Back in 2015 the original 803cc Scrambler Icon arrived with an abnormally large bag of marketing hype. Its press launch in California seemed to feature as many skateboards as Ducati motorcycles, more influencers than motorcycle journalists. The targeting of young urbanites was relentless and while many, me included, recoiled at the Scrambler’s forced hipster image, the fact remained that this fresh, charismatic and relatively affordable Italian V-twin was enormously fun to ride. Like many, I couldn’t help but fall for the thing.
Sales success followed. At times the Scrambler, in its various guises, has been Ducati’s top-selling model and quickly became a discrete brand within a brand. There have been several tweaks along the way, including a significant update in 2019, but for 2023 some 80 percent of the Icon (and its 803cc Full Throttle and Nightshift stablemates) is new, with completely new electronics and significant improvements to key areas of the charismatic air-cooled twin.
At first sight, it might appear the ‘nextgen’ Icon hasn’t changed much, as Ducati has understandably stayed with its iconic shape and striking urban-retro styling. Mechanically, the 803cc Desmo V-twin produces the same 53.6kW (73hp) as before, but the exhaust routing is new and,
