2012 Ducati Diavel. Suspension, Wheels & ABS
Suspension
The Diavel uses black-bodied 50mm Marzocchi front forks. These forks are fully adjustable for spring pre-load, compression and rebound damping.
The forks are gripped by a slash-cut triple-clamp - cast aluminium for the lower and forged for the upper - with a rubber-mounted riser to tapered alloy bars.
With a rake of 28°, trail of 130mm (5.12in) and an offset of 24mm (0.945in), the set-up provides a sure-footed and agile front-end for incredible handling and 70° of total steering lock for maximum manoeuvrability.
The Diavel Carbon uses the same suspension as the Diavel, but with fork sliders black-finished in super low-friction diamond-like carbon (DLC).
Both versions of the Diavel have a Sachs rear suspension unit slung low under the chassis in a horizontal position, operated by a progressive pull-rod linkage from the swingarm. Adjustable in compression and rebound damping, the unit uses a handy control for easy spring pre-load adjustment.
Wheels and Tyres
The Diavel rolls on stunning, custom 14-spoke wheels with machine-finished detailing. The front rim is 3.5x17, while the rear, which is "flow-formed" for enhanced structure and lightness, boasts a massive 8x17 rim.
The Diavel Carbon has custom shop-finished, lightweight, forged, turned and milled rims by Marchesini that not only score an impressive total weight saving of 5.5lb (2.5kg), but also look spectacular. These highly intricate nine-spoke wheels highlight the delicate machining in natural aluminium set against a black finish.
Ducati's technical partner, Pirelli, worked with the Diavel's designers and engineers to develop the incredible new Diablo Rosso II tyres. While the front uses a conventional 120/70x17 section with a new tread pattern designed for enhanced wet weather performance, the 240/45x17 rear represents the latest innovation in tyre design with a sport-oriented profile being applied to custom-style width.
The massive rear employs bi-compound technology to enable high grip levels at full lean angle while providing high mileage and uses Enhanced Patch Technology (EPT) to maximise the contact patch at all angles. The tread pattern and compounds deliver great performance in all conditions, especially the wet.
This new design of tyre enabled Ducati to achieve the style they had envisioned for the Diavel without compromising the authentic Ducati performance of the chassis. This partnership of parallel development between chassis and tyre design has contributed massively to Ducati "changing the rules" in this segment.
Braking and ABS
The Diavel front brakes use Brembo's incredibly powerful Monobloc callipers, which deliver outstanding performance actuated by new integral alloy master cylinders with unique shape reservoirs sporting milled tops.
The 4-piston, twin radially-mounted callipers grip 320mm discs, while a single 265mm disc on the rear is gripped by a two piston calliper, also by Brembo.
The Diavel Carbon uses specially milled aluminium disc carriers which have natural aluminium coloured recesses machined around the weight saving cut-outs in contrast to the carrier's black finish around the centre.
Typical of Ducati, these top-of-the-range components provide outstanding levels of braking and set a new benchmark in this category.
The system is equipped with the latest, most compact, Ducati Bosch-Brembo ABS system as original equipment on both versions, providing a major contribution towards performance control. Top Brembo components combined with Bosch ABS, the special Diavel chassis configuration and Pirelli's Enhanced Patch Technology (EPT) result in a braking performance even greater than that of the awesome Ducati Superbikes.