After eight years Ducati brings the second generation of its idiosyncratic sports cruiser Diavel on the market. The extroverted bike remains true to the last fiber, but is enriched with all technical finesse.
Some motorcycles make high demands on the driving skills of their pilot, others on his body size or his bank account. Still others require the true fakir skills of the pillion, but very few motorcycles make demands on the personality of their owner. In this genus you want to classify the Ducati Diavel, which has just appeared in the second generation.
That’s a pity, because Ducati’s devil bike is a statement. Send all the Harleys to hell, ignore all BMWs, Triumphs and even the KTM 1290 Super Duke R: Life is raging on the devil thing! Only a Horex VR6 could stand up to it, but even this rarity seems almost too normal compared to the Italian Diva. Because a rear like the Diavel, to a front and also such a resonating body directly behind the engine has no other bike. In the end, it’s the combination of naked bike, super sports and cruiser that makes the Diavel so unique, because it all influences their DNA. And you have to fit as a driver.
That’s a pity, because Ducati’s devil bike is a statement. Send all the Harleys to hell, ignore all BMWs, Triumphs and even the KTM 1290 Super Duke R: Life is raging on the devil thing! Only a Horex VR6 could stand up to it, but even this rarity seems almost too normal compared to the Italian Diva. Because a rear like the Diavel, to a front and also such a resonating body directly behind the engine has no other bike. In the end, it’s the combination of naked bike, super sports and cruiser that makes the Diavel so unique, because it all influences their DNA. And you have to fit as a driver.
Enormous dimensions with overhang
Even the dimensions are enormous: the wheelbase measures one meter sixty, and the tank is the widest that the motorcycle world currently knows. Because only enough space is available behind the engine to be able to mount a seat at an acceptable distance from the ground, the driver can almost sit on the rear wheel. This requires at least for normal-sized pilots a well over the long tank tense posture. The feet are by no means seated directly underneath the rider, so they are not stretched forward. This is neither uncomfortable nor unsporting, but takes some getting used to.
If you also dare to let the modest 244 kilogram Teufelsding with its 159 hp engine fly around the curves, as the designers make it possible thanks to 41 degrees of inclination freedom, you are unquestionably a candidate for special applause in the applause curve. In other words, the Diavel 1260S has an unexpectedly agile handling in view of its appearance and a 249-millimeter-wide rear tire, which you first have to work through.
Otherwise, the new Diavel 1260S has everything that can be found in the high-tech cooking pot of the Bolognese witches kitchen: assistance systems of all stripes from the Quickshifter over a wheelie control to curve ABS, a variable valve Desmodromik in matt black painted V2 reactor and of course very fine Components for brakes and wheel guides of the Nobel manufacturers Brembo and Öhlins.
Soon a regular guest in Flensburg?
Because Ducati enjoys the utmost respect for the coordination of all details, all the details are beyond reproach. Still, a Diavel can never be Everybody’s darling. She is special, demanding her driver, his confidence, his dedication and, yes, his grab. It is quite necessary pressure on the wide handlebar to use the excellent Diablo Rosso III to the edge of his tread. But if you have taken on the special circumstances of the Diavel but shot, the danger of becoming regulars in “Flensburg” grows: Their extremely powerful engine ruptured uncontrollably, by means of the perfectly functioning Quickshifters you are lightning beyond good and evil. On the other hand, it is no problem to rummage through traffic jams in urban driving mode with a speed of 10 to 30 kilometers,
For all the exoticism that radiates the exterior of the Diavel 1260S
Technically, it is as unpretentious as any other Ducati: the oil service is needed only every 15,000 kilometers, the desmo service for the specially controlled valves every 30,000 kilometers. Even their fuel consumption is moderate; In the first test, the realization of the standard consumption was not a problem, at least according to on-board computer. With its help, countless cogs can be “turned”: the driver can customize virtually all assistance systems.
Under 20,000 euros, the entrance to the club of the devil brothers is not possible, but may also be much more, because there are plenty of accessories, sometimes laced to packages, for example, to protect passengers during acceleration by means of back support against total loss. Even delicate side cases for toothbrushes and other small items are on offer, but also more promising things there. After all, you can never get enough of some.