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The $23,395 1260 S I was riding over two glorious weeks in SoCal quickly became a garage favorite but more for its practicality than anything else. Despite having a motor that could outrun most sport bikes up to 60 mph, the Diavel's is probably the most refined L-twin Ducati has ever created. There's instant (and I mean, instant!) go from the 1262cc engine when you hit the throttle hard, but the character exuding from the machine doesn't will you to explore the outer limits of possible performance. There're three riding modes of Sport (which an- noyingly does away with the fuel gauge on the dash), Touring and Urban, and after checking out Sport for a few days, I settled on the more sedate throttle response of Touring and couldn't have been happier. I rode the Diavel everywhere—trips to L.A., running errands, going for a pre-lockdown drink with the lads—and each time I got off the Diavel, I was more infatuated with it. The throttle response is superbly metered for a big, lumpy Italian L-twin and when matched to (in my opinion) a better quickshifter than on even the Pani- gale range, it's a good time on the Diavel. I say the Diavel's quickshifter (standard fare on this S model, aftermarket on the base model) is better because if your feet accidentally hit the lever, you won't kill the ignition. I've gone through the screen twice on Pani- gale's due to my lazy foot touching the lever, which, mercifully, isn't a problem on the Diavel. This being the S model, you get chunky 48mm Oh- lins forks and an Ohlins shock, both fully adjustable, of course. The ride isn't exactly smooth as silk—you'll still cop a solid whack in the ass from the seat if you hit square-edged bumps like potholes—but the tradeoff is the Diavel's ability to rip through corners at a pace and poise other power cruisers can only dream about. This is complimented by Brembo M50 calipers and a radial master-cylinder which, while a little bit on the old side when you consider the higher-spec Sty- lema caliper range has been around for a few years now, still does the job of hauling you up from speed quickly and with plenty of lever feel. As per usual with any top-line Ducati, the Diavel is lit- tered with rider aids like six-axis IMU, traction, wheelie, P138 QUICKSPIN I 2020 DUCATI DIAVEL 1260 S (Top) That 240-section tire is a pure statement item, but it also performs better than you'd expect. (Middle) Brembo M50's are a few years old now, but they still do the job just fine. (Bottom) The seat is comfy for an hour or so, not so much after, and isn't really nice over harsh bumps.