Ducati Diavel, Anyone ridden?

[dxh24]

So yesterday i came up from my cousin's house (we live on a hill, at the bottom, is my cousins) and my Dad calls me over and says come look and my friend's new bike...i come over and look and sitting in our driveway is a Ducati Diavel

Obviously if you were looking for a FZ6 a Diavel is a bit out of that price bracket, but has anyone ridden one of these beasts? (I should have taken a couple pics.... the google images are rubbish and don't do this bike justice).

Couple of Specs for ya:
HP: 162
Torque: 94lb-ft
Powerplant: L-twin 1200cc
Dry weight: 463lbs


The thing is like a supercar....has ABS, 3 different riding modes (cruise, sport, and race if memory serves me correct), traction control, the lot... so i'm kinda interested to know how one rides... anybody had the chance to test ride one of these or borrow one from a rich buddy?

 

[Chupacabra]

There was a demo ride here in Minneapolis a month ago and I passed on the opportunity to ride it after the first rider stated "It is frightening power on a frightening sized bike that shouldn't be as capable for how large the bike is"

I don't need that type of fear in my life, haha.

I rode this though:

The Hypermotard 1100 EVO made me feel like a hooligan. You ride it towards the front of the seat, and in 2nd gear from 15-20 you whip the throttle and it invokes a very controlled wheelie. I'd rather have that anyway for the snap on the throttle vs the Diavel which has built in rocket-thrust.

 

[08fz6]

There was a demo ride here in Minneapolis a month ago and I passed on the opportunity to ride it after the first rider stated "It is frightening power on a frightening sized bike that shouldn't be as capable for how large the bike is"



I would have been the speed freak that said cool lets go.

 

[FloppyRunner]

I sure do like the idea of the bike, but it will be a while until I personally will want to buy any bike that has different "modes". I don't know, it's just not my thing. I don't want to have to choose between track, street, boring, or whatever. Just make me a bike, complete with ONE fuel mapping and let me ride it. I could probably live with adjustable suspension settings, but something about different engine programming bothers me.

I have a feeling I won't have a choice in not too many years though.

 

[Sparkybean]

Flat out

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PS0EUiQOZQA&feature=youtube_gdata_player"]YouTube - ‪2011 Ducati Diavel flat out top speed run‬‏[/ame]

 

[Andz]

I rode one yesterday.

FAAARK.... it is one scary monster. Okay, I have a 600 so maybe if you got off an R-1 or a ZX-14 onto this it might not seem as potent but damn when you twist the wrist it goes very fast, very quickly.

I was at a bike rally this weekend and a friend (and ZX-14 owner) now works for my local Ducati dealer and had a black demo model with Akros on it. That sound is pure sex and the bike is a head turner second to none.

It has a transponder system so you leave the key in your pocket and press down on the kill switch to activate the system. The colour display mounted on the top of the tank tells you which mode you are in (sport, touring etc), the water temperature, gear indicator and odometer. The upper display mounted on the bars has the speedo and rev counter, above this is a row of idiot lights.

The bars are quite a bit wider than the stock FZ-6 bars but quite comfortable. The hinged passenger footpegs are a work of art and when folded away are practically invisible. My wife said that the passenger seat and seating position are more comfortable than the Fazer.

When I took it out on the open road I was astounded at the throttle response. No numbers will be supplied as I don't want any condescending, holier-than-thou tut-tutting about speeds but let's just say it is very very fast and the digital speedometer is a blur when you wind it. Despite being quite long it handles nicely and this one has had some track time as the lack of chicken strips and ground down footpegs will show.

The only downside (for me) to this bike is the price. It sells for USD 24,350 here which is a ton of money for a bike.

For those who haven't seen it: Ducati Diavel