Ducati has revealed the full specifications for its first racing supermoto, the Desmo450 SM, ahead of a December arrival at European dealers.
The bike was teased at World Ducati Week in July, but this week brought the complete technical breakdown through MCN and Visordown.
Desmodromic Power
At its core is a 449.6cc single-cylinder engine with Ducati’s signature Desmodromic valve system.
Output is 63.5 horsepower and an 11,900 rpm rev ceiling, numbers aimed squarely at S1 GP competition.
An active quickshifter handles upshifts, while a Suter slipper clutch manages rear-wheel slide into corners.
The aluminium frame is shared with the Desmo450 MX motocross bike, but Ducati said the SM has been reworked throughout.
“This is not the Desmo450 MX with new wheels,” Giulio Fabbri, Ducati’s Head of Product Communications, said in July. “We worked on every part of the bike.”
Hardware Built for the Track
Showa supplies the suspension, with a 49mm USD fork offering 280mm of front travel and a progressive-linkage shock giving 295mm at the rear.
Both ends are fully adjustable, and the fork stanchions get Kashima coating.
Braking comes from a Brembo Stylema radial caliper gripping a 310mm Galfer floating disc, with a 240mm Galfer disc at the rear.
Excel rims wear the Bartubeless system to drop 1.2 kilograms of rotating and unsprung mass.
The front wheel measures 16.5 inches, the rear 17, and Metzeler Racetec Slick SM rubber comes as standard fitment.
That makes the Desmo450 SM the only production Ducati sold with slick tires.
The bike is not road legal.
On the electronics side, Ducati has packed in a patented traction control system with four levels that can be switched off entirely.
Launch control, engine brake control, and two configurable riding modes are handled through Ducati’s X-Link app.
The Desmo450 SM even comes with predictive maintenance, monitoring wear on engine components based on use.
Service intervals remain tight at oil changes every 15 hours, piston and valve checks at 45 hours, and a full engine overhaul at 90 hours.
The Bigger Picture
KTM and Husqvarna have long held the S1 GP grid, with the KTM 450 SMR at £11,449 and Husqvarna FS450 at £11,499 as the benchmark racers.
Ducati already has skin in the game via four-time world champion Marc-Reiner Schmidt, who is racing a prototype and currently sits second in the S1 GP points standings after three rounds.
Ducati’s street-legal Hypermotard offers a different flavor of supermoto fun, but the Desmo450 SM is the factory’s first turn-key S1 GP racer.
Whether a Borgo Panigale-built weapon can unseat KTM’s supermoto heritage is the question the S1 GP grid will soon answer.
