If “custom cruisers” that actually perform are the next big thing, Ducati may be on to something with its long-awaited Diavel, finally shown officially to the world just ahead of the big EICMA show in Milan. Though the finished product looks nothing like any Ducati we can remember, it really doesn’t have much in common with what we typically call a “cruiser” either, except for its big, 240mm-wide rear tire and stretched-out, 62.6-inch wheelbase (long by Ducati standards anyway; the new Star Stryker’s wheelbase is 68.9 inches). A rake of 28 degrees doesn’t really shout cruiser, either, nor does a claimed dry weight of 463 pounds… as a matter of fact, neither does an 11-degree Testastretta L-Twin (like the one in the Multistrada), said to put out 162 horses and 94 ft.-lb. of torque.
VMax? 683 pounds, wet. V-Rod? 673 pounds. Really there’s nothing to compare to the Diavel, which is probably a good thing. In an industry of cautious followers, Ducati’s done well lately by leading. We’ve already established that the typical U.S. motorcycle buyer is aging, and that the “cruiser” accounts for around 48 percent of new motorcycle sales in the U.S. How big might that number grow if somebody made a “cruiser” that’s also a serious performance motorcycle, that’s also comfortable, light-ish and easy to hop onto and ride? A cruiser for guys who swore they’d never be caught dead on a cruiser?
What was Ducati thinking? This: “The challenge of building a muscular silhouette over a pure-bred competition motor had to be met with determination and a delicate touch, and the result is a frontal area that looks like a power athlete on the starting blocks. With the front wheel kept close to the Diavel’s body and using the short tail of a sportbike, we were able to blend this muscular design with a chassis that matched. If the stance of a Streetfigher is that of anger, the stance of the Diavel is that of readiness, dominance and confidence bordering on superiority. With lateral radiators adding muscle to its broad shoulders, which then taper down across the engine and into the belly-fairing with oil cooler, the athlete took shape… The sheer width of the 240mm rear tire communicates so much power and style that the R&D team vowed to find a way to make it handle—even if they knew the image would send a seismic shock through the industry.”
We won’t know until we ride one, but Ducati says Pirelli worked with its engineers to come up with a 240/45ZR17 rear that doesn’t compromise handling. Pirelli’s racier tires are known for their softish, bump-absorbing sidewalls, which might be the right direction to go on this bike. For urban use, we’ve already established the 11-degree Testastretta engine’s a really tractable piece. Revised intake and exhaust ports combined with cam-timing changes enabled Ducati to take it a step further, while 58mm- (2.28-inch-) diameter, equal-length exhaust headers with an electronic valve keep exhaust velocity optimized; a lambda probe in each header helps provide precise fueling, and the stacked silencers contain catalytic converters for Euro 3 conformity. While they were at it, Ducati gave the new bike ABS, eight-level Ducati Traction Control, and Ducati Riding Modes—Sport, Touring and Urban—selectable on the fly from the left-hand switchgear. The throttle is ride-by-wire. Like the Multisrtrada 1200, ignition is hands-free; the bike will start when its key fob is within 6.5 feet, and you engage the steering lock by turning the bars to full lock and pressing the ignition-off button once more.
Citing increased power from the engine and the “enhanced grip” provided by the 240mm rear tire, the gearbox is beefed up. Also, that wide tire required the use of a 16mm longer output shaft so the chain can make the run from the countershaft sprocket to the rear sprocket. As used on some Monsters in the past, a wet clutch features a slipper and “self-servo” mechanism. Essentially, the pressure plate has helical “tracks” that cause a clamping force on the plates under load and allows the use of lighter springs and therefore an easier pull at the lever. Under deceleration load, the pressure plate lifts, allow slip.
The Diavel’s 4.5-gallon steel fuel tank continues the wide, long lines that begin at the headlight and flow into the seat. Those big VMax-ish air intakes are aluminum and fully functional, feeding the large airbox that makes that 162 claimed horsepower possible. A fat, tapered-aluminum handlebar (rubber mounted) with integral Brembo brake and clutch master cylinders provide a custom touch, and Ducati’s latest slim-line switchgear is used—also forged mirrors that look like they might even allow the rider to see things to his rear. The turnsignal cancel button doubles as a scroll/select for riding mode changes, which will show up on the lower of two LCD displays—one atop the tank and one handlebar mounted. In fact, the tank-mounted display is cell-phone style TFT which displays in color or black and white depending on ambient light. Tricky.
Large-diameter, light-gauge steel tubing forms the signature trellis frame structure, with two die-cast aluminum sections that flow into the rear subframe. Those two sections attach to “a complex techno-polymer component” to form a rear assembly that attaches the bike’s long, die-cast aluminum single-sided swingarm. A Sachs rear shock is mounted horizontally, and operated by a progressive pull-rod linkage; it’s adjustable for compression and rebound damping, with a convenient twist knob for adjusting preload.
Up front, 50mm black-bodied Marzocchi fork tubes (fully adjustable) are gripped by a slash-cut triple-clamp, with a forged top clamp and cast lower one. A rake of 28 degrees and trail of 5.12 inches sounds rather normal for such an unusual bike—and 70 degrees of steering lock should make it easy enough to reverse course.
You’ll need wheels: The front’s a 3.5 x 17, while the rear’s a massive 8 x 17, “flow-formed” for strength and lightness. Both are 14-spokers, with machined detailing.
In fact, there are two Diavels: The Diavel Carbon ($19,995) gets custom forged, turned and milled nine-spoke rims by Marchesini that remove 5.5 pounds from the standard $16,995 Diavel. In addition, the Carbon version’s fork sliders are coated in super low-friction black diamond-like carbon (DLC). The Diavel comes in traditional Ducati red with red frame and black wheels, or a pearl-white/metallic-black scheme with black frame and wheels. The Diavel Carbon comes in “red carbon” (gloss red over matte carbon weave) with red frame, or “black carbon” (both gloss and matte carbon weave) with black frame.
Basically, the Diavel seems to have something for every kind of gearhead: A fat tire and shiny components for the custom crowd, 162 horses for speed freaks, comfortable ergonomics and light controls for the aged, trick electronics for the pocket-protected, exclusivity for the exclusionary… heck, it looks like it might even be fun to ride (Ducati says it’ll lean 41 degrees) for people who enjoy riding. And maybe the best thing of all is how the Diavel’s already hacked off Ducati snobs and computer-chair critics the world over without yet turning a wheel.
