2024 Ducati Diavel V4
Now, Ducati vehicles are traditionally known to be top grade when it comes to handling, performance, and in your face styling, and a bit of a pain in the back side when you actually get down to riding them, as a matter of fact.
Then why does a motorcycle like the Diavel even exist?
Because with the wide handlebar, low slung seat, the whole cruiser take on the whole motorcycling aspect.
It tends to drift away from what Ducati traditionally stood for in the first place. Now, the year is 2024 This is the Ducati Diavel V4.
It’s got two more cylinders, Ducati Diavel 1260 S. All new chassis, all new dynamics, upgraded features, all new machine. Why does this bike even exist in today’s world?
Ducati Diavel V4 Design
We’re about to find Now, as with any modern day Ducatis, the Diavel V4 has an absolute visual delight.
It appears to uphold Ducaties’ oath to providing a drap world with some of the best-looking motorcycles around. Ducati Diavel V4
Yes, skinny, light, and efficient EVs are the future, but this right here is a modern work of art. You can’t help but admire it.
Double C LED lights up front look great. Better still, the bespoke tailamp design and shape, which gives this bike a distinct identity from the real.
Of course, it looks fantastic, might even be a pain to clean when the muck starts flying about. Ducati Diavel V4
But still, the Diavel V4 retains all the signature features of the older generation Diavel models, like the single-sided swing arm with that massive rear wheel and tire.
Well, this one is a 240 section Pirelli Diablo Rosso 3 on a 17-inch rim, which will even put a lot of modern-day sports cars to shame. Still, a lot has changed all over this bike.
The front now looks a lot more tightly packed with those massive air vents, hugging the front fork, and you don’t get to see that trademark Ducati TELUS frame anymore.
Well, that’s because they’ve done away with it, and instead employed a cast aluminum monocock frame, which uses the engine as a stress member, and this has also helped reduce the overall weight of the machine.
Now, The engine itself looks a lot like a big block of metal, and it doesn’t have those neat machine touches of finesse that the older L twin had.
The Diavel V4, really striking in terms of design. The front has nice, bulky, chunky, very muscular look about it. Ducati Diavel V4
When you actually get on the bike, it doesn’t feel as heavy, though.
I really want to focus on the rear of this motorcycle because there are a couple of aspects which go unnoticed.
Pillion Passenger Foot Pegs
Design-wise, for instance, I really like the footpegs for the pillion rider kick out and you can nicely fold them back in and it goes nice and flush with the entire design of the motorcycle.
You have a nice cowl for the rear pillion seat as well, which you can remove if you want to have a pillion a board.
You can also extend the grab handle by pulling a small lever under the seat.
As a whole, if you don’t fancy having a pillion, everything fits in nice and flush and it looks a lot more neat and tidy without a pillion on board, because that essentially, according to me, is the way this motorcycle was designed to be.
Exhaust Pipes
Of course, the quad exhaust pipes, great looking, look like a couple of rocket launches ready to go to war. Ducati Diavel V4
And the single-sided swing arm, that big, chunky rear tire, great to look at. Give the bike a lot of presence and just reeks of masculinity, according to me.
And of course, there is some functional aspects to the esthetic side of it as well.
For instance, you have a nice heat shield which protects you from getting your undersides of your thighs and your legs, if you’re stuck at a signal after a long ride or when you’re on a wrong ride also.
So a good mix of functionality and esthetics with this motorcycle.
Features In Ducati Diavel V4
As you would expect with any flagship Ducati motorcycle, this one too pretty much has the kitchen thing thrown in in terms of electronic aids and features.
You have four ride modes, throttle maps, launch control, traction control, wheelie control, cornering ABS. Ducati Diavel V4
TFT Dashboard
The five-inch display readout is quite dense with information, quite like with the multi-starter. It’s also easy to toggle through the list once you’re actually accustomed to it all.
The best part is that the Diavel also gets a fuel level indication bar as well, something that sportier Panigali and Streetfighter V4 models don’t get.
The Brembo Stylemmer brakes give this bike some serious stopping power.
Suspension
If anything, the only thing this bike misses out on is the semi-active, electronically-adjustable suspension.
Ducati appear to be loading most of their flagship models with the V4 engine, which is never always going to be a bad thing, even though these new four-cylinder engines employ the traditional valve spring deck instead of the manufacturer’s famed Desmodermic Valtrain system. Ducati Diavel V4
The V4 engine and the Diavel isn’t the full-blown high-performance version of Ducati’s motor that features in the Panigale V4 and the Streetfighter V4.
Engine, Power, Torque & Performance
Instead, this one gets the 1150 cc Gran Turismo V4 from the Multistrada, which produces 168 ps and 126 Nm of max power and torque.
Now, this motor is more inclined with mid-range performance and high-speed to a range. The motor features a counter-rotating crank, which helps in the handling and agility of this bike.
Like with the Multistrada V4 Rally, well, this one even gets cylinder deactivation tech, which shuts down two cylinders at the rear when the bike is at idle or under 4,000 RPM in first gear, basically to reduce heat and fuel consumption.
As with the older DFL models, this one, two statters off the and you’ll have to be on the gas a bit to avoid stall the bike like an amateur rider, thereby tarnishing your reputation and street cred with onlookers.
A good thing about this V4 model is how the 220 kg, dry, motorcycle doesn’t feel exceptionally heavy or a task to manage at slow speed.
It slow speed turns and maneuver past traffic a lot better than the old model did. Sure, the engine did feel a bit gruffy at low revs, but it’s ready to rock and roll post-3,000 RPM. Ducati Diavel V4
Ducati Diavel V4 Ride Modes
The top two ride modes, sport and touring, give you complete access to the 168 PS of max power on tap.
Well, the other two let you play around with a more humble 115 PS, and the difference here is all there to be felt not only as soon as you set off, but also at the top end of the power band at around 10,750 RPM when you want to extract every bit of performance and aural joy from this WS machine.
Speaking of which, the stock exhaust lot on this bike doesn’t sound too bad at all. But if you want to really raise hell, well, you’ll want to slap on that add-on Akrapovic kit.
Now, there also is a bit of high pitch engine wind high up the power band, which sounds absolutely brilliant. The new rear wheel gets a 6 speed toolbox with bi-directional quick shifter. Ducati Diavel V4
But I should say that the shifts from first to second gears aren’t the smallest. Anyway, that’s just low down the toolbox and you can move past that.
Something that you can’t, which is constantly annoying on this motorcycle are this bike’s mirrors, which are almost impossible to set up right.
Ride & Handling
The handlebar is nice and wide, which gives you good leverage over the surprisingly light front-end, and the bike feels very agile once you lean it into a sweeping bend.
Feedback is good, and of course, it isn’t as sharp as the other Ducatis that are built to take on the streets. But leaned over, this one will hold its lile a lot better than before.
The revised logos will have you seated mostly upright and a bit stretched forward, while the foot pegs and controls are mid mounted, unlike on most other cruisers which have them more set forward.
But everything feels well within reach on this motorcycle, and it’s easy to have both feet flat on the ground while seated.
Now, the taller you are, the more you’ll want to throw on some aftermarket pegs on this bike to get your feet angled just right.
The turning radius of the DFL is quite commendable given this bike’s visual bulk, and the shortened wheelbase helps this bike in matters of agility as well.
It’s when you’re riding solo that you mostly feel that this bike was meant to be ridden hard and fast, and then there are times when you have a pillion aboard or you’re simply thinking, All right, let’s have none of that.
Let’s take it easy, make things comfortable. Well, the Diavel V4 is up for that as well, and that’s the commendable bit about it. Ducati Diavel V4
Sure, the Diavel V4 looks stunning, and the best part about it is that it does more than what you visually expect from it.