There are those born desperate to fit in and there are others who would sooner chew their own arm off than join the ranks of convention. The same goes for bikes, with the king of the renegades being Ducati’s Diavel. It’s been unashamedly different since the very get-go, audaciously bursting onto the scene in 2010 and confusing people more than a nun in a strip club. What the hell was it? Who was it for? Had Ducati gone crazy? I remember there being more questions than compliments at its inauguration, but the model’s now onto its third iteration and has cranked up 45,000 unit sales to its name… which is another way of saying it’s been a bloody big hit for the Bologna brand. The question is, what happens next for this extrovert power cruiser now it has ditched its V-twin motor for a smaller, but pokier V4 option? In fact, it’s dropped a number of things, including a whopping 13kg in mass, of which 5kg came from the engine alone. Based largely around the Multistrada V4’s motor, there’s been some tweaks to the cams (to help lower emissions), the airbox (now integrated into the bike’s ‘front frame’), and the exhaust system (which is nothing short of a whopper… as I’ll explain shortly). The culmination of this sees an output of 165bhp, with 126Nm to make sure no Nova ever beats you away from the traffic lights again… especially if you indulge in one of the three tiers of launch control
