Ducati launches 2016 XDiavel, the feet forward touring muscle cruiser!

Ducati launched its 2016 feet-forward Diavel cruiser at the EICMA event in Milan today, the XDiavel. The bike will cost £15,795 for the standard bike and £18,392 for the higher-spec S model.

Speaking at the launch, Ducati boss Claudio Domenicali built up the unveiling of the bike, saying: “This is even further away from the Ducati range. This is black. The red is a typical Ducati posture. When we started to consider black as a colour then for us moving to black was a paradigm shift.

“We started to consider things we never did before, we started to consider things like how to enjoy the motorcycle at low speed, for example… and we came to this product.”

Called the XDiavel the bike is a feet forward version of the bike with belt drive, the first time on a Ducati that belt drive has been used.

The figures show how Ducati has shifted the Diavel powerhorse to a more low-down and mid-range muscle cruiser (which, apparently, is comfortable when cruising). The bike delivers maximum torque of 85ft-lb at just 5,000rpm and that torque sits in a flat curve from 2,100rpm which means that the bike should feel like a wave of ooomf when you crack the throttle.

There are 60 ergonomic combinations with adjustable footpegs and seat/handlebar accessories. The bike will be provided as standard with an extended back rest for the pillion. The XDiavel has a lean angle of 40 degrees, the standard Diavel can be leant over to 41 degrees.

The engine is king and this bike has revised looks. All the hoses have now gone with the water now contained inside the motor. The bike gets a 240 section rear tyre with fully adjustable suspension front and back and a tubular steel swingarm. Brakes are Brembo monobloc brakes.

The XDiavel also gets Ducati Power Launch – look for the small, red three letters on the right handlebar – which is effectively launch control. The system puts the bike into a soft mode so that you can fire the bike off the line in a non-fluff-it, no-wheelspin way. The S version also gets an LED daytime running light which will not be on the standard version.

There will be two versions of the bike,  an S version which is the glossier, tricker option and the standard model.

The S version comes with glossy black paint on the motor, machined engine parts and exclusive machined wheels. Domenicali was at pains to point out that the S version looks much more like a factory special.

Domenicali added: “This product is a crossover, it brings Ducati style and performance into the world of feet forward riding. We call it X because it’s the intersection of different worlds but also because X is a letter that make multiplication. For us X is above all, low speed excitement.”

Ducati launches 2016 XDiavel, the feet forward touring muscle cruiser!