Ducati 250 Scrambler

The Ducati 250 Scrambler was tested in my very first issue of Cycle World, August, 1962. I considered scanning the small B&W photo from the test into this post, but I chose this photo instead because it is larger and in color. I do not know exactly what model year the one pictured is, but I would guess about '65 or '66. The 250 lost a little emphasis in the U. S. market when the company introduced its 350 and 450 Desmo models in the mid-Sixties.

There are many similarities and a few differences between the model pictured and the '62 model in the road test. The tank is slimmer and sleeker on the later model. The seat has a chrome strip at the base on each side instead of a row of rivets. The front shocks changed to rubber gaiters from body-colored covers and the rear fender extends a little further at the rear underneath a larger tail lamp. A small, slim muffler has been added to the exhaust, although thankfully not adding any length to the short, sporty, downswept pipe, and the tires are more of a road tread than the Trials Universals on the 1962 model. The main styling element that seems to have made a step backwards is the elongated headlamp on the later model. The '62 has a pleasantly abbreviated model. All of these changes except the headlamp shape would have been typical styling and functionality updates a manufacturer might have made during the early '60's time period.

The 250 Scrambler was an interesting machine from many angles. The simple tube frame had a large backbone and a single downtube enclosing the engine, with thinner tubes comprising the rear subframe. The engine was a SOHC, gear-driven design producing thirty horsepower. Standard gearing offered a top speed of 82 mph, a zero to sixty time of 11.5 seconds, with the quarter in 17.3. A full selection of alternate sprockets was also offered, allowing a top speed up to 100 mph or much shorter gearing for cow-trailing with quicker acceleration. There was no speedometer fitted, but a tach was optional. The price for this little Duck in '62 was $669 and it weighed 277 pounds. Compare these figures to the high-volume Honda CL-72 introduced that same year in a similar price range. The CL-72 was a SOHC twin producing 25 horsepower with twin carbs. Its performance was almost identical to that of the Ducati with standard gearing. The obvious differences were that the Honda was much more of a street machine with instruments, battery, full passenger accommodations, and a claimed weight of 315 pounds. What's not to like in a bike that was essentially an off-road Diana?

See also: Ducati Diana