm an ex-KLR owner which means I'm a cheapskate so for now I got some vinyl and covered some bits of the tank to protect it.

Bikegear has lots of bits. Mostly SW-Motech. Have their centre stand, rear and pannier racks. Can't comment on their crashbars and skidplate but the OEM ones look stronger. OEM crashbars do vibrate at exactly 3800rpm though.
Very pretty indeed.👍
 
Fantatsic Dolf, thanks of the feedback. Amazing how bulky those guards/racks make the bike look! Not in a bad way of course.. I have heard some stories about the vibrations.. some say it is due to missing rubber inserts/spacers? Not sure if true.

Yes have also read a few reports on the OÈM crashbars bad vibes at a certain engine frequency. I am looking at the SW Motech ones that work with the AXP bashplate.
 
Thought so as well so I refitted them and torqued all the bolts but didn't help much. Some said it could be the water pump guard as well. Turns out the vibes were coming from the brace at the bottom of the radiator. I glued some wheel balancing weights to the flat section which has reduced the vibes by about 90%.

You got a tuning fork there 🤭
 
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