Milan bike show: Ducati Diavel - Price and first impression

Ducati’s new Diavel will cost £12,995 for the base model when it arrives in the UK in January 2011, MCN can reveal.

The higher-spec Carbon model will be £15,495, or £15,895 for the Carbon Red with it’s more detailed paint scheme. The bikes will be available to UK customers in January, as production in the Bologna factory starts imminently.

MCN also grabbed the opportunity to be one of the first outsiders to throw a leg over the Diavel. First impressions suggest a bike far removed from obvious rivals like the Yamaha VMAX and the Suzuki B-King. Rocking the Diavel off it’s stand is easy as the weight is respectably low, and well-distributed.   

The relaxed riding position and 80mm thick seat foam should make it one of the comfiest Ducatis ever made – there will also be two choice of official accessory windscreens to give it further riding comfort. In the flesh, it’s more compact than you might expect, though the base model’s aluminium side panels don’t look anywhere near as good as the carbon. We can’t wait to ride it.

Read the full story in the next issue of MCN, on sale 3 November.