Ducati XDiavel

As said above, the Ducati XDiavel is a more laidback-looking avatar of the standard Diavel, which itself is one of the most muscular-looking modern power cruisers available in the market. The Ducati XDiavel is a fresh departure from the old-school cruisers with its modern design approach, which makes it look very sleek and futuristic, thanks to the presence of modern-day elements, which are described below.

The front fascia of the Ducati XDiavel has a slanted appearance for the all-LED headlamp, which has inverted U-shaped daytime running LEDs around its edges. Positioned slightly lower, this headlamp has silver surrounds and comes attached with sleek LED turn indicators on its upper edges. The slightly-sweptback handlebar is positioned slightly higher, which instantly gives it a visual stance of a cruiser. A tiny front fender above the wide front tyre completes the frontal look of the motorcycle.

Move towards the side profile, and the visual appeal of the Ducati XDiavel is centred around the sleek and long fuel tank and the massive twin-cylinder engine sitting below it, with a partially exposed trellis frame. The engine gets a huge vertically-aligned cowl, which covers its lower portion as well as the sides of the radiator at the front. The motorcycle gets a stubby-looking twin exhaust pipe setup, which along with the single-sided swing-arm makes the Ducati XDiavel look a beautiful piece of art.

Towards the rear, the Ducati XDiavel begins to appear slimmer and minimalist compared to its frontal look. The compact tailpiece of the motorcycle has a curved seat placed above it, which has a big saddle for the rider and a tiny perch for the pillion, the latter of which can prove uncomfortable for long distances due to limited room to move. The back of this floating tailpiece has dual LED strips parallel to each other, which serve as both tail lamp and turn indicators. In place of a functional rear fender, the Ducati XDiavel gets a small rear tyre hugger.

In the middle of the rider’s cockpit behind the sweptback handlebar, the Ducati XDiavel gets a full-TFT instrument console, which is one of the fanciest-looking display units among cruisers in the world. This coloured unit has multiple display modes for all types of information one would expect from a motorcycle of this class. It also is compatible with Bluetooth connectivity and shows navigation inputs as well.

Among all the cruisers, the Ducati XDiavel is the one which has the most sophisticated mechanical setup for its chassis. The motorcycle gets fully-adjustable 50mm upside-down telescopic forks at the front and a single-sided swingarm with fully adjustable preload and rebound adjustable mono-shock. For a cruiser, it has a slightly stiff ride quality, but at the same time, it handles nothing like a traditional cruiser – it feels nimble around corners too. The motorcycle comes shod with a meatier set of 120/70 ZR17 front and 240/45 ZR17 rear Pirelli Diablo Rosso III tyres and is equipped with a braking setup of dual 320mm discs at the front and a single 265mm disc at the rear.

The Ducati XDiavel has a mighty heart in the form of a four-stroke, liquid-cooled, 90-degree V-twin, Testastretta 1262cc engine, which is paired to a 6-speed gearbox. Unlike other cruisers, the engine of the Ducati XDiavel is tweaked for peak power delivery at higher RPMs, much like in roadsters. The engine puts up a maximum power output of 160 PS, while the peak torque output is rated at 127 Nm.

For a Ducati, the XDiavel is decently equipped with features like power modes, ride modes, cornering ABS, traction control, cruise control and power launch. For a cruiser though, these features seem more than enough.

The excellence of the Ducati XDiavel in styling, performance, riding dynamics and equipment levels easily rank it as one of the most technically-advanced cruisers money can buy.