Ducati Diavel first ride: "I'm simply blown away!"

MCN’s Phil West has just ridden the all-new Ducati Diavel ‘power-cruiser’ at its world launch in southern Spain. This is what he has to say:

“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.

“That’s basically down to three things: the Diavel’s a custom built by a sports bike manufacturer – so it’s light and has sports bike handling and brakes. I can’t stress enough how convention-defyingly good the Diavel is through the twisties.

“Second, it’s littered with high tech: there’s a three-way riding mode system, ABS as standard, traction control, top notch brakes and suspension and more. Compared to this your average Harley looks, not like it’s from the ‘50s but from the ‘30s.

“And thirdly it’s gigglingly fast but, thanks to the mode switch, only when you want it to be. And that, combined with great ergonomics and spec, make it practical too.”

MCN’s full test of the Diavel is in this Wednesday’s Motorcycle News.