Set Review ➟ 42238 Ducati Desmo450 MX Factory
Motorcycles are inherently tricky in our brick world. Their body usually has a particular, non-trivial shape (especially if it needs to be recognizable among other motorcycles) which is a hard nut to crack with LEGO parts. Technic perhaps makes it slightly easier as it allows unusual angles slightly more conveniently than the System parts do - but it is nevertheless challenging because, on the other hand, it implies some mechanical features which need to be squeezed into such unusually shaped spaces. It feels cramped even at larger scales.
So that’s the stage we need to draw in order to evaluate this new motorcycle set, 42238 Ducati Desmo450 MX Factory, correctly. A tough offroad bike with thick pedigree in real life, its LEGO incarnation is a 457-part Technic model in the scale of approximately 1:7.
Once the medium-sized box is opened and everything is prepared for building, the first interesting quirk of building motorcycles surfaces. Namely, it is much less predictable and orientable than, for example, building cars. Components seem to be connected in somewhat random manner, only for the contour of the motorcycle to gradually appear from the seemingly shapeless mechanical lump. There is also something else: even though the motorcycle is largely symmetric, there is not too much feeling of “building everything twice”, as can otherwise be the case with some vehicles, espeically fiddly cars.
Instructions are very clear, and the building difficulty itself moderately easy. Only a few steps altogether require increased attention and dexterity, but even those are nothing that would baffle anyone with minimal experience for long. Actually, the finnickiest “parts” are probably the stickers, among which there are several large pieces that require some precision and skill to apply, at least if one cares about building the bike neatly.
Soon afterward, the effort resulted in a motorcycle with front and rear suspension, chain-driven single-cylinder engine, and working steering. It has also a little display stand which keeps it upright. The engine along with its chain transmission works reasonably smoothly, and is not confused by turning the rear wheel backward. Pushing the bike downward at its center, which is the most typical way to demonstrate suspension, works nicely for the rear wheel, but not at the front: instead of the front springs/shock absorbers compressing, they bend due to the absorbers’ friction and too wide an angle at which the force acts. Even pushing down at the steering handles does the same, which was rather surprising design flaw, at least to me: I would have prefered no front suspension over one that does not work unless specifically pressed at a correct angle.
There is some Technic panel form mastery involved, with several curved parts knit nicely together to form complex surface shapes, especially the seat fairing which follows the original contour quite nicely. And it is altogether sturdy enough to survive stunts over living room sofas, lounge chairs and bedroom pillows.
When it comes to parts, this Ducati has an ace up its sleeve: the new strong Technic spring 7157c01, so far seen in the 42232 Koenigsegg, and offered here with yellow spring - true to the original. I am sure we will see more of this useful part in the future, but for now it is still scarce. The gold front absorbers (65151c01) are also not that commonplace, though we have seen them in three sets so far. Apart from those, of course, it’s the offroad tyres, along with their rims and brake discs, which are noteworthy. The rest is fairly standard Technic raw building material.
The final verdict? I’d lean toward positive. Sure, it’s mechanically a very “safe” set: nothing extraordinary nor surprising, no groundbreaking new ideas. But there is also nothing wrong about that. The only major flaw I can point out is the one regarding the front shock absorbers, but that is not enough to find the set bad in general. To the contrary, it’s a nice little (consider that “little” in relative terms) demo of several interesting building techniques and functionalities in a set that Ducati fans, and motorcycling fans in general, will recognize.
We thank the LEGO Group for sending us this set for a review. However it did not goad us in any way, and all the opinions stated above are purely our own.
Number of parts: 457
Age rating: 10+
Dimensions: 31 x 19 x 11 cm
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