Is there anything Ducati doesn’t build yet? Honestly, not much. I walked onto the Ducati stand at EICMA 2026 in Milan and didn’t know where to look first. The crowd hadn’t turned ugly yet, but plenty of other journalists were already circling. Three numbered SP specials, a reworked Diavel V4, a new DesertX Rally, plus motocross, enduro and a race-only supermoto. Back in the day Ducati had a Monster and a 916 on the showroom floor. Today the dealers have to explain half a universe to their customers.

Within a few minutes I was jittery and wound up. This show has more new hardware in one place than any I’ve visited in my life, and Ducati is a big reason why.

The Streetfighter V4 SP shows off its dry clutch

First up, the Streetfighter V4 SP, and for a naked bike it doesn’t get any more extreme. The matte black paint looks like a Superbike team’s winter testing bike, raw and mean, fresh out of preseason. It isn’t. Ducati calls it the Winter Test livery, and the SP is a finished production bike with a brushed aluminum tank, carbon wheels and 211 hp (European spec). The part that’ll hit Ducatisti right in the heart is the dry clutch. On the show bike it’s running a Ducati Corse cover so you can watch it spin, which is really a track-day piece. Normally it’s closed up. So why bother with a dry clutch at all? Truth be told, a lot of people buy it because it sounds cool and everybody instantly knows you’re a real Ducati connoisseur. But there’s real engineering behind it too.

Ducati Streetfighter V4 SP

What a dry clutch actually buys you

Get the clutch out of the oil bath and the slipper function, the engagement and all the electronic control get cleaner, almost clinical. Then there’s a benefit hardly anyone talks about: oil on a part that transfers power through friction is basically in the way. The engine needs oil anyway, so with a wet clutch the oil has to compromise, with lots of additives and a viscosity that isn’t perfect. Pull the clutch basket out of the oil circuit and you can go all in on the lubricant, and the clutch no longer splashes through an oil bath. For the Streetfighter V4 SP, Ducati says its own Corse performance oil is worth up to 3 hp. It hits European dealers in March 2027. Later at the show I ran into my 1000PS colleague Zonko, and he named this exact bike as his highlight without blinking. I get it. I’d felt the same way an hour earlier.

The Diavel V4 S makes you feel ten feet tall

A few steps over sits the Diavel V4, updated for 2027 and now offered as an S. People love to argue about this bike. That fat rear tire costs you handling, and the Diavel can’t keep up with a Streetfighter there. But that’s not the point of it. The 1,158 cc V4 Granturismo makes 166 hp and 93 lb-ft, according to Ducati, and the S adds semi-active suspension, upgraded wheels and heated grips as standard. What makes a Diavel a Diavel is how it feels from the saddle. You sit on it and you feel powerful, lordly, somehow more alive. Sure, an engine like that is completely unnecessary. But on brutal, extroverted bikes like this, you feel the joy of owning something special and mighty. To me that’s just cool, and nobody needs to apologize for it.

Ducati Diavel V4 S in a manufacturer press photo

The DesertX Rally is bad news for my wife

Then came the DesertX Rally, and with it bad news for my wife. I’d promised her I’d be away less next year. But you don’t test an off-road-capable adventure bike like this on a short afternoon ride, right? This one needs a long Balkan tour. Ducati hands me the arguments: a new 890 cc V-twin with 108 hp, 9.8” of travel up front and 9.4” out back, 10.1” of ground clearance, and finally tubeless spoked wheels, 21” front and 18” rear. Add an electronics package built around a six-axis IMU, the kind of kit you normally see on superbikes, here on a hardcore enduro. On the stand I saw roughly €20,000 for Italy. It reaches European dealers in April 2027. Mostly it gave me a serious case of wanderlust, and for an adventure bike that’s the best sign there is.

Ducati DesertX Rally in a manufacturer press photo

On the Desmo250 MX I sat right immediately

Over in the dirt corner of the stand sits the Desmo250 MX, a 250 motocrosser with a desmo single. Ducati says it revs to 15,000 rpm, and bore and stroke come straight from the Panigale V4 R. For me the electronics are the real story, though: the traction control works off actual rear-wheel slip, which Ducati says sets it apart from existing systems in the class. Whether it lives up to that, I can’t tell you. I haven’t ridden it. So I climbed on. The seat is barely there, and then something happened that rarely happens to me. I usually sit a little too far back. Here I got on and was instantly sitting far forward, exactly where I belong. Typical Ducati. If you want to go fast, this bike puts you in the right spot without any searching.

The Ducati Desmo250 MX seen from the side at EICMA 2026 in Milan.

Motocross, enduro and superbikes under one roof

Right next to it stands the Desmo450 EDS, Ducati’s first modern enduro, derived from the Desmo450 MX. The single displaces 449.6 cc, the aluminum frame weighs under 20 lbs according to Ducati, and the six-speed is spaced for enduro riding, with a shorter first and a taller sixth than the motocrosser. What impressed me most in this corner was the sheer breadth. Ducati used to be a Monster and a 916 or something like that. Now the brand does motocross and enduro and still builds the wild superbikes that are its home turf. The amount of stuff Ducati dealers have to explain and present to customers these days is breathtaking. Ducati isn’t alone in this, but here you see it most clearly. For riders, all that choice is a gift.

The Panigale V4 SP finds downforce mid-corner

Then, finally, the new Panigale V4, including the SP. Its redesigned winglets aren’t just there to push the bike down on the straights. They’re supposed to load the front tire at serious lean angles too, and more grip there means more corner speed. Ducati says the bigger two-element wings and Corner Sidepods make 25 percent more downforce at 168 mph than on the regular Panigale V4. The front frame is 12 percent less stiff laterally, so a touch more flex. Add milled adjustable rearsets, electronic Öhlins suspension, a brushed 4.5-gallon aluminum tank and a serial number on the machined steering head. On the show bike it reads XXX. These are details you enjoy while polishing as much as while staring. There’s a dry clutch here too, and Ducati says its performance oil adds up to 3.5 hp. If you’re chasing the absolute limit on a racetrack, you won’t miss a thing.

Ducati Panigale V4 SP in a manufacturer press photo

The Panigale V2 SP is enough bike for my ego

I almost missed the Panigale V2 SP. A young guy was sitting on it, and I had to apologize, because it was my turn. The second I was on, I was gone. The seat is great, narrow, barely there, and you melt right into the bike. The 890 cc V-twin makes 118 hp, and I don’t need more than that. This one is exactly my thing. The V4 would be way too much for me anyway, and my ego is big enough already. Ducati is making the V2 SP the homologation base for the Supersport World Championship from the 2027 season, with Öhlins suspension, forged wheels, Brembo brakes and, yes, another dry clutch. There’s no single-sided swingarm like the old days. Technically the new setup is a good solution anyway. If you want to go fast on track without V4 violence, this is your bike.

At EICMA 2026 in Milan, the host tries out the seat of the matt black Ducati Panigale V2 SP.

The Desmo450 SM is a race bike with a running tab

Last, I went looking for the supermoto. All I found on the stand was the race bike Ducati has already won with. As the Desmo450 SM, it’s a competition-only supermoto with no street plate, heading to select European dealers from December 2026. With this one and the motocrossers, one thing makes me nervous: these are race machines. Ducati specifies piston replacement and a valve-clearance check on the SM every 45 operating hours and an engine rebuild at 90 hours. Ride it hard on a supermoto track and you’ll pay for it. What I do like is that the 2027 Desmo450 MX uses predictive maintenance: a Wi-Fi module adjusts the service intervals to how the bike is actually used instead of going strictly by the book. Nothing comes for free. Crazy revs and crazy speed need more care than some 30 hp commuter, and if you budget for that, these bikes are a blast.

Why the Ducati stand felt like Christmas morning

At the end I stood there wondering if I’d forgotten something. That’s how Ducati gets me. I know the feeling from when I was a kid: one Christmas I walked into the living room before my parents were home, and the presents were already waiting. So I had to look at every single one and shake every box to figure out what was inside. That’s exactly how I moved from bike to bike here. Ducati brought three numbered SP models, an adventure bike for the great escape, a power cruiser and a whole off-road family to this EICMA. I kept asking myself what else I’m going to have to ride next year. No answer yet. One thing’s for sure: if you love Ducati, 2027 gives you more choice than ever, and I’m happy for every Ducatista out there.

What these Ducatis cost in the US

Good news first: most of this hardware already has a US price. Ducati’s American site lists the DesertX Rally at $19,995, the Panigale V2 SP at $24,995 and the Panigale V4 SP at $48,000, plus a $1,295 destination charge on the street bikes. The Streetfighter V4 SP reportedly goes for $39,995, and the Diavel V4 S reportedly starts at $31,995. Keep in mind US-spec power can be lower; Ducati quotes 205 hp for the American Streetfighter V4 SP. The dirt bikes are already in the system too. Ducati North America sells the Desmo250 MX for $10,595, and the Desmo450 EDS for $12,995, where it comes as a street-legal dual sport, which it isn’t in Europe. The race-only Desmo450 SM is priced at $12,995 and is due at select US dealers in spring 2027.

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