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Chilled-Out Supercruiser

Ducati XDiavel Launch Test

Written by Alan Cathcart , Date 9:53 AM

How to enter the American cruiser market? That’s a conundrum that’s puzzled Ducati’s management for more than four decades, ever since the Italian sportbike manufacturer’s failed attempt back in 1963 to produce a Harley-style cruiser aimed at American customers via the abortive 1260cc V4 Apollo prototype, which produced more power and especially torque than the tyres of the day could handle. How does a company with an unparalleled recent history of success in World Superbike and MotoGP racing, grab a foothold in the biggest single segment of the largest motorcycle market in the Western world, while still staying true to its sporting heritage and competition credentials? At the stage that 48% of all the 483,526 streetbikes sold in the USA throughout 2014 were cruisers, that’s too big a number for even the world’s most illustrious sportbike brand to ignore – especially as the cruiser concept has been successfully exported around the world, so isn’t just confined to Ducati’s largest single market.

So that’s why Ducati went to the Dark Side back in 2012, and produced the very devil of a powercruiser in the aptly-named Diavel – that’s what the Italian word Diavolo, meaning devil, mutates to in the distinctive Bolognese accent. Its introduction delivered a completely new take on real world road riding – a combination of Superbike performance and custom cool that seemed totally irrational, but was gloriously addictive.

Hence the Diavel’s undoubted commercial success, with 30,000 examples sold so far since production began four years ago. But unlike with some other new Ducati models, sales of this dark-side desmo didn’t boom initially, only to fall away in succeeding years, but have instead flatlined year after year as more converts to the cause switched to this devil in disguise that’s essentially two bikes in one. It looks like a powercruiser, complete with macho mien thanks to the fat rear tyre on its eight-inch rim, and a muscular yet relaxed riding stance delivered by the pulled-back handlebar and mid-mounted footrests positioned right beneath the rider, so further forward than on other Ducatis. But it has the performance of a Superbike, with electrifying acceleration complemented by improbably agile handling, all delivered to the sound of thunder emanating from its desmo V-twin engine’s in-yer-face exhaust system. It’s one of the most successful examples of two-wheeled original thought to hit the market in recent years.

So now, having established that the words ‘Ducati’ and ‘cruiser’ are not mutually exclusive in terms of the marketplace, it was almost inevitable that Italy’s largest sporting brand should expand its custom range and move even further into left field with the debut of the XDiavel at last November’s Milan Show. Instead of the muscular-looking powercruiser represented by the original Diavel, this is a more chilled-out crossover model – hence the XDiavel monicker – representing on the one hand a true American-style feet-forward cruiser capable of being ridden with what Ducati catchily terms “low speed excitement”, inasmuch as on the other it also contains all the performance technology one expects from any Ducati model, wrapped up in a unique design package which blends Italian flair with raked-out U.S. custom styling. Call it a performance cruiser, for the XDiavel seeks to combine two different takes on what motorcycling’s all about – the European mode, embracing performance engineering coupled with stylish looks and nifty handling, and the American way, where a relaxed stance and a torquey engine make it cool to ride at relatively low speeds for often quite long stretches over roads with relatively few turns. And oh, yes – while looking good as you do it….

So to achieve this Ducati’s engineering team led by Eugenio Gherardi – whose last gig for the company was to create the exquisite limited-edition magnesium-framed 1199 Superleggera sportbike, Ducati’s most expensive and highest performance customer V-twin yet made – have essentially re-engineered the Diavel platform to create an equally extreme motorcycle, but with a very different character [see Technical feature]. To enhance low-speed and midrange torque and thus improve straight line cruising capability, they’ve stroked the Diavel’s DS/dual-spark version of Ducati’s liquid-cooled dohc eight-valve 90º V-twin desmo engine to enlarge it from 1198cc to 1262 cc via 106 x 71.5 mm dimensions, compared to 106 x 67.9 mm previously. While at the same time Euro 4 compliant, the XDiavel now produces maximum power of 156 bhp at 9,500 rpm, with peak torque of 128.9Nm/95ft-lb/13.1kgm delivered at just 5,000 rpm – much lower than any other Ducati model sharing the same engine package, but ideal for a cruiser: even the Diavel’s 130.5Nm of torque peaks at 8,000 revs. Moreover, at only 2,100 rpm the XDiavel power unit already delivers over 98Nm/72ft-lb/10kgm of torque, with an extremely flat curve all the way to the 10,000 rpm rev-limiter. Furthermore, in revamping the Testastretta motor to deliver this DVT 1262 variant, Ducati’s engineers have also worked closely with the stylists, so that for example the water pump has been relocated to between the vee of the cylinders so as to eliminate the array of coolant hoses on the left of the bike visible on any other Testastretta-powered model, for a cleaner custom-friendly appearance.

The XDiavel is also the first Ducati ever to feature a belt final drive for the 6-speed transmission, thus offering the advantages of silent running, cleanliness, reduced maintenance and a fluid throttle response that the cruiser customer now demands. The chance to evaluate how well Ducati has succeeded in meeting that customer’s expectations with the XDiavel as a bike to be ridden, not just looked at and admired, came via a 260km/160-mile day’s ride into the San Diego Back Country in Southern California, running alongside the Mexican border complete with random stops to satisfy the US Border Patrol that this Italian take on America’s core two-wheel market sector wasn’t an illegal immigrant, just an unexpected one….

Those stylists entrusted with delivering the most American-style Ducati model yet to enter production were led by the Diavel’s original creator Bartholomeus Janssen Groesbeek – better known as Bart, Ducati’s Dutch senior in-house designer who joined them in 2002 from Yamaha’s creative division GK Design, which of course produced the VMAX Yamaha that together with the Harley V-Rod is the Diavel’s only real volume production rival. However, the XDiavel’s spacious feet forward riding position is now more Hog than Monster, with the rubber-mounted one-piece aluminium handlebar mounted much higher and closer to the rider than on the Monster – or Diavel.

Feet forward?? On a Ducati? Well, yes indeed – why not? It’s the American Way, and the result is a superbly comfortable Supercruiser stance that makes mile-eating aboard the XDiavel comfortable as well as quick – if you want it to be the latter: your choice. The only thing you must watch out for if you opt to exploit the XDiavel’s improbably good handling is not to end up dragging the heels of your boots in turns if you crank it over to anywhere near its maximum 40º designed-in lean angle round a 75mph/110kph turn. That’s far more than most other cruisers, which usually allow around 25º of lean at most. Pirelli’s humungously wide 17-inch (not 16 or 18-inch, as is commonplace for cruisers) ZR-rated 240/45 rear dual-compound tyre created for the Diavel gives great grip as you hustle the Ducati along the highway.

For in this long, low, rakish-looking motorcycle Ducati has indeed produced a more chilled-out Supercruiser version of the Diavel that’s quite a bit more relaxing to ride than its more hard-on sister model which continues in production. In 2016 Ducati expects to manufacture a total of 7,000 examples of the XDiavel, split 80/20% in favour of the more costly but blingier S-version based on orders from its distributors around the world. This sells in Italy for Euro 23,990 incl. 22% local tax, while the stock XDiavel comes in at Euro 19,990. BTW Ducati also anticipates selling 3,000 examples of the base-level Diavel, suitably revamped to be Euro 4-compliant. But in essentially delivering a brand new and more way-out custom cruiser model, Ducati has achieved this without detracting in any way from the Diavel’s visceral appeal and intoxicating performance.

So while the XDiavel still has the mind-blowing acceleration and improbably adept handling of its sister bike, it’s even cleaner running at low revs, making it easier still to ride at slower speeds, as so many of its customers will relish doing. But in recognition that they come in all shapes and sizes – and both sexes – Ducati has made the XDiavel’s riding stance truly adaptable, via a choice of four different footrest positions, five different seats in terms of height and plushness, and three different handlebars. It’s also possible to fit a comfier passenger seat with a small backrest. All this, then, because “comfortable riding means complete low speed excitement”, according to Ing. Gherardi.

Indeed, the stock riding position proved ideally tailored for my 5’10”/1.80m stature, with the pulled back grips of the high-set handlebar falling to hand, in best tester cliché – except they really did. Ducati obviously paid close attention also to the design of the seat, which again as delivered proved sufficiently plushly upholstered that I didn’t get numb-bum syndrome during my day of sitting on it, as might have been produced by the upright feet forward stance. That frequently occurs on other manufacturer’ cruiser products which haven’t been as well thought out as the XDiavel, and it turns out that a key reason for the greater comfort are the two different densities to the seat padding – a harder one at the bottom giving support for longer rides, with a softer top layer that’s more compliant and comfortable for short ones.

Selecting the reduced power Urban riding mode knocks the XDiavel’s 156bhp power output back to 100bhp, making it mainly useful for wet weather riding when its TC-heavy settings will come in handy – but they should call this mode Rain, because it’s rather wimpish and uninspiring for dry weather riding, even in town. There, the Touring full power mode is preferable, as indeed it is practically anywhere in normal use, though there’s undoubted extra zip if you select Sport mode, in which case the XDiavel asks you to hang on very tight indeed when you gas it up hard off a stop light, or simply give a strong twist of the wrist exiting a slower turn. Then there’s a crisp but controllable response which will make you glad you had Ducati’s effective TC/traction control available, as the fat rear tyre digs into the asphalt, and the Ducati cruiser rockets forward.

But the XDiavel is by no means strictly a straight-line package, that’s reluctant to change direction anytime soon, like most other powercruisers fitted with raked-out steering geometry and a massive rear tyre, which then if you insist on cranking them over in a turn, suddenly fall on their side into the apex as you reach the shoulder of the wide flat-profile rear rubber. The shape of the rear Pirelli counters that, and anyway this is still a Ducati, after all, so not only does it pick up speed fast, but in spite of steering geometry that’s rangier than on anything else ever to leave the Bologna factory’s assembly lines, it’s improbably agile and easy-handling. With that long wheelbase and a 30º rake to the fully adjustable Marzocchi 50mm fork delivering 120mm of wheel travel, with copious amounts of trail dialled in, you’d expect the XDiavel to be a real handful in tight corners riding along city streets or mountain roads – but it isn’t. Instead, this is a bike you don’t have to fight to get it to steer. Turn-in is especially good – the XDiavel just tips easily and controllably into the apex of a turn with relatively minimal effort required, and holds a line well both at speed and going slowly, as the well dialled-in suspension shrugs off any bumps. This unlikely combination of polar opposites is what makes this such an enticing motorcycle to ride, made still better by the revamped power delivery.

Unlike on the Multistrada, whose ride-by-wire Sport engine map is generally too aggressive for the kind of use that bike enjoys, the XDiavel version is ideally tailored for helping Ducati’s latest live up to its name, with a crisp but controllable pickup and authoritative acceleration all the way through the powerband. You soon realise that Route One to sympathy with the XDiavel is to ride the torque curve, working the smooth-action six-speed gearbox to stay within the muscular V-twin engine’s 3,500-8,000 rpm happy zone as you crank this unexpectedly agile package from side to side round third and fourth gear turns, short-shifting through the gears to the background aria of the twin-cylinder tenor aria sung by the tubone exhaust. While inevitably muted thanks to Euro 4 restrictions – so it’s just as well there’s belt final drive, else chain noise might have been an issue – this may be the best-sounding Ducati in the firm’s current catalogue, both under vivid wide-open midrange acceleration, and especially on the overrun, where you also notice Gherardi’s men have left in just enough engine braking still dialled in via the slipper clutch settings to assist the outstanding Brembo brake package in slowing the XDiavel from any speed. This has the added reassurance of Bosch Cornering ABS as stock, so that however hard you squeeze even trailbraking into a turn, you won’t lock anything up. Add in that long wheelbase, and there’s great stability even stopping the XDiavel from upwards of 120kph/75mph into a downhill hairpin returning to the CSoCal coast from our trip into the hilly Back Country.

The X-model’s light-action oil-bath slipper clutch derived from the Diavel delivers the same smooth take-off as on its sister bike, but the low-rpm pickup has been even further improved, between the 1,500rpm off-idle pull away from rest, and the 3,500rpm mark when the engine really starts to motor strongly. There’s a fatter torque curve low down, and the new XDiavel is cleaner and more fluid in the way it gains revs, in keeping with its character – it’s torquier under load than before. However, things are different at part-throttle, where in Touring mode to get it to run smoothly in a line of traffic you have to be sure it’s pulling at least 4,000 rpm – let it run lower than that, and there are hints of transmission snatch. It’s not hard to discern why this should be, because in adapting the belt final drive, Ducati’s engineers have retained the same 15/43T overall gearing as on the Diavel – a bike which will be ridden in a very different, more aggressive way. Cruiser customers like to stick it in top gear and go with the flow, and even on a performance number like the XDiavel, they’ll be expecting to do this. But 70mph/110kph equals 4,200 rpm in sixth gear on it, so this means that to cruise at the legal maximum in most countries you can barely use top gear. But 100mph/160kph is achieved at only 6,200 revs, so just two-thirds of the way to redline, which means the XDiavel is essentially way overgeared, to provide a Superbike level of top speed performance that its target customer won’t exploit. Add the belt-drive equivalent of an extra 2T or even 3T to the rear wheel gear ratio, and the XDiavel would not only accelerate even better, but would also be a happier bike to ride for its target audience, who instead must get used to holding fifth or even fourth gear for long periods of chilled-out cruising. It’s an easy fix, though – except for one thing: Ducati will have ordered thousands of belts for the current gearing, which unlike with chain final drive can’t be adjusted for alternative overall gearing. Oops!

Speaking of acceleration, Ducati has recognised that stoplight drags are the competition of choice for many of its cruiser clientele by incorporating an electronic launch control on every XDiavel. Known as Ducati Power Launch (DPL), this system is claimed to guarantee dominant yet safe starts via three different modes which juggle fuel delivery, TC settings and anti-wheelie that’s accessed by pressing the relevant button on the right-hand switchgear. Once activated it’s up to you to set the intervention level via a menu on the dashboard, then pull in the clutch lever, engage first gear and twist the throttle wide open. Then release the clutch gradually for what is promised to be “the most awesome starts”, before the system automatically disengages once the XDiavel tops 120kph/75mph, or once third gear is selected, or once the bike slows to below 5kph/3mph. Oh – and to protect the clutch, a specially developed algorithm allows only a limited number of consecutive starts as shown on the dash, though the number of ‘launches left’ are gradually re-enabled once you return to riding the XDiavel somewhat more normally. Only one thing wrong – well, two actually. One, there is as yet no wide-open powershifter available even as an option (why not??) so you still have to fan the clutch for a slick upwards shift from bottom to second (and third). And, sorry – but I can’t tell you how well it works and if it’s any better than Aprilia’s pretty hopeless comparable system on the RSV4, because – Ducati didn’t dare risk the local Sheriffs coming upon us while trying it out, and we were forbidden to attempt to assess it even up a quiet side road. So tell me what it’s like when you give it a go, please!

That apart, the XDiavel is pretty much beyond criticism, and it’s evident that what Ducati has created here is a new model segment aka Supercruiser. It’ll be interesting to see which other manufacturer(s) take up the challenge of delivering a comparable model with a similar level of performance. Forget Harley, because their experiences with the poor-selling VRod will convince them otherwise – but I’ll bet Victory have something similar coming up their corporate sleeve, especially since they’ll have the dohc 1200cc eight-valve motor from their Pikes Peak racer available to power it….

But for Ducati, it’s evident that the XDiavel represents the second step along the cruiser trail, with the draXter concept bike launched at the Verona Bike Show while I was making friends with the Border Patrol surely the next model to hit the showroom. Then what? Well, it surely cannot have escaped Ing. Gherardi’s attention – nor that of his colleague Stefano Tarabusi, Ducati’s Product Manager for their Custom division – that the XDiavel would lend itself well to forming the basis of a custom tourer, especially one for the red-hot Bagger category. At the point that Ducati is working with Roland Sands on a range of co-branded aftermarket items, it can only be a matter of time before the California-based fusion chef of custom cool goes to work on transforming the XDiavel into something else equally enticing – and just as improbable, but equally fun to ride.

Who’d ever have thought it – a feet forward 156 bhp Ducati custom cruiser. Next thing, Royal Enfield will be making a Superbike ….!

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