Though they broke new ground with last year's revolutionary Multistrada 1200—the first truly offroad-capable Ducati which happens to be powered by a superbike engine—the all-new Diavel reflects an even deeper journey into previously uncharted territory: the power cruiser genre.
Ducatisti were up in arms when rumors of the Diavel circulated; after all, why should the bike builder known for its race-ready motorcycles dabble in a genre notorious for its crippling performance limitations? Perhaps they saw a gap in power cruisers like Harley-Davidson's V-Rod Muscle, Suzuki's M109R, and Star's V-Max, which pack high-powered engines but also weigh in excess of 600 pounds.
The Ducati Diavel is priced at $16,995 or $19,995 for the Carbon version, and I spent the day riding twisty Spanish roads to see how it performs. Read along to find out if this daring experiment does the Italian brand proud, or if those picky Ducatisti were right all along.
