Ducati surprised showgoers at EICMA 2015 with the XDiavel – the Italian company’s foray into the cruiser segment – which brings together cruising style and Ducati flair, the latter characterised by Italian style, refined engineering and exciting performance.

In keeping with the clean and elegant design, the entire Ducati XDiavel range one specific colour: black. Applied differently on the standard and S versions, the black is accompanied by red – Ducati’s long-standing trademark colour – and the same yellow that characterises the Scrambler. The XDiavel is matt black (Dark Stealth), as are the engine covers and belt covers, while subframe and swingarm are Mineral Grey. The XDiavel S, instead, is gloss black (Thrilling Black) with a matt black stripe and red trim. On this version, the entire engine is gloss black and the belt covers have been machined to leave the aluminium in view.

The twin-cylinder Ducati Testastretta DVT 1262 is a completely new engine featuring the Desmodromic Variable Timing system. First introduced on the Multistrada 1200, it has been re-thought and recalibrated to put out high torque even at low revs, ensuring fluid, low-rpm power delivery and a full toque curve all the way to the high revs. The DVT 1262 has a maximum power of 156hp at 9,500 rpm and a maximum torque of 13.1 kgm at 5,000 rpm. The XDiavel mounts a 6-speed gearbox and features the same gear sensor first seen on the 1299 Panigale. There is also a new Ducati Power Launch mode for, well, the most awesome launches. The system is automatically disengaged once the bike tops 120km/h, or once third gear is selected or when the bike slows to below 5km/h.

The dashboard consists of a TFT screen with four different display modes. New to Ducati, the Default mode provides a minimal must-have level of information. The other three, instead, are the classic Track, Full and City display modes associated with the Riding Modes. The XDiavel S comes further equipped with a Bluetooth module.

On the suspension side, the Ducati XDiavel gets 50mm Marzocchi forks up front, with fully adjustable rebound and compression damping and spring pre-load (the S version also has fork tubes with DLC coating). Damping compression and spring pre-load adjustment are on the left fork tube, while rebound adjustment is located on the right tube. At the rear, the XDiavel mounts a Sachs monoshock – with adjustable spring-preload and damping rebound – with a separate reservoir.

The 14-spoke wheels are sized 3.5” x 17’’ at the front and 8” x 17’’ at the rear, fitted with 120/70 ZR17 and 240/45 ZR17 Pirelli Diablo Rosso II tyres.