VOL. 51 ISSUE 16 APRIL 22, 2014 P33
DUCATI WENT BACK TO WORK ON ITS DIAVEL FOR
2014 AND MADE IT BETTER. MUCH BETTER.
BY ALAN CATHCART
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MILAGRO
D
ucati's introduction of the Diavel
powercruiser back in 2011 repre-
sented a visit to the Dark Side in
the eyes of many dedicated ducatisti,
who professed to scorn the Italian manu-
facturer's attempt (as they saw it) to cash
in on the global cruiser cult. That was
until they rode it – at which point they re-
alized that this is a completely new take
on real world road riding - a combination
of Superbike performance and custom
cool that's totally irrational, and glorious-
ly addictive.
Hence the Diavel's undoubted com-
mercial success, with 20,000 sold so
far since production began three years
ago of a premium priced model that now
costs $17,995 for the standard version
and $20,995 for the blinged-out Carbon
variant. But unlike with any other recent
new Ducati model (like the Hypermotard
or the now discontinued Streetfighter),
sales of Ducati's dark-side desmo didn't
just boom initially, then fall away, but
have instead flatlined annually as more
converts to the cause switched to this
devil in disguise, that's essentially two
bikes in one.
It looks like a cruiser, complete with
the fat rear tire, and a muscular yet re-
laxed riding stance delivered by the
pulled-back handlebar and mid-mounted
footpegs positioned right beneath the
rider, which are relatively high but further
forward than on other Ducatis. But it has
the performance of a Superbike, with
electrifying acceleration complemented
by improbably agile handling, all deliv-
ered to the sound of thunder emanating
from the desmo V-twin engine's in-your-
face exhaust system. Together this has
resulted in one of the most success-
ful examples of original thought on two
wheels in the modern era, but whose
original version nevertheless had a few
DARK-SIDE
DESMO
