Never in the field of human history have so many bike journalists changed their mind so fast as at the launch of the original Diavel in 2011.
They all looked at the bike and thought two things:
“WTF is Ducati doing building a cruiser?”
“That’s never going to work.”
Then they rode it. And came back grinning from ear to there and back again, and muttering: “Holy dingleberries, that is incredible.”
And it was, thanks to two strokes of genius.
One was to fit the tweaked engine from Ducati’s 1198 superbike and Multistrada to a bike whose long wheelbase kept it so stable under hard acceleration and braking that its 0-60 time of 2.6 seconds was actually faster than the 1198s.
And the other was a dual-compound sports-profile back tyre specially designed by Pirelli, which meant it cornered far better than anything in its class and allowed you to take full advantage of a 41-degree lean angle before the pegs touched down.
That class being the small but select band of muscle cruisers consisting of the mammoth Triumph Rocket III, the expensive Yamaha V-Max, the dated Harley V-Rod series and the splendidly uncomfortable Victory Hammer S, all of which had a shallow profile rear tyre which tended to reach the edge then tip into corners with disturbing instability.
Not that they could tip very far – the lean angle on most cruisers is 28 degrees, and even the V-Rod can only manage 32.
It was, in short, so remarkable that it was impossible to see how Ducati could have improved on it, or indeed why it would want to.
The reason is simple – dosh.
The Diavel sold really well for four years, then when sales started to dip, Ducati brought out the XDiavel with the pegs moved about four miles forward. Which ruined the bike, in my opinion.
With XDiavel sales now tailing off as well, it was time for this new Diavel 1260, and as I walked out to the bike, I breathed a sigh of relief to see that the pegs were back in the middle, where they belong.
Ducati claims it’s a brand new bike rather than a tweak, with new trellis frame, suspension, swingarm, lights and indicators, and the exhaust truncated and tucked neatly underneath the seat, but thankfully the perfect ergonomics remain unchanged, with the plush low scalloped seat, high bars and your feet falling naturally and gratefully to the pegs.
As a result , the seating position is beautifully neutral, allowing you to sit back and cruise, or lean forward and down into corners for the more spirited ride the bike deserves, more of which in a moment.
Rather appropriately, the launch was on the glorious mountain road from Marbella to Ronda which had been used for the original launch, and it’s a tribute to how good the bike it is that it was an instant joy even in heavy rain and busy traffic.
I started off in Urban mode, which delivers only 100bhp for city riding, but got bored with that in seven seconds and toggled to Touring, which gives you the full 159bhp, but with a slightly gentler delivery of grunt than Sport.
Even in that, it was obvious that the Bologna boffins had been at work, with power up 3bhp on the previous version and torque the same, but with a much flatter curve which meant that the bike pulls cleanly from 2,500 revs all the way to the redline at 9,000.
As a result, I could quite happily have sold first, fifth and sixth gear on eBay as I spent most of the morning between second and fourth, snicking up and and down with a quickshifter which is a work of genius, with a lovely autoblipper on downshifts.
Sadly, you only get the quickshifter as standard on the S version, along with Öhlins suspension, beefier Brembo front brake callipers and snazzy wheels.
Only one complaint – snatchy fuelling between 2,000 and 4,000rpm when rolling off the throttle and back on again.
As for handling, with a slightly shorter wheelbase and steeper fork rake than the original, and the engine moved back closer to the centre of mass, it’s even more precise; and more comfortable over rough road, thanks to the redesigned suspension and slightly longer rear shock travel.
Braking, as you’d expect with Brembos and big twin discs up front, is as brutal but controlled as acceleration, although the engine braking’s so good you can easily just use that for smoother progress through open, flowing corners.
After lunch, the rain stopped and it was time for Sport mode, and if the bike had impressed me before, now it made me laugh out loud with its unique combination of power and precision.
Muscular yet balletic, if it was a person it would be the love child of Usain Bolt and Darcey Bussell, and best of all, you don’t have to suffer for its art in the way you do on superbikes, whose extreme riding position is a blessing for physiotherapists rather than riders.
Nor do you ride in constant fear of dying, as I did on early versions of the Kawasaki ZX-10, because the Diavel has so many new safety devices that you’d need to be a complete idiot to come to harm on it.
I mean, get this – cornering ABS, traction control, wheelie control and launch control which is so good that when an American journalist tested it by applying full throttle then letting go of the clutch, the back wheel give a brief shimmy before the bike sorted itself out and disappeared towards the horizon.
Each riding mode has its own combination of all of the above, while devoted geeks and assorted hooligans can easily delve beneath and select any of eight levels of all them or switch them off completely except for ABS, which is required by law.
For adventurers, a touring pack has a pillion backrest, panniers, heated grips and screen.
In short, the all-new Diavel is even more astonishing than the original. And that, believe me, is praise indeed.
The Facts
Price: £16,795, S version £19,985
Engine: 1,262cc liquid-cooled V-twin
Power: 159bhp @ 9,500rpm
Torque: 95lb ft @ 7,500rpm
Colours: Grey; black
