TESTED: DESMO450 MX FACTORY EDITION

Just how good is the race-ready version of Ducati’s Desmo450 MX? And is it worth the $2700 price premium over the ‘standard’ model? After testing at multiple MX tracks, we answer those questions, and more.

Go on, admit it. No matter how deep your loyalty runs with another brand, you’d give your left nut just to rip a few sneaky laps aboard Ducati’s all-new Desmo450 MX, right? After all, Ducati’s first modern-era motocross machine not only looks the goods; it also boasts premium components from top to tail. Plus, it’s the only MX bike on the market to use desmodromic valve actuation, and has already proven its chops on both national and international race stages.

If you saw our recent in-depth test on the 2026 Desmo450 MX in a cross-section of Australian conditions, you’ll know how much it impressed us. But just how much better is Ducati’s race-ready version of the Desmo450 MX – the “Factory edition” model – which comes with a host of special componentry, up-specced suspension and an electronics package with even more capabilities? Is this Factory Edition targeted at Pro- or amateur-level riders? Specifically, what up-specced parts and electronics does it come with? What’s the bike like to work on and maintain? And is it worth the $2700 price premium over the ‘standard’ model ($19,100 versus $16,400)? 

To answer those questions, Transmoto test rider, John Prutti, rounded up a couple of drooling mates (along with multiple X Games medalist, Ducati-sponsored Corey Creed) and headed to a few MX test tracks to let this fancy Italian stallion loose…

PS: Yeah, yeah; we know it’s called a “Desmodromic” valve actuation, in spite one test rider’s insistence on referring to it a “Desmotronic” valve train. Private joke, apparently.