Ducati News Today

With the official press launch of the Ducati Diavel in Marbella, Spain underway, reports on the new model are already beginning to appear on the web.  Ducati News Today will have photos and initial ride impressions from the launch later this week but will cover all the web reports as soon as they are posted. So check back often to see the latest meta coverage of the bravest new model Ducati have ever launched in the one place.

Photos

Visordown have a selection of photos of a Ducati Diavel Carbon model adorned with various Ducati Performance accessories including the optional lower seat.

Video

The Italian media seemed to have got early access to the Diavel and are posting away merrily.  GPOne have already ridden the bike and has a video so you can at least hear the bike in action and what they think about it (if you speak Italian).

And check out the VisorDown 0-60 video to get an idea of how fast this thing accelerates off the line!

How about the tire shredding antics in this Motociclismo video!!

Reviews

Motorcyclist magazine has published a ride report on the Diavel ahead of the official launch.

It’s an impressive machine that attracts attention even from non-riders who don’t know a Ducati from a Dodge. That’s the one trait it does share with a custom chopper: Everyone notices this bike. Call it whatever you’d like, but the Diavel is one bike that’s impossible to ignore.

Kevin Ash has posted his review and simply raves about the new machine

The new Ducati Diavel delivers way beyond the most optimistic expectations…So much so, this is the most unexpectedly brilliant machine I´ve ridden for many years, and that´s not simply because my expectations were low to start with – I always though it was going to be fun – but because it handles superbly and is powered by the best engine Ducati has ever made.

VisonDown has posted their Diavel take now too.

What really stood out to me was that throughout the whole day, I didn’t think about the bike’s handling once. It went exactly where I wanted it to, not once did I feel like I was running wide, or that I could do with more ground clearance. There are no footboards gouging the tarmac here, no concerns about getting home with half of your exhaust chamfered off. It doesn’t just handle well for a cruiser, it handles well for a sportsbike.

Superbike magazine has weighed in with similar comments to everyone else

The work that Pirelli has done to make a tyre that allows the bike to perform well and look the part was one of the highlights of the bike for me. 240/45/17 with a profile almost like a sports bike tyre, there’s a usable curve from shoulder to crown rather than a flat, hard to handle mess like you usually get on tyres this big. So after being surprised to find how quick the bike was in a straight line, as well as being a genuinely enjoyable bike to ride around corners, the icing on the Ducati cake was the radial Brembo brakes. Monobloc calipers do a fantastic job of making the world feel like you’ve hit the pause button, the Bosch ABS does a fantastic job when you don’t.

MCN have posted a snippet from their road test which will be out in their Wednesday issue.

I’ve got to say I’m simply blown away by the Diavel. It’s so light, fast, sophisticated and so good handling and fun it completely turns on its head everything we thought so-called ‘cruisers were about until now.  Or, to put it another way: the Diavel does to the cruiser bike class pretty much – if not more – what Ducati’s Multistrada did to the adventure bike class last year.

GPOne has now posted their initial thoughts

Between Valentino Rossi in MotoGP and the Diavel on the road, Ducati has really decided to go for it this year.  And while I know that this may all sound something like a marketing pitch by now, I strongly encourage you to try the Diavel before you judge it.  Nobody likes to eat their words!

Cycle World magazine has added another US perspective

The engine is incredibly strong, acceleration is terrific and the 100-mph mark is ridiculously easy to reach. I did it on the highway, and it was an exhilarating experience, using all 10,000 rpm the engine generously puts at disposal of the strong of heart. I must say that the wind pressure at that speed (the cold breeze penetrated well-padded riding gear!) is more than acceptable, making 80-mph cruising a very easy job.

A little late to the party is Motorcycle.com‘s comments from Tor Sagen.

The electronics package is impressive with features such as a well functioning traction control, ABS and three different preset riding modes that are adjustable. My colleagues and I had lots of fun today leaving long black lines out of the corners leading us up from Marbella to Ronda and down again. This bike is very capable and definitely no cruiser.   The Diavel is more like a comfy Monster on steroids.

Finally someone dares to actually criticise an aspect of the Diavel, the fat 240mm rear tire.  Kudos to Motorcycle USA.

Some in our journalistic riding troupe vocalized zero flaws, but we noted a hinky sensation on low-speed maneuvers. Sharp hairpins exhibited a flopping sensation when pitching over. Quick transitions, more noticeable at lower speeds as well, also delivered an awkward feel. The 240mm rear didn’t have us bitching and moaning as a deal breaker by any means. It just left us wondering what that Diavel could been had it been delivered with a more conventional tire choice.

Motorcycle.com‘s full review echoes the same comments – even Ducati has to adhere to the laws of physics.

At the end of the day, it seems that even in the hands of Ducati engineers, a bike with a big tire still suffers some of the ill effects wide rear tires have on a motorcycle’s handling.  It was hard to not draw a few parallels between the Diavel’s low-speed handling quirks with those that many big-tired custom-style cruisers have, specifically, an occasional unwillingness to steer predictably through turns at lower speeds.

Raptor and Rockets seem very impressed with the Diavel.

The Ducati Diavel Carbon truly is a midrange beast of a bike where from 4.000rpm from nearly any gear there’s pure and rich twin acceleration. From around 7.000rpm the massive horsepower starts helping and at the top of the power range the acceleration is awe inspiring. I’m not sure whether I need to say this but the Ducati Diavel is no cruiser. If you really want to classify the concept my take on it is that the Diavel is more like an oversized Monster on steroids, a muscle bike in other words. The midrange starts at 4.000rpm and sort of never ends but at 8.000rpm the max torque figure of 127.5Nm is reached. 162 horsepower is available from 9.500rpm and at this point the engine feels like it enjoys the revs more than it needs them.

About.com concludes our meta coverage of the launch.  Now its time to wait for typically more useful reviews once everyone gets home.  Ducati News Today will give you our view as soon as we swing a leg over it.

Ducati Diavel Details

Get all the details on the Ducati Diavel from our summary post which includes numerous photogalleries and points you in the right direction to everything you’d want to know!

To celebrate our second birthday we plan to give away a copy of Ring of Fire: The Inside Story of Valentino Rossi and MotoGP by Rick Broadbent. To be in the draw to win all you need to do is to be a fan of the Ducati News Today Facebook page. Already a fan? Then you don’t need to do anything, you’re already entered. If not, simply head on over to our Facebook Page, hit the like button and you’re in. Too easy. The competition will run for 3 weeks with the draw occurring on Saturday, February 19th at 9am US Eastern time with the winner announced shortly afterwards. All fans of our Facebook page at that time will be eligible to win.

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