Posts
563
Joined
7/3/2020
Location
Anaheim, CA
US
Edited Date/Time
3/13/2025 6:36pm
Got an email with the pricing for the new Desmo 450. This is wildly more competitive than I thought, I though for sure we’d be looking at $13k. Still no sight of a production.
Sweet, April 3rd is when they release the photos and the specs for the production model.
Follows along Euro pricing.
$150 more than a 450SX-F, but well under a factory edition.
Is that before or after tariffs
Currently tariff free, but check back tomorrow...
The Shop
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
Free shipping: VITALMX
Get ready for April 1st if I understand it right.
Retaliatory tariffs are meant to come in April 2nd.
That’s a lot lower than I expected, has anyone heard anything about a high end model? I still think a FE model will be about $16.5, with higher quality suspension and other shiny parts.
reciprocal tariffs not retaliatory … in other words those are tariffs that the other country has levied against US goods and we have either lower or no tariffs and ours will be adjusted to be the same as theirs. Not sure why it’s so difficult to understand … why would we want ours to be lower?
Makes sense for them to stay real close to KTM and Triumph price tag, consistent with prices we had seen for other countries.
Just odd for a dealer to break the embargo a couple of weeks before official news by the manufacturer, even weirder for them to take deposits for the 250 which might be released in a year at best.
People joke about how slow the Triumph role out was but this will be nearly a year and a half since the announcement/debut of the bike. Triumph only spread it out a few months!
I’m shocked by the price. I assumed much more.
This discussion needs to go to non-moto.
In his defense, he provided factual clarity to a comment that was inaccurate. And the tariff discussion doesn't have to be bad/political unless you make it, and in the context of importing an Italian bike, is relevant to this discussion to see how pricing actually does end up, and if it changes at all.
I assumed $15K
I think it had to be in this price range for it to be successful, you would only sell so many to old rich guys. Ducati knows their premium name only goes so far in the dirt world people will cross shop it directly now with the other bikes and that's what they needed.
A tariff can be both reciprocal and retaliatory.
The EU recently announced a 50% tariff on US manufactured motorcycles imported into Europe. If the US matches that tariff, that will be reciprocal, and the Desmo 450 would have an MSRP of $17,188.
Italy has a 20% value added tax (VAT), which is a sales tax, similar to US state's sales taxes, if a tariff is applied that includes the value of VAT, that is a different form of taxation and is retaliatory.
If states matched their sales taxes to Italy's 20% VAT, that would be reciprocal.
The Desmo 450's MSRP would be $13,750 if tariffs or sales taxes were equivalent to Italy's VAT or $20,625 if a 50% tariff is also applied.
Wrap it in whatever language you want but the US has been getting gouged and excluded from numerous world markets for decades (check the price of a Harley in China) and all we consumers will ultimately benefit from a level playing field once we get through the pain of this correction. If it doesn't level out, many companies will manufacture here to avoid tariffs (maybe dirt bikes too) which will benefit the US economy in jobs and supporting industries. I doubt Ducati will do that but others may.
That is actually cheaper than I expected, which is a pleasant surprise. The 250 is very intriguing to me. But certainly looking forward to the 450 production bike and the reviews. 1 side not that I can't help but be bothered by is how poorly the bike is clipped out in that main image. The white got erased from the side panel and the handlebars etc. Just looks super unprofessional. So I wonder who even did that? Maybe just the dealer? Also, why not just use the photo of the one that has been in the pits, without all of the logos and whatnot. Either way, I'm assuming that pricing is still all legit, even with the janky image work. And that bike should sell at that price, I would think.
Pit Row
I’m eager to see the production 250.
And in this case, we know it is reciprocal. I thought you said this discussion needs to go to non-moto.. 😋
In the past US tariffs on some vehicles were avoided by partially assembling vehicles in the US. Freightliner would actually build a DCX van in the EU, partially tear it down, ship it to South Carolina, and then reassemble it there to get around the tariff. That should be even easier to do with a motorcycle.
I think Honda is the only current manufacturer who has manufactured motocross bikes in the US...
We don't know anything yet, nothing has been announced!
I'm happy to keep the discussion here, if people don't make it political.
@ that price with it being the highest quality bike on paper it's a deal.
Even if announced, it would have changed tomorrow.
To 2%. Or 200.
This kind of thing definitely makes it easier to establish new manufacturing in the US.
https://fortune.com/europe/2025/03/12/eu-escalates-trump-trade-war-slap…
Honest question, what about it makes it the highest quality bike on paper?
Damn right and about damn time.
Do we now anything about it at all other than that it has Desmo heads and an aluminum frame?
Post a reply to: Desmo 450 is retailing $11459