FILLED WITH FURY, DUCATI’S DIAVEL 1260 BRINGS OUT
THE BEAR WRESTLER IN BORIS MIHAILOVIC.
I
f the Diavel was a man, he would be the kind of man who strangled
bears on top of mountains. Heavy-shouldered and mighty. Filled
with portent and power. That is the Diavel. And it doesn’t do
acceleration. It does fury. Relentless, merciless, divine fury. The Diavel
surges towards the horizon like a superbly focused explosion – and that
never gets old. Suddenly that deep-dish seat makes sense. Without it,
your clenching bum-meat would be clenching air. With it?
Oh, man… just turn that throttle and gimme that Old Time Religion.
The Diavel got me. And it got me good. It had been one of those bikes
I didn’t really think much about. I knew about it, of course. But did it
ever consume my thoughts? No. That has changed.
It’d been a while since I last rode one, and while they’ve always been
breath-takingly powerful, I’ve never quite come to them for a bunch
of reasons – all of which this new incarnation has addressed. It’s more
than 10kg lighter. It’s 15mm shorter between the axles (now 1600mm),
its rake is three degrees steeper, and its trail has been reduced 10mm.
This has done wonders for the steering and agility – and yes, this
great brutal lump of technical wizardry is remarkably agile. And unlike
the sassy feet-forward XDiavel, this Diavel is driven by a chain rather
than a belt. This is no cruiser – power or otherwise. There is no single
“cruiser” parameter that applies to it. Your feet are under you, and
you’re hunched forward in that true “I mean business” way. And you will
mean business on the Diavel. You have to. There’s no point otherwise.
Somehow, and despite all its other great offerings, Ducati has
managed to make the Diavel one of it’s most rewarding and delightful
bikes. Put aside any misgivings you might have about it. This is a proper,
hard-banging, gut-churning Hellzone of a motorcycle – and not some
fat-tyred design exercise aimed at a market that prefers cruising to
riding.
The Diavel is a weapons-grade real deal.
KIWI RIDER 35