2011 Ducati Diavel Carbon launch – Sympathy for the Devil
“Please allow me to introduce myself; I’m a man of wealth and taste.” Mick Jagger sang. Since the Diablo name was already taken by the likes of Pirelli, who’s tyres has been specially made for this very devil, Ducati resorted to its own Bolognese dialect for the word Diavel. And to be truthful it is a devil indeed packing a formidable punch with the 162 horsepower beast of an L-twin. Few other bikes can rip up the tarmac with as little effort as this one!
After having tested the Diavel Carbon for a whole day it’s safe to say that it’s growing on me. Two days later and it seems something else is growing, too and I suspect it to be horns in my forehead. Ducati invited us down to Marbella in the south of Spain to test the bike.
Taking a seat for the first time it feels comfortable and not as intimidating as it sounds and looks. The high quality seat features 80mm thick foam and for the pillion 60mm. There’s hardly anything in front of me to obtrude on my overview of the road ahead. It’s similar in that department to the Ducati Streetfighter which is also very tidy in the cockpit area. My vision is flanked by two mirrors mounted on aluminium stems. They are as solid as the rest of the bike and never vibrate whilst on the move. The TFT (high end LCD screen) rider information screen catches my eyes and you can change between Sport, Touring and Urban riding modes using the blinker cancel button. The menu to adjust a host of other stuff is also found displayed on the TFT screen.
Sport mode which was my preferred riding mode throughout the day gives you full on power delivery which in the Diavel’s case means 162 horsepower and traction control set to level one. The power delivery is direct and responsive in all rpm and exiting corners the traction control allows some wheel spin before cutting in. For an easier going setting the Touring mode suits most situations perfectly. I swapped over from Sport mode to Touring mode each time we hit traffic or a motorway to chill out whilst riding the momentous midrange. Touring mode still gives a full 162 horsepower on top but smoothen things out a bit more on lower revs and the traction control is set to level three as standard for additional safety. Through the little villages and the town of Marbella itself I switched to the Urban mode which reduces horsepower to a civilised 100 horsepower and adds level five to the traction control. Suddenly loosing 62 horsepower feels weird but it does make sense along with the high level of traction control intrusion. The Urban mode allows you to be a human being an early morning crossing slippery manhole covers and dodging city centre traffic on your way to work. Urban mode allows you to relax a bit more at the most stressful point in your day. Changing the riding modes are easy and even on the move they can be changed with a closed throttle. The best thing in my opinion is that you can customise the riding modes yourself by adding the level of traction control to the modes. There are eight levels to choose from and after a while you’ll find out which suits the specific riding mode best. I think the standard setup is pretty good as it is.
Add the ABS brakes to this and the safety electronics package is complete. The brakes on the Diavel are the very impressive Brembo monoblocks found on top sportbikes such as the 1198 SP. Riding the Diavel Carbon was in fact the very first time I have ever used the Brembo Monoblocks with ABS and I’m mightily impressed to say the least. Let’s not forget that the Diavel Carbon is a pure roadbike with a fairly long wheelbase and I was curious about how ABS and Brembo Monoblocks would work together on the road. Before I continue I must bring the excellent Pirelli Diablo Rosso II tyres into the equation. Without such sticky tyres I don’t think this package would work as well as it did. Pirelli has in fact worked together with Ducati to develop a very special 240/45-ZR17 rear tyre for the Diavel. The profile of this rear tyre indicated by the 45% of the width gives you a steeper and sharper turning in rate than that of a 240/40 dimension tyre. This helps the Diavel turn into corners quicker and more precisely. Then you’ve got the super sticky sportbike compound further helping in the handling department. Compared to a standard Ducati such as the Monster the Diavel is raked out and stretched a bit but not so much that it affects the handling in a negative way. The Diavel handles brilliantly for what it is but it’s never going to be as nimble as a Monster.
Racing up the mountain roads I’m surprised at how well the Diavel tackles the corners and the lean angle is very acceptable at only a degree less or so than a Monster. This meant that I could ride the Diavel Carbon quite aggressively with hot corner entries and very hot corner exits. You can’t carry as much speed mid corner as a sportbike but you can at least exit those corners in the same way. The Diavel features a very powerful 162 horsepower version of the Testastretta engine and it has gained 12 horses over the Multistrada 1200 by way of a massive exhaust system. This new exhaust system really is one of my favourite items on the Diavel and it proudly displays its massiveness on the right hand side ending in a stacked silencer. According to the Ducati engineers the Diavel sound like the old Troy Bayliss superbike with Termignonis fitted. I believe them because the Diavel is one of the best sounding standard Ducati’s. The rich burble from the 1198cc liquid cooled engine is great and there’s a nearly engineered cool burble when letting go of the throttle ahead of a corner or before a traffic light. Another unique Diavel feature is the side mounted radiators which is a first for Ducati. The large airbox is fed by aluminium air-intakes are also found on the sides which makes the Diavel sport a narrower profile than what otherwise would be the case.
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. Top gear acceleration on the motorway is also impressive and you only need sixth gear really. Surprisingly the Diavel isn’t wheelie prone at all! All it will do if accelerating maximum in first gear is a small front wheel lift. I must admit that I never turned the traction control completely off which I suspect is necessary for that sort of antics. But there’s no doubt in my mind that it would do them all day if required.
If you’d like to take a pillion passenger on the Diavel Ducati have launched an ingenious solution that takes care of the aesthetics and the practicalities at the same time. It’s the sort of stuff that Harley-Davidson comes up with all the time where the practical side is hidden. Ducati have simply produced a set or retractable pillion pegs and a grab rail that can be slid in place when it’s needed. The design touches keep the Diavel very tidy and the attention to detail is unsurpassed from any Ducati prior to this. There’s carbon fibre, brushed aluminium, gorgeous wheels with machined spokes and a small trellis frame to support the number plate with wires for the number plate light incorporated within the piping.
Are you ready to sign a contract with the Devil?
Conclusion
The Diavel has got presence, exclusivity, power and handling. What else do you want? It’s not a cruiser and it’s not a streetfighter. It’s something vague in between whilst not presenting itself as a pure muscle bike because it handles really well. The Diavel could be the bike for you if you are looking for something more powerful and more comfy than a litre streetfighter if you’re not into racetracks or touring. I must at the same time admit that I’m a couple of steps away from actually dribbling over it as a concept, but it does ride like a bat out of hell. Mines probably still a Monster 1100 but I can see the Diavel bringing new people into motorcycling and that’s great news. All in all I think Ducati have done a great job creating something different and for some reason I think it will find its buyer and that buyer will not look at anything else. So tell me sweetie, what’s my name?
+
Brakes
Handling
Engine and new exhaust system
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Doesn’t necessarily win you over straight away without trying
Left mode switch button not as user friendly as the rest of the bike.
