Well it stopped raining last night and I awoke with anticipation of my planned ride. The sun was out with some patchy cloud and it was windy and chilly but that I can cope with that. Well, I smooched the missus and put on my sexy bike gear... she smooched me again (the bike gear always makes that happen), and got the bike out of the garage. I had read up on the manual made sure the urban mode was set and I set the traction control to 7.

Fired up the devil and gingerly took off. Whats to follow comes from an individual who's NEVER ridden a Ducati of any sort. So what I notice immediately is at low speed and in 1st gear the bike juddered a lot! All this below 3000 rpm. 2nd gear was no better. I thought something was seriously wrong with the engine and decided to hobble the 400 yards back home! I called the dealer tech and was told that its normal and very much a Ducati trait and the bike is geared to run above 3000 rpm where lugging of the engine is minimal. Ok, feeling like a fool I took his advice and took of again and kept the revs between 3-7000k. This time riding with a bit more abandon and shifting often. The bike got to feel much better. So I can just hear the giggles and comments from Ducatistas so... shut it!

Anyhow, carried on my ride and upon opening it up a bit... YIKES! it is magnificent... the juddering wobble had decreased and the bike felt better. What I noticed is that one gets comfortable on the bike in less than 5 minutes! Astonishing! Its the power that one needs to remain aware of at all times as around a corner a slight twist on the throttle and the traction will take you wherever the front wheel is pointing... so remaining on the ball is a good idea. After a few more miles I went down my normal twisty roads and the bike is nimble and felt very well planted all the time. I have to say that this is not a bike for simply tootling along at a slow speed. Sure it'll do it but its harsh and somewhat raw. It is the perfect bike for a spirited ride where you want to feel the road and truly enjoy the handling and responsiveness of a motorcycle. i don't think this bike is for the average Harley rider who wants to cruise along without having to really work at it. I would almost compare the Divale to my Porsche GT3 which is a drivers car first and foremost.

Well the ride continued and I loved every moment of it. The brakes are like nothing I've experienced on a bike. Just gobsmackingly good! The exhaust is loud enough for me and my town! At speed it is pure music. I love it!! Heres a few pics from todays ride and some in my yard.

BTW, when you've had enough of the pics please tell me to stop... no hard feelings.

 

 

Enough of the pics; send us a VIDEO of it's exhaust note! Also, the 'juddering' should lessen as it's warmed up. At least thats my experience with my V Twins. It only gets better. Also once you've gotten a taste of the V Twin; it's hard to look at anything else.

 

Nice photos and review. Ducatis don't really like to be that low in the powerband as you experienced. I can't wait to try out the Diavel, i'm sure it's a great bike. Now just imagine what the Ducati Superbikes are like to ride...

 

Great write up. Makes me miss my S4R so much!

 

Ara- you still have your RS-V4 Factory? (sorry for the thread hijack!)

 

Yes I do. No plans to get rid of it except for maybe trading up to an APRC-SE

 

Aye!! lol

 

Video on its way later today! Stoppie thanks for the info about juddering and V Twins... good to know. I guess its also that the bike almost no miles and running in.

Duc superbikes!!! Cripes I cannot imagine.

BTW, I now know why the seat is designed that way!

 

Question: Are you experiencing a 'snatching' of the throttle? Sudden ON and OFF; meaning the power doesn't come on smoothly or is it just the V Twin 'judder' that you're getting used to?