Photo: CarPix
With bigger and better spy shots of the new Ducati Diavel at hand we can now tell you that Borgo Panigale's muscle bike has changed quite a lot. And the fact that the new Diavel comes with a belt final drive is just one of the changes.
Naming all the reasons why Ducati chose to go belt is impossible for now, but two things come to mind in the first place. In fact one derives from the other, but the main one is that Ducati might be eyeing a stronger Diavel presence in the US, and the US is traditionally the land of belt-driven bikes.
With all the revisions the Diavel got, we see it slowly drifting towards Harley-Davidson V-Rod's niche. The forks also got raked and have crossed the fine border between the classic Euro muscle bike and the American one. Plus, the belt drive comes with virtually no maintenance requirements and is a more suitable choice for US customers.
Two radiators with a design that has almost nothing in common with the ones on the basic Diavel also now present and they change the bike's stance quite a lot. The exhaust routing was also modified, and the belt-driven Diavel, and the collectors are now hidden underneath the engine and on the left side. They end up in a huge underbelly silencer with two ports, and the design adds more to the robust, compact vibe of the Diavel.
The swingarm is also changed, as Ducati opted for a MotoGP-like "drive through" single-sided unit. The change is also paired to a new rear suspension; the basic Diavel had a low-mounted monoshock, and it was replaced by Panigale-inspired offset, left-hand horizontal one.
Still, we saw something a bit intriguing in these spy shots: the new machine doesn't appear to have been designed with a passenger in mind! The testing equipment crammed in the tail bag sits on a makeshift frame that was attached to the bike's tail, and we can see the two iconic tail lights.
A passenger could hardly fit in the space above them. Is Ducati taking such a bold step as to offer a solo beast? We are most likely going to find out at EICMA, later this year, even though we'll be delving deeper for more info.
With all the revisions the Diavel got, we see it slowly drifting towards Harley-Davidson V-Rod's niche. The forks also got raked and have crossed the fine border between the classic Euro muscle bike and the American one. Plus, the belt drive comes with virtually no maintenance requirements and is a more suitable choice for US customers.
A new frame, new rear suspension and many more changes
The upcoming belt-driven Diavel comes with a new frame. Still a tubular trellis structure, the frame of the new bike is easy to tell apart from the old one. The engine is also new for this Diavel incarnation, and it doesn't look like it's going to be the DVT version now present in the Multistrada.Two radiators with a design that has almost nothing in common with the ones on the basic Diavel also now present and they change the bike's stance quite a lot. The exhaust routing was also modified, and the belt-driven Diavel, and the collectors are now hidden underneath the engine and on the left side. They end up in a huge underbelly silencer with two ports, and the design adds more to the robust, compact vibe of the Diavel.
The swingarm is also changed, as Ducati opted for a MotoGP-like "drive through" single-sided unit. The change is also paired to a new rear suspension; the basic Diavel had a low-mounted monoshock, and it was replaced by Panigale-inspired offset, left-hand horizontal one.
A solo machine?
Ducati endowed the Diavel with forward-mounted foot controls, and this is yet one more US-feature we weren't expecting from Borgo Panigale. The headlight and the fuel tank are also revised, as you can see in these pictures. The belt-driven Diavel seems like it could accommodate taller riders better than the initial version.Still, we saw something a bit intriguing in these spy shots: the new machine doesn't appear to have been designed with a passenger in mind! The testing equipment crammed in the tail bag sits on a makeshift frame that was attached to the bike's tail, and we can see the two iconic tail lights.
A passenger could hardly fit in the space above them. Is Ducati taking such a bold step as to offer a solo beast? We are most likely going to find out at EICMA, later this year, even though we'll be delving deeper for more info.
Google News