Ducati BS-IV model range to launch soon

Last week we had mentioned that Ducati had discontinued the Monster 821, and the Scrambler and Panigale 1299 series in India owing to the bikes not meeting BS-IV/Euro-IV emissions norms. But considering that the entire Ducati range in Europe (except the Panigale 1299) is Euro-IV compliant, it was only a matter of time before the bikes were brought back to India. And in that light, Ducati India has just issued a statement informing us that the updated bikes will be relaunched very soon.

Bookings for two variants of the BS-IV/Euro-IV compliant Scrambler, the Icon and the Classic, have already started and the bikes will be delivered from July 2017 onwards. The updated Scrambler Full Throttle, on the other hand, will be available from September 2017. However, there’s no word on when, if at all, the fully off-road kitted-out Desert Sled version of the Scrambler will be launched in India.

From the company’s Diavel range, only the XDiavel is currently on offer while the standard bike isn’t. But Ducati says that the updated standard Diavel should be arriving by October this year. Ducati has also stated on the company’s India website that the BS-IV/Euro 4 Diavel Diesel is slated to become available earlier than that, starting August 2017, and will feature as a ‘new’ bike. The site also mentioned the Diavel Diesel’s price, starting at Rs 19.92 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). However, this is a pre-GST price tag and we expect an increase from July 1 onwards.

To complement the company’s Monster line-up, which currently consists of the 1200, 1200 S and 1200 R, along with the recently launched baby in the range, the 797, Ducati will be bringing back the Monster 821 as a BS-IV/Euro-IV model in October of this year. This updated 821 was originally showed off at EICMA 2016 late last year, with minor changes apart from the jump to Euro-IV compliance.

However, at this point, there is no word on whether there will be an update to the Panigale 1299. Even in Europe, Ducati gets away with selling the big Panigales that are Euro-III compliant thanks to derogation exemptions that they get. And in the light of an upcoming all-new V4 superbike to replace the Panigale range, the 1299s are unlikely to see Euro-IV compliance, which means we don’t expect them to return to India at this point. However, Ducati recently released a teaser video of a new edition of the Panigale that will be unveiled on July 7 at the Laguna Seca round of the WSBK championship. It was implied that this will be the ‘last hurrah’ for the big Panigales and if this is a Euro-IV compliant bike, chances are that it will be sold in India, provided it’s not some super-rare limited edition.

At this point, Ducati hasn’t announced prices for any of these upcoming BS-IV/Euro-IV bikes (except for the Diavel Diesel of course). And the prices they have mentioned for their existing portfolio are all pre-GST, with the exception of the recently launched Multistrada 950 which costs Rs 12.60 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). Ducati is expected to make an announcement of post-GST prices for their whole range either near the end of this month or early next month.