Ducati Diavel V4 Review | Rennie reports from world debut

Review Ducati Diavel V4

By Rennie Scaysbrook

The world is full of beautiful equestrian ribbons, but few are quite as luxurious as the Jebel Hafeet Mountain Road bordering Abu Dhabi and Oman in the United Arab Emirates.

This particular Arabian airstrip has 60 cambered corners, is perfectly paved and 1300 meters in its 12 kilometers, and is as far away from the usual road test areas as possible.

However, I am not one to complain, especially when the Abu Dhabi police are below, regulating traffic and encouraging me to steer the Ducati Diavel V4 2023 moving as fast as possible. Who am I to disobey the police?

Thanks to encouragement from the police, and the target of legendary Ducati test and development racer, Alessandro Valia, in front of me, I give the new Diavel everything I dare. For the next 12 km, the ultra-short hero knobs on the latches were off, the speedometer hit 231 km/h, and I had moments where I thought the Diavel wasn’t just a Streetfighter V4 S, it allowed me to. go a little bit, rather than a motorcycle that Ducati calls itself a cruiser.

That’s a pretty cool trick, especially when you consider the measurements while playing on the $41,000 Diavel V4.

A low 790 mm saddle height and large 240-section rear tires are numbers more fitting for a custom Harley, and it’s the ‘cyber-devouring rider that cruisers endlessly up and down the ocean. Highway at Brighton Le Sands. These are numbers that are not usually associated with a sporty nakedbike, and even Ducati itself seemed a bit confused about the Diavel V4’s name, as staff comfortably told me in Abu Dhabi that this was “a comfortable nakedbike”, or my favorite, “this is our Giant Monster.

The Diavel has been around since 2011 and remained one of the least modified machines in the company’s lineup at the time. Ducati barely recognized the company in 2011, from MotoGP racer to champion, bringing the hit classic Scrambler back in 2014 to become the first manufacturer to implement a cruise control system. radar-assisted adaptation and blind-spot detection software in motorcycles manufactured with the Multistrada V4 S 2021.

At that time, the base model Diavel had only two updates. In 2015 we had the twin-ignition Testastretta engine and in 2020 the 1260 engine was deployed. In the midst of all this in 2016, we had the XDiavel 1260 engine, but that was always treated as a separate machine.

Fast-forward to 2023 and the V4 revolution is firmly established within the walls of the Bologna factory. 1158 cc Desmosedici Stradale engine with counter-rotating crankshaft and dual-pulse combustion (whenever I hear Twin-Pulse I just remember Troy Bayliss lighting up the first-generation Desmosedici MotoGP movement of 2003) first appeared in 2018 with the Panigale V4 S and its evolution into Granturismo status was formalized when the Multistrada V4 S launched.

That’s the version of Granturismo we’ve placed between Diavel’s aluminum monocoque rails, although it’s not exactly the same. The new V4 engine replaces the company’s previously popular 1260 L-twin engine that can claim to produce 166 hp (124 kW) at 10,750 rpm, while torque reaches 126 Nm. at 7500 rpm. There are obviously different air intakes — giant air intakes flanking either side of the LED headlights — though less obvious are the changed airbox, camshaft and cam timing, and first gear. shorter than what is in Multistrada.

All of these differences are aimed at generating more instant punch from a closed throttle and low revs, and your inner drag racer can be officially unleashed once you start trying. Experiment with the three-stage Power Launch platform inside the Diavel electronics suite.

The removal of the L-twin from Ducati’s lineup is now complete for any machine the company sells above 1000cc. Think about it for a second: Ducati, who have swore before the grace of god on the altar of twin cylinder motorcycles for generations, now do not sell a twin bike over 1000cc. This is the time we live in.

However, there is a good reason for this, as Diavel V4 Product Manager Stefano Tarabusi explains.

“For such a high horsepower requirement, the only solution is to install a V4 . engine,” he says. “The way in which the V4 produces power is more progressive than the Testastretta V-twin, but you can hit higher numbers much more easily with the V4. We learned a lot while developing this engine in the Multistrada V4 lineup, which of course we started with the first Panigale V4. We treat this V4 as a 360° engine: you get smooth torque in the lower rev range, which translates into a powerful midrange but at the higher revs it continues to produce unstoppable power. limited, like a Sports Bike. This is very unique in this genre.”

Unique is perhaps the only adjective that fits Diavel, because since Yamaha’s mighty VMAX engine was killed off a decade ago, there’s really no rival it can compete with (no , Triumph’s Rocket III doesn’t count). The new V4 doesn’t look too different from previous iterations, and perhaps Ducati has memorized the verbal beats from years before the polarizing 999, which has aged considerably, supplanted the design of the God himself in the 998.

The original design features and lines from a decade ago are still present in the V4—it’s still a muscular, ferocious bike, cross-cut wheels glistening in the night lights, in while the spectacular membrane LED taillights make up the other lights. Try to be cool second rate decision.

However, like it looks on the surface, much effort has been made to make the V4 better in every way possible than the old 1260 engine. Much of the work has been focused on reducing weight and dimensions, with Ducati claiming a 13 kg reduction in overall mass compared to the upcoming 1260. The largest part of this comes from the engine, with 5 kg said to have been removed. The monocoque frame weighs more than 4.7 kg, the subframe is 2.4 kg, the wheel weighs 1 kg and the front brake disc is 0.5 kg. All told, Ducati is claiming a curb weight of 236 kg with 20 liters of fuel running on a wheelbase reduced by 7 mm to 1593 mm.

As for the rider, the seat height has increased by 20mm to 790mm and the handlebars, now a two-piece unit rather than a single handlebar as you’d expect, have been moved 20mm closer.

The ride coefficient includes a 50mm Marzocchi fork and the same shock absorber as in the 1260, both fully and fully adjustable. Ducati hesitated to install shiny yellow electronic Ohlins forks on the Diavel V4 because they believed the weight penalty of about two kilograms was not worth it, which is something I disagree with Diavel’s trend these days long when there is the possibility to change the ride comfort and the push of a button would be a good addition.

The Marzocchi worked very well, although at 90 kg I needed to slam the load before and after a few laps to keep my massive butt from feeling like it was about to sink right through the suspension.

Helping you accelerate is the Brembo Stylema one-piece brake caliper, taken from the first generation Panigale V4 S spare parts box, replacing the old Brembo M4.32 one-piece brake caliper and combined with Cornering ABS via IMU six axes.

Speaking of electronics, you get a 5-inch TFT display, two power modes 124 hp and 85 hp, four driving modes Sport, Touring, Urban and Wet Road, four-stage traction control stage and wheel control, three-stage cornering ABS and electric start, Ducati quickshifter and cruise control, but no heated grips—things you have to buy from the subcategory Ducati case.

The Diavel V4’s numerous electronics options allow you to tailor your journey to your liking. The 85 kW rating feels pretty anemic when you have a bike this big and long, and I suspect that most people who buy this machine will give it a try and quickly forget about it.

As I usually do these days, I took a step back after desperately clinging to Valia on Jebel Hafeet and stuck with the Touring mode’s slightly softer initial throttle response, but still had enough power 124 kW when pressed.

If you want to get really loud, leave it on Sport and turn off the wheel control, as the wheel control will reduce throttle flexibility no matter what mode you’re in.

The Ducati Diavel V4 is a mechanical dichotomy of the senses, which is the best compliment I can give it. Looking at it, it’s hard to believe that it can be driven as quickly as possible, but it has a civilian side that many people wouldn’t have guessed due to its demeanor and aesthetic.

Ducati had a trick with this one.

Specifications Ducati Diavel V4