Ducati Desmo 450MX

A bike that is born following the philosophy that has always guided Ducati: experimenting and testing solutions in racing competition to then make them available on production bikes, drawing in this case also from the experience gained by Ducati Corse in MotoGP and Superbike.

Thanks to this approach, and to a careful analysis of the segment, competitors and FIM and AMA technical regulations, Ducati has been able to create a light and reliable bike, with a high-performance Desmodromic distribution engine and electronic equipment that is the benchmark in the category. The Desmo450 MX is thus capable of amplifying the riding skills of riders, whether professional or amateur, offering the confidence that allows them to push their limits forward. A bike that, thanks to the power delivery of the engine, chassis and innovative electronics, is capable of offering high performance with reduced physical effort.

The Desmo450 MX is the first model in a complete range of specialist off-road bikes, designed to take the Borgo Panigale company into new worlds, speak to new motorcyclists and therefore grow the Ducatisti community. To prepare to welcome all future knobby-wheeled Ducatisti into the family, Ducati has worked by training a selection of its dealers to ensure the maximum level of professionalism and expertise in a segment that is completely new to the Borgo Panigale company.

“Over the past 18 months many people have asked me why Ducati decided to enter the world of professional off-road racing. The answer is simple: Ducati is a healthy company that generates resources, therefore has the opportunity to grow by opening up to a new segment of enthusiasts,” said Claudio Domenicali, CEO of Ducati Motor Holding. “We looked around, searching for the important uniqueness of our corporate culture and finding the one that I believe characterises Ducati like perhaps no other company: the closeness between the world of racing and the world of production motorbikes. And discovering, at the same time, that we have an incredible resource within us in the form of so many off-road enthusiasts in the various departments. All this has allowed us to present the Desmo450 MX today: an easy, high-performance bike, for amateurs and professionals alike, which we will constantly develop through sporting activity at the highest levels, supporting it thanks to a sales network that speaks the language of motocross enthusiasts and truly understands all their needs.”

The Desmo450 MX is designed around the single-cylinder 449.6 cc engine with Desmodromic distribution and represents a unicum in the specialist off-road panorama, offering the possibility of exploiting every ratio to the fullest, at the start and between the bends, thanks to a particularly favourable delivery, which combines torque at low and medium revs with reference over-rev capabilities.

The lightweight aluminium frame has been designed to have as few welds as possible, to the benefit of the solidity, lightness and rigidity of the structure. These choices proved to be immediately successful in the race with Alessandro Lupino, who after winning the first race of the MX1 Italian Championship became national champion. The races served to define the bike that will go into production in mid-April, and will be the best test bench for the continued development of the Desmo450 MX and all the models that will become part of the range.

The Desmo450 MX also represents a first in the segment in terms of electronics. It is in fact the first motocross bike in the world equipped with a Traction Control system capable of precisely defining the actual rear wheel slippage (patent pending). This system identifies the riding phases in which it should not be activated so as not to limit the performance of the bike. Finally, the Desmo450 MX Ducati Traction Control can be deactivated instantly by the rider in situations where it is necessary to make use of all the engine performance, to be automatically reactivated shortly after.

The bike, which is already available to order from selected dealers, will arrive in Europe starting in June, and subsequently in the United States and the rest of the world.

Single-cylinder engine with Desmodromic distribution control
The design of the Desmo450 MX started from the engine, which is equipped with Desmodromic distribution, the system used on all Ducati racing bikes, including MotoGP. This feature offers several advantages to the Desmo450 MX, first of all the ability to run the engine at very high revs, offering the greater extension that increases the chances of starting faster than rivals at the gate and thus winning the coveted Holeshot award that goes to the rider who comes out of the first corner first. An award that the two official riders Seewer and Guadagnini won in their debut race in the Motocross World Championship, in Argentina, using a production engine equipped only with the complete Akrapovič exhaust, the same one that Ducati makes available to every enthusiast through its Performance catalogue.

The Desmo450 MX also offers a very strong torque curve at low revs, ensuring an abundance of power out of corners, with a linear delivery and unprecedented acceleration for the category. This unique power delivery curve, which provides the rider with 70% of the maximum torque already at 4,200 rpm, makes the Desmo450 MX less demanding and tiring than a traditional 450, to the full advantage of track performance and riding enjoyment. This was made possible thanks to the Desmodromic distribution, which by reducing the energy needed to open the valves allows for more aggressive lift diagrams even when choosing large diameters for the valves themselves.

Thanks to bore and stroke measurements of 96 x 62.1 mm, it was in fact possible to use 40 mm intake valves and 33 mm exhaust valves. The former are made of titanium, while the latter are made of steel, with a hollow stem filled with sodium to improve heat exchange, thus increasing reliability and consistency of performance.

Particular attention was paid to the cooling system, featuring rhomboid-shaped radiators. These represent a new feature for the segment and allow for a 6.5% higher radiating surface compared to a traditionally shaped solution, improving engine cooling while keeping the bike compact, thus offering the rider a high level of freedom of movement towards the front of the bike. Alessandro Lupino and Tony Cairoli competed in 2024 with the standard radiators, capable of guaranteeing high reliability even in the most extreme and prohibitive conditions such as in the race at Ponte a Egola, which was dominated by the two Ducati riders, and interrupted due to excessive mud on the track that forced most of the bikes to stop.

The maximum power of the Desmo450 engine is 63.5 hp at 9,400 rpm, and the maximum torque delivered is 53.5 Nm at 7,500 rpm. The limiter intervention is set at 11,900 rpm, a new benchmark for the category.

Chassis
The chassis of the Desmo450 MX is based on an aluminium perimeter frame. This layout was chosen to obtain a lightweight structure, which allows the engine to have intake and exhaust ducts as straight as possible, in order to guarantee the best performance. The technicians of the Borgo Panigale company have managed to create a structure weighing 8.96 kg characterized by the least possible number of welds, thus hitting the desired targets of lightness, reliability and rigidity. The frame contributes significantly to containing the weight of the bike, in a ready-to-use configuration but without fuel, at 104.8 kg.

The frame of the Desmo450 MX is made up of only 11 pieces, about half compared to the competition, and is composed of cast, forged and extruded elements. The front part, which connects the steering column with the upper shock absorber attachment, is represented by a single cast element. This construction technology, which Ducati also uses on Superbike frames, allows for total control of the thicknesses, thus using only the amount of material needed at each point and creating complex shapes without compromising weight or strength.

The extremely compact frame design was also designed to ensure the best ergonomics for the rider and at the same time quick and easy maintenance in the workshop or on the track, where operations such as disassembling the shock absorber can be carried out quickly.

The latter is mounted in a central position and works on a cast aluminium swingarm and a forged aluminium linkage. The progressivity of the link was defined during the races run in the 2024 season.

The suspension and brakes of the Desmo450 MX were the subject of a targeted decision. Ducati relied on the long experience in racing competition of Showa, which was also chosen to facilitate setup for amateurs by virtue of the spring, and not air-based technical layout for the elastic component. The fork is fully adjustable, with 49 mm inverted stems, 310 mm travel and Kashima Coating treatment on the stanchions. The shock absorber is fully adjustable, the wheel travel is 301 mm. To better develop the setup, Alessandro Lupino raced the entire first part of the Italian Championship with standard suspension, confirming the validity of the choice of the equipment.

As for the braking system, Ducati has also chosen in this area to collaborate with its long-standing partner Brembo on the development, also in Motocross, of benchmark braking systems as has been the case for many years on road bikes. There is a two-piston floating caliper at the front, and a single-piston caliper at the rear. Galfer brake discs are 260 mm at the front and 240 mm at the rear.

Electronics
The experience in MotoGP and Superbike, where Ducati is a technological point of reference, allowed the Borgo Panigale technicians to introduce a real traction control system on the Desmo450 MX, one that is capable of offering benefits in terms of lap time, rider safety and energy saving while riding. Unlike the systems currently available in the segment, the Ducati Traction Control (DTC) implemented on the Desmo450 MX calibrates the power cut based on the actual rear wheel slippage and inertial measurements of the vehicle dynamics, thus guaranteeing an effective, prompt and linear intervention. This system is able to identify moments in which it should not come into action, such as jumps, automatically excluding itself. Furthermore, if the rider identifies points on the track in which he wants to make use of all the engine performance, he can deactivate the system with a light pressure on the clutch lever. The control will automatically return to operation a few moments later. Ducati Traction Control offers four different levels of intervention.

The electronic equipment also includes Launch Control and Engine Brake Control, which, like DTC, can be configured on different levels of intervention and associated with two Riding Modes that the rider can adapt to his needs and the characteristics of the track via the X-Link App. The gearbox is equipped with a Quickshifter in engagement.

Maintenance intervals
The maintenance intervals have been defined with the aim of reducing the related costs for the customer. Piston replacement is set at 45 hours, together with the valve clearance check while the total engine overhaul is set at 90 hours, benchmark values for the segment.

Accessories
Thanks to the Ducati Performance catalogue, it is possible to create a replica of the Ducati Desmo450 MX ridden in the MXGP World Championship by Jeremy Seewer and Mattia Guadagnini. All the details of the 450 MX Factory, in fact, are available in the Ducati Performance catalogue with the sole exception of the official Showa suspension, which cannot be purchased by privateer riders.

The special parts offered include Factory components machined from solid such as wheel hubs, triple clamps, but also a complete exhaust or Akrapovič titanium slip-on silencer and Brembo Racing brake calipers. The list of available accessories will be progressively expanded.

Finally, to complete the Factory look, the Ducati Performance catalogue offers an entire technical collection created in collaboration with Drudi Performance. The offer consists of a complete Alpinestars jersey/pants/gloves/boots set, Arai helmet, wind vest, softshell and Spidi rain jacket.