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Is This New Retro-Styled Scrambler Now the Best-Looking Motorcycle Under $14,000?

Drawing inspiration from 1970s motorsport icons, this Italian stallion hints that maybe it’s not so hard being green after all.

Brown leather motorcycle seat with zigzag stitching on a dark green bike frame.Ducati
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By Steve Mazzucchi

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Having made such a name for itself at the highest levels of motorcycle racing, Ducati makes it easy to forget they also make bikes for people who don’t spend their days dragging knees in full racing leathers.

But take a step back and you’ll see the Italians offer an impressive lineup of rides for everything from the street to far off the beaten path. 

Dark green and black scrambler motorcycle with brown leather seat parked indoors on a concrete floor.
The Nightshift was already a tip-to-tail beauty, but the new hue takes it to a whole other level.
Ducati

Somewhere in between those two environments, you’ll find perhaps the least Ducati-looking Ducati there is, the decidedly retro-styled Scrambler.

But even this bike is on-brand in the sense that it’s gorgeous — especially in its latest iteration, a jaw-dropping, history-channeling Emerald Green take on the Nightshift. 

Throwback style

Ducati itself says this dazzling new livery, emerging from the Ducati Style Centre, is inspired by 1970s racing icons, as green was quite popular at that time in motorsports.

That was the case even for Ducati, which we almost universally associate with red. 

Close-up of a green Ducati motorcycle seat and rear exhaust with visible Pirelli tire.
The Emerald Green teardrop tank and number plates pair especially well with the stitched brown leather seat.
Ducati

While it was a different shade of green (maybe more of Robin’s Egg), the 750SS that helped the brand start making a name for itself in the first place is a prime example. 

In any case, the darker Emerald Green hue hits the Nightshift just right, perfectly complementing the café racer-style brown leather stitched seat and serpentine exhaust system.

Front view of a black motorcycle with a circular LED headlight and black handlebars against a dark gray background.
Bar-end mirrors and compact LED indicators sneakily pull the bike into modern times.
Ducati

Imparting additional retro off-road racing flair are the side number plates, lean front mudguard and excised rear mudguard.

Meanwhile, the compact LED indicators, black spoked wheels, flat handlebars and bar-end mirrors lend a bit of sophisticated modern style to the overall package.

Under the “hood”

For all its aesthetic appeal, the new Nightshift would not be a Ducati if it didn’t have plenty to offer on the performance end as well.

Accordingly, it boasts an updated 803cc Desmodue engine putting out 73 ponies at 8,250 rpm and 48.1 lb-ft of torque at 7,000 rpm.

Teal Ducati Scrambler motorcycle with black exhaust and brown leather seat in a sunlit garage.
Don’t let all the gorgeous trappings — including that spectacularly jutting silencer — distract you from that bangin’ 803cc Desmodue engine at the heart.
Ducati

The new eight-plate clutch is more compact, with a slimmer profile making more space for the rider’s foot. 

The bike has also shed nearly nine pounds from the previous edition, dropping its weight to 401 pounds, while the seat comes in at an approachable 31.3 inches — and can drop as low as 30.7 inches with the low-seat accessory.

For the first time ever, the Nightshift offers Ride-by-Wire accelerator management, plus two riding modes, Ducati Traction Control and ABS cornering. With Quick Shift Up/Down available as an accessory, it might be the rider-friendliest Scrambler yet.

Dark green motorcycle fuel tank with black handlebars and round rearview mirrors against a dark concrete wall.
The compromise of the retro-modern dash is my only beef with the aesthetics — and it’s a pretty minor one at that.
Ducati

The new bike also boasts a 4.3-inch color TFT display, built into a dash that tries to split the difference between retro and modern (with mixed results). And in case you had any doubt that it’s 2025, you better believe this Nightshift is ​​Ducati Multimedia System-ready. 

That means you can pair with your phone for everything from navigation to calls to music. Allow me to recommend the perfect ’70s track for this ride: Sugarloaf’s “Green-Eyed Lady,” of course.

Availability and pricing

The Emerald Green 2026 Ducati Scrambler Nightshift rolls into US dealerships this month at a starting price of $13,395.

About the Author:

Now managing editor, Steve has served in a variety of roles with GP since 2019. Having previously written and edited for such publications as Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Esquire and ESPN, he enjoys covering a range of topics — but mostly those pertaining to cycling, snow sports, pocket knives and motos — and dreams of a utopian world in which everyone’s bike seat is at the proper height.

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