2012 Ducati Diavel Cromo Review

[Buzglyd]

Originally Posted by Auphliam

I thought that was supposed to be their claim to fame? Straight line speed I mean...not 'hosing'.

About the Duck, I cannot begin to express how much I would love to have one of these in my possession. It just looks like mad fun.

Who's claim to fame and who's claiming it.

The VRod was supposed to be the modern liquid-cooled H-D that all the air-cooled haters said they would buy. And then they didn't.

[Kevin_Duke]

Originally Posted by Duken4evr

The quarter mile times seem even faster than the engine's considerable output would suggest. Chalk it up to V-Twin hookup out of the hole and long wheelbase. I bet this bike is pretty hard to beat in a 1/8th mile run.

It did a 6.60 in the 8th. In acceleration compared to a sportbike, the Diavel excels for its longer wheelbase, as you say, but also for its lower CG with a rider on board, both resulting in less weight transfer, thus less prone to accel-killing wheelies.

[Kevin_Duke]

Originally Posted by The Spaceman

And people say VStroms are ugly...yeesh. This bike looks like a dog that's been chasing parked cars.

Any chance you could throw a Harley V-Rod in with the V-Max for your upcoming comparo? Come to think of it, is HD still building V-Rods?

Throwing in a V-Rod (still in production) might've been interesting, but our testing is already complete. FWIW, it would've finished last at the strip.

[Kevin_Duke]

Originally Posted by sliphorn

In the specs box you show the valve service inspection as 24,000km (24,000m). That should be 15,000m not 24,000m. Or more accurately as 14,880m.

Right you are!

[Kevin_Duke]

Originally Posted by Auphliam

I thought that was supposed to be their claim to fame? Straight line speed I mean...not 'hosing'.

Speed is relative. The 'Rod is fast compared to other Harleys. It's slow compared to a Diavel.

[Buzglyd]

Originally Posted by Kevin_Duke

Speed is relative. The 'Rod is fast compared to other Harleys. It's slow compared to a Diavel.

The Diavel gets a lot better looking after you ride it, eh?

[seruzawa]

Originally Posted by Kevin_Duke

It did a 6.60 in the 8th. In acceleration compared to a sportbike, the Diavel excels for its longer wheelbase, as you say, but also for its lower CG with a rider on board, both resulting in less weight transfer, thus less prone to accel-killing wheelies.

It's a tribute to the insane power of liter-class sportbikes that they can get the quick 1/4 mile times that they do stock with those short wheelbases. My old boat anchor of a 100hp GSX1100G used to easily stuff literbikes in the 1/8th mile simply because the long wheelbase and weight up front kept the front wheel just floating on the tarmac under full throttle. Near perfect launches were easy. Drag racing is far more then just twisting a throttle. They are usually won on the starting line.

[seruzawa]

Originally Posted by Buzglyd

The Diavel gets a lot better looking after you ride it, eh?

When you are sitting on it you can't see it.

[Buzglyd]

Originally Posted by seruzawa

When you are sitting on it you can't see it.

I didn't know you were bi-lingual.

I wrote that in Canadian for Duke.

[Kevin_Duke]

Originally Posted by seruzawa

It's a tribute to the insane power of liter-class sportbikes that they can get the quick 1/4 mile times that they do stock with those short wheelbases. My old boat anchor of a 100hp GSX1100G used to easily stuff literbikes in the 1/8th mile simply because the long wheelbase and weight up front kept the front wheel just floating on the tarmac under full throttle. Near perfect launches were easy. Drag racing is far more then just twisting a throttle. They are usually won on the starting line.

Also easy to launch is the ZX-14R. Dial up just 3600 rpm and hold on for a 6.4-sec 8th-mile run.