Ducati Desmo450 MX goes into production

Ducati's hotly anticipated entry into the motocross world is finally entering production, with the first bikes expected by September 2025

Ducati's first entry into the world of pure dirt has officially gone into production, with the Desmo450 MX now rolling off the Borgio Panigale production line of the Italian manufacturer.

Following the second world podium conquered by Jeremy Seewer in the French Grand Prix, the first Desmo450 MX came off the production line. The celebration of the event was attended by Italian MX legend, Tony Cairoli, who contributed his invaluable experience to the development of the bike, and Alessandro Lupino, the rider who took the first victory and the national title with it on its debut.

The Desmo 450 MX is the first model in a complete range of specialist off-road bikes, designed to take Ducati into new worlds of premier competition, with the dual goal of reaching a new demographic of motorcyclists and thereby growing the community of Ducatisti.

“We looked around, searching for the important unique features of our corporate culture and finding what I believe characterises Ducati like perhaps no other company: the closeness between the world of racing and that of production motorcycles,” says the CEO Claudio Domenicali. “And discovering, at the same time, that we have an incredible resource in-house in the form of many off-road enthusiasts in the various departments. All this has allowed us to present the Desmo450 MX: an easy and high-performance bike, for amateurs and professionals alike.”

The 449.6 cc Ducati single-cylinder engine with Desmodromic distribution is unique in the specialist off-road panorama, offering the possibility of making greater use of each gear ratio, at the start and between the curves, thanks to a particularly favourable power delivery, which combines torque at low and medium revs with benchmark extension. The lightweight aluminium frame has been designed to have the least possible number of welds, to the full benefit of the solidity, lightness and rigidity of the structure.

The Desmo450 MX also represents something new in the segment in terms of electronics: it is the first motocross bike in the world equipped with a Traction Control capable of precisely defining actual rear wheel slippage, and of identifying the riding phases in which it should not come into play so as not to limit the performance of the bike.

The Ducati Desmo450 MX is expected to arrive in New Zealand dealers from September 2025 and is priced from $17,793.