Ducati’s Auctioning Off This Custom Scrambler for Charity

[Hugh Janus]

This one-of-a-kind hand-painted Ducati Scrambler will be auctioned off to benefit the RxART children’s charity. (Ducati/)

“Motorcycles are art” is a phrase we hear tossed around on the regular in our little corner of the moto world, but let’s be honest, not every machine can be lumped into that rarified (and extremely subjective) category. But what if the bike itself was the canvas for the actual creative work? That’s the idea behind Ducati’s latest project, wherein the Italians have recruited a top-level visual artist to apply their unique work onto one of the brand’s Scrambler models, for a one-of-a-kind, hand-painted work of art that would be auctioned off for charity.

Ducati and its partners commissioned contemporary artist Mickalene Thomas to work her visual magic on a new Icon model. (Ducati/)

More to the point, Ducati North America has partnered with acclaimed artist Mickalene Thomas to customize this singular 2024 Ducati Scrambler Icon for the upcoming Heritage Auctions, an event that holds forth on May 23. Proceeds from the Scrambler’s sale will benefit the RxART children’s charity as part of a Ducati partnership with men’s skin care brand Atwater.

RxART itself was established in 2000 to help promote contemporary art into children’s hospital settings and offer a more uplifting healing environment. RxART taps established contemporary artists so that they can help transform sterile medical settings into more engaging places full of beauty and comfort. Meanwhile, Ducati’s partnership with Atwater to benefit RxART began earlier this year, and the commission with Thomas—an acclaimed artist of her generation—is meant to help fund RxART’s installation at the newly opened SUNY Nappi Wellness Institute in Syracuse, New York. RxART has completed 58 projects with 91 artists in 38 hospitals across the US since its launch.

Related: 2023 Ducati Scrambler First Look

Thomas works in various mediums and her skill with bold colors and graphics made for a seamless transition to the tank and covers of the Scrambler. (Ducati/)

The Brooklyn-based Thomas, meanwhile, who’s not just an influential artist but also a Tony Award–winning co-producer, curator, and mentor, is known for her innovative, instantly recognizable works, which include elaborate mixed-media paintings, photographs, films, and installations. Thomas’ distinctive aesthetic skills make her, according to Ducati, “an ideal partner for the transformation of a Scrambler Ducati into a work of art.” With Thomas’ expertise in material and image creation, the donor Scrambler Ducati Icon gets a host of bold color, style, and graphic treatments along its surfaces that feel like the right match for the playful series.

Signed and dated by the artist, the Scrambler is ready for auction. (Ducati/)

As for the bike itself, the Scrambler Icon received a host of updates for the 2023 model year, so there’s nothing new under the hood for 2024. (In fact, we’re not sure why Ducati is saying this is a 2024 model when the 2023s are only hitting dealers now.) A quick recap: The three 800cc Scramblers for 2023, the Icon, the Full Throttle and the Nightshift, were all upgraded with ride-by-wire fuel injection, two ride modes, and traction control to manage the claimed 73 hp output, with a new slipper clutch added to tame the 48 lb.-ft. of torque.

The 2023 800cc Scramblers also got a new, more tapered seat and a lighter frame, though it’s still a trellis design. The skeleton boasts a new swingarm and the rear subframe is now removable, and the Icon model in particular also got six new accessory kits with swappable tank covers.

Thomas mocked up color combinations and graphic ideas before working on the bike itself. (Ducati/)

Motorcycles have long been accepted in the art world as aesthetic expressions in their own right, often serving as canvases for a greater theme, and to Ducati’s credit, the new partnership with a contemporary visual is a good fit for the Scrambler brand’s vibe.

Per Ducati, “the next-gen Scrambler Ducati will be arriving in North American Ducati dealerships in summer 2023″ (to be clear, the 2023 models were positioned as the next generation of the series at the time of their release last year).

For information on the RxRART charity program, visit rxart.net.

Details on the Scrambler Ducati Icon can be seen at scramblerducati.com/us/.

The artist lays out designs for Ducati in front of one of her signature mixed-media works. (Ducati/)

Source

[Buckster]

[Earache]

So how's this auction work? I pay them not to take it if I win?

Ugly piece of shit - looks like a 3rd grade art student drew on it.

[Buckster]

2 minutes ago, Earache said:

So how's this auction work? I pay them not to take it if I win?

Ugly piece of shit - looks like a 3rd grade art student drew on it.

It would look good in the back of @Six30's van, as long as he kept the doors closed.

[Pedro]

The hypocrisy of brands being involved in these "charity" projects bewilders me. Just write a fucking cheque to whatever charity it is and proclaim moral superiority instead of getting a cheap bike, hiring an artist to appeal to the hipsters, and then using that as publicity to present an urban image. At the end the hospital will receive half of whatever was spent on the whole shitshow. Unless someone actually forks up proper hospital making money for that thing, in that case viva Ducati.

[Earache]

@Pedro - Or when companies here advertise on TV for a month or two bragging about how they gave $250,000 to a charity. Meanwhile, they've spent $2.3 million on advertising the fact.

[zzzak]

Fuck charities, only about 5% of the money gets to the people who it's supposed to be for.

[Six30]

7 hours ago, Buckster said:

It would look good in the back of @Six30's van, as long as he kept the doors closed.

ive entered the competition and you'll never know if i win

[boboneleg]

His paintwork is nearly as bad as the boots she's wearing ....... 

[Pedro]

1 hour ago, boboneleg said:

His paintwork is nearly as bad as the boots he's wearing ....... 

I don´t think that's a he either, Bob

 

[XTreme]

Looks like the state of the walls that Fatty left the flat in!

[Pedro]

12 hours ago, Hugh Janus said:

traction control to manage the claimed 73 hp output, with a new slipper clutch added to tame the 48 lb.-ft. of torque.

[Buckster]

5 minutes ago, Pedro said:

What's the crank angle?

[Pedro]

7 minutes ago, Buckster said:

What's the crank angle?

 

I actually went to see if they were no longer a V. They should make it 270º in something though, can't have a spec sheet without 270º

 

[boboneleg]

4 hours ago, boboneleg said:

His paintwork is nearly as bad as the boots she's wearing ....... 

Ooooooooooooooooooops