Tasked with developing social content around the breaking acquisition of Ducati by VW, an Audi marketing intern dashed out of HQ this morning, parked a Diavel next to an R8 and snapped these pics. Man, are they going to look good on Ferdinand Piech’s Facebook timeline too. “Life Event: Bought Ducati. Suck it Quandt.”
Ever used a motorcycle to create a much needed break from the humdrum routine of family life? Brand new dad Jamie Robinson left little Giacomo (you know who after) in bed with mom and took off for the California desert aboard a Ducati Diavel. Hell, I don’t even have a kid and this kind of ride is often all I can do to keep sane. :continue:
If you live in LA, you’ve probably been to The Snake. If not, you’ve doubtlessly seen the videos on YouTube. Each weekend, riders flock to this road to hone their skills and find temporary internet fame by crashing in front of the cameras. Officially, it’s not a race, but there are still fast guys and slow guys, crashing, passing and bragging. You can’t win, but you can buy a picture of yourself in tight one-piece leathers on your late model sportsbike, knee firmly planted on the ground and elbow not far behind. It’s the next best thing to a street racing trophy. With this in mind, I set out on a Ducati Diavel to do some posing and earn myself a trophy.
Photo: RockStorePhotos
Lending the Ducati Diavel a much-needed classic air, it’s amazing the effect a little chrome and some classic badges can have on a bike. Add to that list the ribbed seat and black paint and you actually have, for possibly the first time, a pretty Diavel.
![Diavel-Cromo_2012_Studio_C01_1920x1280.mediagallery_output_image_[1920x1080]](http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6227/6324073984_9f72834dd8_s.jpg "Diavel-Cromo_2012_Studio_C01_1920x1280.mediagallery_output_image_[1920x1080]")
![Diavel-Cromo_2012_Studio_D01_1920x1280.mediagallery_output_image_[1920x1080]](http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6229/6323545673_b3c46868f9_s.jpg "Diavel-Cromo_2012_Studio_D01_1920x1280.mediagallery_output_image_[1920x1080]")
![Diavel-Cromo_2012_Studio_Dettaglio02_1920x1280.mediagallery_output_image_[1920x1080]](http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6239/6324075270_6210cede2a_s.jpg "Diavel-Cromo_2012_Studio_Dettaglio02_1920x1280.mediagallery_output_image_[1920x1080]")
![Diavel-Cromo_2012_Studio_Dettaglio03_1920x1280.mediagallery_output_image_[1920x1080]](http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6220/6324075648_afe1ba71b1_s.jpg "Diavel-Cromo_2012_Studio_Dettaglio03_1920x1280.mediagallery_output_image_[1920x1080]")
The Ducati Diavel has been called a lot of things by people looking for a nice pigeon hole. Usually it’s cruiser, naked bike, sport cruiser or muscle bike, but a lot of people have added ugly, dumb and poorly designed to the list. HFL reader and RentaDucati.com owner David Johnson was nice enough to let me take his Diavel out to Palomar Mountain to find out for myself. :continue:
To say the least, Ducati’s Diavel is controversial. JT Nesbitt called it a massive breach of brand trust and honesty and later penned the McQueen/Hasselhoff conundrum. Back in December Wes wrote a story entitled Who’s buying the Diavel. The underlying idea behind these stories is that regardless of how good of a motorcycle the Diavel is, it was designed to attract a new type of customer, one that is drastically different from previous generations of Ducati owners. People like this guy. :continue:
The Ducati Diavel is a lot of things. It’s a cruiser, but it’s also a performance bike. It’s “a massive breach of brand trust and honesty,” but it’s also “the best bike Ducati makes.” It’s “a $15,000 motorcycle no one needs,” but it’s bringing new riders into the Ducati brand. It’s Hasslehoff, but it also makes me look good. One thing it’s not, though, is a race bike. Surely you must be mad to try and road race one against 1098s and 999s, right? Let’s ask Dutch superhero Joost Overzee, pictured above with a memento of the experience. — Ed. :continue:
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first onboard video of a Ducati Diavel on track. Shot by Washington’s Ducati Bellevue at Pacific Raceways the action captured on the Diavel and by a Suzuki GSX-R following it reveals something of the performance cruiser’s nature. Fast? Well, it’s passing 848s and other sportsbikes. :continue:
Why do we give manufacturers such a hard time for over-enthusiastically representing their successes? It has to do with a sickness we see in the motorcycle industry; a detachment from reality that leads to dishonest marketing, dishonest journalism and an inability to objectively evaluate problems, then act to fix them. If we, as a hobby/passion/industry/whatever can’t be honest with ourselves, then how are we going to identify what our current problems are and then work to fix them?
Last September we picked on Harley (unsurprisingly) for claiming it was creating new young adult riders when its number of them was actually shrinking, BMW for using percentages to overstate sales results and even the Motorcycle Industry Council for claiming a boost in motorcycle safety when really it was just a case of fewer new riders on the road. Now it’s Ducati’s turn. “68 percent retail sales growth.” ZOMG, really?! Hurry guys, let’s rush to reprint that!
Update :continue:
I think Mr. Editor Siler must have been feeling some guilt and worry, not unlike a WWI squadron commander ordering one of his pilots off to do battle with The Hun, thinking “How can I send a kid up in a crate like that?” I was about to saddle up and ride a Diavel, Ducati’s new muscle-bike-power-cruiser-thingie, into deepest darkest sportbike territory, the canyon roads above California’s Pacific Coast Highway, when he pinged me on the iPhone: “Watch that beach ball in corners…” Said sphere is the Ducati Diavel‘s cartoonishly wide 240mm Pirelli Diablo Rosso II, the subject of more than a little derision on these very web pages. The fact that Ducati chose the hills above Malibu as venue for the Diavel’s U.S. press ride should have been a tip-off. Thanks for the concern, Wes, but no need to worry. :continue:
