Ducati unveils a retro-cool 2015 Scrambler

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Ducati unveiled its newest motorcycle, the 2015 Ducati Scrambler. It’s a throwback to the company’s bikes of the 1960s and 70s. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

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The 2015 Ducati Scrambler is powered by a much larger 800cc L-Twin engine. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

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The 2015 Ducati Scrambler costs $8,595. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

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The sensuously rounded tank adds to the retro look of the 2015 Ducati Scrambler. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

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The headlight of the 2015 Ducati Scrambler sports ringed LED lights. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

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The 2015 Ducati Scrambler sports a single gauge. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

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The 2015 Ducati Scrambler is retro-minimalism. It’s a throwback to the bikes of the 1960s and ‘70s but powered by a much larger 800cc L-Twin engine. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

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The flat, wide seat with integrated hand grips adds to the retro look. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

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The 2015 Ducati Scrambler is suspended in the back by a single, offset shock. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

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The 2015 Ducati Scrambler will be in stores in March. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

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The 2015 Ducati Scrambler is a chain-driven bike. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

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The 2015 Ducati Scrambler stops with ABS-equipped front and rear brakes. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

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The rider’s controls feature only the bare minimum. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

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Modern conveniences include fuel injection and ABS-equipped front and rear brakes. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

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Suspension is by Kayaba and brakes by Brembo. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

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The Pirelli MT60RS were developed especially for this model. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

By Charles Fleming

Sept. 30, 2014 9 AM PT

Ducati has ripped the wraps off a top secret, years-in-the-making, seen-here-for-the-first-time, new motorcycle. It’s the 2015 Scrambler.

The company gave us a sneak peek, and let us shoot some pictures and video, a week before it made its debut Tuesday.

The new sport bike – the luxe Italian manufacturer’s first new entry-level platform since it introduced the Monster, and designed specifically with the U.S. market in mind – will be in stores in March with an MSRP of $8,595.

The Scrambler is an upright, midweight urban road bike with classic lines -- a “post-heritage” design that is a throwback to earlier Ducati days: The Scrambler was a successful 250cc, 350cc and 450cc single in the 1960s and ‘70s.

The new one sports an 800cc L-Twin engine, based on elements from the Monster 796 and the Hypermotard 796. It’s water- and air-cooled and fuel-injected, and puts out 75HP and 50-foot-pounds of torque.

That power plant chain-drives a 17-inch rear wheel through a 6-speed transmission, for a total package that weighs only 375 pounds dry. Suspension (adjustable in the rear) is by Kayaba, brake calipers are by Brembo, and the knobby-look Pirelli MT60RS were developed especially for this model.

The retro styling attached to that modern machinery includes the sensuously rounded steel tank, flat, wide seat, high, wide bars, chopped front fender and period-perfect headlight bucket and speedometer housing.

The instrument “panel” is simple, single and round, just like something off a ‘60s or ‘70s Scrambler. Even the color -- “62 Yellow” -- is a nod to a year in Ducati’s rear-view mirror.

But there is much more here that’s new. Two-channel ABS braking wasn’t available on Scramblers in the ‘60s, but it is standard here. Note the off-set rear single shock absorber, and note that the spring is not yellow – a Ducati signature. Note the rear mudguard, which is also a common modern Ducati feature.

Happily, for owners of older Ducatis, weary of the expensive and frequent maintenance schedules, this one allows 8,000 miles between dealer visits.

Other companies are having some success with similar strategies. Triumph has reinvigorated itself with strong sales of the retro-styled Bonneville, Thruxton and Scrambler. MotoGuzzi has kept a toehold in the market by maintaining its old-fashioned Italian lines. And BMW’s popular new rNineT owes some of its appeal the stripped down, spare classicism – though that bike costs considerably more than the others.

And Ducati has done very well with its Monster line – which was originally designed to bring new riders into the brand, which otherwise might have seemed too exotic, or too expensive, for the average Joe. More than 50% of all Ducatis sold are the lower-priced Monster.

Those percentages could look a lot different a year from now. I think Joe’s going to like the Scrambler a lot.

Twitter: @misterfleming