VOL. 51 ISSUE 16 APRIL 22, 2014 P37
dialed-in suspension shrugs off
any bumps. This unlikely combi-
nation of polar opposites is what
makes this still such an enticing
motorcycle to ride, made still bet-
ter by the new model's improve-
ments to the power delivery.
Furthermore, to meet Malago-
li's objective of freshening up the
styling, the Diavel has undergone
a facelift for 2014 by its original
creator Bartholomeus Janssen
Groesbeek. He is better known
as Bart and is Ducati's Dutch
senior in-house designer who
joined them in 2002 from Yama-
ha's creative division GK Design,
which of course created the V-
Max Yamaha that together with
the Harley V-Rod is the Diavel's
only real volume production rival.
The compact riding position is
still more Monster than Hog, al-
though the rubber-mounted one-
piece, taper-section handlebar
is almost an inch higher and the
same amount closer to the rider
than on the Monster, and the
mid-mounted footpegs are still
positioned relatively high and fur-
ther forward than on other Duca-
tis - right beneath the rider. Not
high enough to avoid dragging
your boots on the deck if you
crank the Diavel to its maximum
41-degee designed-in lean angle
round a 75 mph turn, though,
with that massively wide 17-inch
(not 16 or 18-inch, as is com-
monplace for cruisers) ZR-rated
rear Pirelli's triple-compound
construction and more rounded
MotoGP-type profile giving great
grip as you hustle the Ducati
along the highway.
That restyling job extends to
an all-new seat, which resolves
my previous Diavel dudgeon of
the U-shaped device on the pre-
vious model being pretty uncom-
fortable after more than an hour
or so of riding for someone 5'11"
in stature. That wasn't just for its
unyielding padding, but also for
its low height that made my legs
get cramped during a day spent
wedged in place aboard a bike
you sit very much in rather than
on.
"We realized we had a prob-
lem with that," says Malagoli,
"so the seat is all new on this up-
dated model, and it's no longer
dipped in the middle but flatter,
so you have more room for the
rider. This makes it more com-
