Ducati Diavel 1260 S Bigger and badder with a lot more attitude is the new Diavel 1260 S
We are astride the sporty variant of Ducati’s “not-a-cruiser” here on home soil to see if it is a suitable fit for the Indian market
– “Dark Necessities” by Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Diavel is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma shrouded in an identity crisis. The name literally translates into “devil” (in Italian) and it looks, for all intents and purposes, like a cruiser. It offers the kind of onpaper output that compels you to add the word “power” to the cruiser classification, which is when Ducati wade into the conversation and say ‘No!’ The Italians really don’t like their pet fiend being called a cruiser of any sort. This despite the fact that the Diavel started off as an attempt by the bikemakers from Bologna to elbow in on the lucrative American cruiser market. So, if not cruiser then what? How do you categorise this hell beast from Ducati?
A visual examination has the pendulum swinging very firmly in the direction of the cruiser. It may be a balls-to-the-wall design that’s a perfect balance between beautiful and bonkers, but you can’t deny that it very clearly looks like a blown-out power cruiser. That silhouette, so distinctive with the chunky tank, low riding saddle, mid-set pegs, high bars, and verging-on-ridiculous 240-mm wide rear tyre checks all the right boxes for a highway star, a long-distance runner with bulging muscles and a massive pair of lungs. Well, it would be, until you spot the Ducati badging on the tank, subtly integrated into the tank design. This isn’t your McDonalds scarfing, cola chugging ’Murican. This is a risotto-eating and espressosipping, high-fashion Italian. And it knows it too. Those lines — so clean, so bold, so exotic.
That bulging headlamp unit with the slick DRL, those svelte vertical indicator bars borrowed from its parent brand with the Four Rings, the intricate detailing in the back seat, the seamless tail-lamps and integrated turn indicator, and that delectable wheel design, fully on show thanks to the single-sided swing-arm, are all indicative that this might not be your average mile-muncher. And if you need further proof that those haughty Italians have every reason to scoff at the cruiser tag, well, there are other visual cues too. For instance, the suspension. The prominent golden 48-mm USD forks have the word Öhlins etched into the bottom and fully adjustable kit it is too. The same goes for the monoshock. And then there’re those Brembo monobloc M50 calipers and a six-axis Bosch IMU. That’s sports bike kit on what is supposed to be a straightforward devourer of distances. So, it looks like a cruiser at first glance, but a closer look reveals that occult forces brew beneath the surface.
The expansive kit offering extends to the full-TFT info cluster too. There are four different layouts to pick from. One is a default set-up and there are three more based on the riding mode you set up the bike in. The modes themselves are Sport, Touring, and Urban. The riding modes let you play with traction control set-up (eight levels), degree of ABS intervention (three levels), level of wheelie control (eight levels) — everything. And you can fully adjust the pre-set modes to suit your fancy. All of this can be done extensively at a standstill using the accompanying switchgear which gets a menacing red backlight. You can also switch through the modes on the fly and you can even hook up your phone to the screen via Bluetooth and the Ducati app and manage calls, sort your music out, and more. There’s another important use for the switchgear — to engage cruise control. How much more cruiser can you get? You even get launch control as part of the electronics suite. No, seriously. Called Ducati
Spend too long in the Diavel’s clutches and you’re more than likely to end up yearning for the dark side, identity crisis or not
Power Launch eVo, this system comes in three levels based on how aggressively you want to set off. engage it, clutch in, whack open the throttle, and let go. the electronics take care of the rest, controlling throttle response to give you the optimal drive off the line. clearly, this bike has got a little more tech than your average cruiser. the mystery of the diavel’s identity deepens.
another twist in the tale comes from the riding position. the high and wide bar, low seat, and mid-set peg set-up is undeniably cruiser. the saddle is a comfortable place to be, with the wide perch offering plenty of support and a plush spot to park your keister. Because the diavel comes with keyless go, you can leave the fob firmly in your pocket, push the on button, thumb the starter, and away you go. considering i was on public roads i couldn’t really test out Power Launch, so i set off the old-fashioned way and, man, does it set off too! thanks to the potent 1,262-cc engine and ducati’s proprietary ducati testastretta dVt (desmodromic Variable timing) tech you get a healthy torque spread across the rev-range and the bike just pulls and pulls.
that fat rear tyre and the sheer ensemble of electronics keep you on the straight and narrow as you wring the throttle for all it is worth. it would take a brave man (or someone who has tussled with big bruisers in the past at the very least) to take off the electronic shackles and see if the diavel can bite your head off. so, of course, i had to give it a go. sport mode with custom settings — wheelie control off, traction control off, engine response set to high, and aBs on level two. i was ready to dance with this devil. on the straights, the acceleration is neck-snapping and you can feel the front getting light when you snap on the gas. the six-speed gearbox performs consistently and flawlessly and comes with quickshifter goodness so you can hustle up and down through the cogs. You would think that its fancypants suspension would see the diavel feel stiff as a convent school principal. it isn’t quite that extreme, though. the suspension is pliant enough across the pits and craters and while it is on the stiffer side, it isn’t wooden or unforgiving. and considering you have full control on how it is set up, there’s a big scope for finicking about.
the diavel is capable on the bendy bits too. the wide bars offer great leverage and while it isn’t really flickable due to its size and footprint, it holds steady on lean once you’ve muscled it over. those Pirelli diablo rosso iii tyres have a big hand in this. You can feel the rear wheel skipping out when you make the apex and try to accelerate out of the corner, though, and that is one scary experience. so, i erred on the side of caution after a couple of corners and switched back to the relative lack of lunacy of touring mode. Breathing a little easier, i set off again. the brakes on the diavel are top-spec and they live up to the hype too. this is a hefty unit and once it gathers up inertia, getting it to shed speeds should be a challenge, but the Brembo set-up has it under control. With the electronic cosseters up and running, the diavel doesn’t fuss about under hard braking and comes to a standstill in a predictable fashion.
now the diavel isn’t a practical, every-day use kind of bike, especially in india. the ground clearance isn’t the greatest, so you have to be careful as you scale those everest-inspired bumps that local contractors seem to revel in tormenting us with from time to time. it has a lazy turning radius, too, so u-turns, especially in tighter lanes, will ensure you a get a proper workout, whether you want one or not. You can’t really thread through traffic either and even backing it out of a street-side parking space is a pain. the diavel, especially in this s guise, doesn’t go easy on your bank balance either. With an ex-showroom sticker of rs 19.60 lakh, the ordinary middle-classer would have to make a shady deal with the actual devil to afford this one.
so, if the question is, “should i buy it?”, the answer from your cranium will always pop up with a negative. But, see, that’s the thing about dancing with the devil. ancient, evil magics bewitch your mind and ensnare your senses and all rationality flies right out of the window. spend too long in the diavel’s clutches and you’re more than likely to end up yearning for the dark side, identity crisis or not. so, anyone have ol’ Beelzebub on speed dial?