Skip to main content

Ducati’s 2015 Diavel gets Audi-inspired LEDs, power down low where it counts

Ducati’s Diavel – the cruiser bike that really isn’t a cruiser, by cruiser metrics at least – has received a fairly extensive massage for 2015. It remains a unique niche bike in the cruiser market and the latest changes shift its power peaks and sharpen up its standout style.

The previous split-style headlight has been replaced by a more pleasing but complex omega-shaped array of LEDs surrounding a central high-beam nacelle, a move almost certainly influenced by new owner Audi’s expertise in LED car lighting systems. The layout looks more integrated than the previous half-moon design of the original headlight and more closely mirrors the LED taillight and turn signal strips out back.

The bar and triple-clamp area has been tweaked and cleaned up, and – if I’m not mistaken – the twin anodized aluminum air intakes straddling the gas tank look more pronounced. It’s been exaggerated so much that some might call out Ducati for cribbing from the Yamaha V-Max. Although no one is going to confuse the two bikes, even at a distance.

Beyond that, the instrument cluster has been split between a tank-mounted color LCD info panel and a primary mono LCD screen placed near the handlebar containing both tach and speedo (another V-Max convention).

Diavel-Carbon_2014_Amb-007
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Diavel and the V-Max (especially the older, pre-2008 versions) do seem to be brothers from another mother in some ways, with their standardized riding position, cupped seating, and predilection for big horsepower and torque numbers.

And those numbers now pencil out to 162 horsepower for the Diavel’s 1,198cc Testastretta V-Twin, which mixes in 96 pound-feet of torque. Ducati says the V-Twin’s twist now hits lower in the rev range for more acceleration/tire-shredding burnouts. Peak torque arrives at 8,000rpm, a rev range most cruisers don’t even approach at all. Peak horsepower comes just about 1,000 rpms later but also at a lower point in the rev range than last year for more usability.

Restyled cans out back look nice enough, but will likely be quickly jettisoned for something from Arrow or Termi with a gutsier growl. Final drive from the six-speed box to the 240-section rear meat remains chain-driven and the rear of the bike is uglied up by a mandated splatter guard growing out of the single-sided swingarm. That ugliness, though, is nothing ten minutes and a socket set can’t solve.

While the original V-Max was never really designed to scare sport bikes in the twisties, more than a few capable Diavel pilots have likely embarrassed some wannabe corner jockeys with its huge-for-a-cruiser ground clearance, horsepower, three ride control modes and slipper clutch. These features, I should mention, are absent from most boulevard boomers.

Standard Bosch ABS working through Brembo monobloc calipers work alongside a traction control system and ride-by-wire throttle that assists riders who have decided their back-breaking sport bike days may be over … but their aggressive riding time is not. For the lightweight-bike-obsessed, a more-expensive Carbon (fiber) version of the Diavel that shaves 12.5 pounds off the base bike’s 463-pound dry weight is also available.

Many in the riding community were incredulous about a Ducati “cruiser” when the Diavel debuted in 2010. The bike’s very different look, performance capabilities, and comfort (not something Ducati was known for) have changed more than a few minds. Accordingly, the Diavel is a solid seller, especially with women riders and fellas closer to retirement than their college days. The changes for 2015 will likely contribute to its growing popularity.

(Images and video courtesy of Ducati USA)

Bill Roberson
Former Digital Trends Contributor
I focus on producing Digital Trends' 'DT Daily' video news program along with photographing items we get in for review. I…
Honda unveils sleek electric sedan and SUV prototypes at CES 2025
Honda 0 Saloon and Honda 0 SUV prototypes.

Honda’s next-generation electric vehicles are a step closer to production. At CES 2025, the automaker unveiled prototypes of the 0 Saloon and 0 SUV, the first two of its 0 Series EVs that will start rolling off assembly lines in Ohio next year.

The two EVs follow 0 Series concept cars Honda unveiled at CES 2024. These are closer to what buyers can expect to see in showrooms, hence the label of “prototype” rather than “concept.” How close exactly? When Honda unveils a prototype, that vehicle generally makes the transition to production with minimal changes. But that would be particularly remarkable here.
They still look like concept cars

Read more
Digital Trends’ Top Tech of CES 2025 Awards
Top Tech of CES

Las Vegas is overrun. Every billboard in town is shouting about AI, hotel bar tops now sport a sea of laptops, and after hours The Strip is elbow to elbow with engineers toting yard-long beers.

That means CES, the year’s biggest tech bacchanalia, has come to town, and Digital Trends editors have spent the last four days frolicking among next year’s crop of incredible TVs, computers, tablets, and EVs. We’re in heaven.

Read more
Sony and Honda’s Afeela 1 EV makes more sense at CES than in the real world
Afeela 1 front quarter view.

The Sony car is almost here. After its creation via a joint venture with Honda in 2022 and two years’ worth of prototypes, the electronics giant’s Afeela brand is finally taking reservations for its first electric vehicle, with deliveries scheduled to start in 2026.

But will it be worth the wait? Coinciding with the opening of reservations, Sony Honda Mobility brought updated prototypes of the Afeela 1 (as it’s now officially known) to CES 2025, representing what California customers (Afeela is only taking reservations in that state) who put down a $200 refundable deposit can expect when they take delivery.

Read more