Ducati has released a video that highlights the design process of the new, second-generation Diavel. Featuring the key players in the design development process, the video provides insight into the three-year-long process, which saw designers and modelers create the sportbike endowed with Ducati design cues using a conventional sketch and clay method and digital tools.
The second-generation Diavel draws on the key aesthetic concepts of its predecessor and brings them up to date. The Diavel 1260’s design hallmarks include the forward-flung mass that gives the bike its aggressive stance, the streamlined tail and the prominent 240mm rear tire, wrapped around a 17-inch rear wheel.
The three covers that make up the tank are made of sheet metal. These have been slimmed down in the seat contact zone to improve ergonomics for the rider. Two large brushed aluminum air intakes, which connect up the tank via a differently colored C-frame, are derived from the theme on the first-generation Diavel and provide additional character.
The short, compact tail houses an extractable passenger grab rail and the lights, giving the back of the Diavel 1260 a lightweight sport look that contrasts sharply with the beefy front.
Another key Diavel 1260 trait consists of the water radiator side covers; these incorporate vertically arranged indicators that use ‘light blade’ technology, a feature that required an in-depth lighting design effort. Embedded in the indicators is a transparent ‘blade’. This features graphics that, when the indicator comes on, generate a 3D effect that makes the new Diavel 1260 instantly recognizable.
The modern headlight with its distinctive upside-down horseshoe-shape DRL (S version) merges perfectly with the smoke-tinted nose fairing that shields the instrumentation, making the front end of the Diavel 1260 strikingly assertive.
The engine and frame play a major side-on aesthetic role, thanks to the Diavel 1260’s uncluttered outlines. A seamless integration of parts is evident in the details. The air intake for the horizontal cylinder belts, for example, is incorporated in the belly fairing, contains numerous electronic components and acts as an oil radiator cover.
The Diavel 1260 S is available in ‘Thrilling Black & Dark Stealth’ livery, which offers an eye-catching contrast between the ‘total black’ look of the bike and the red frame at its center, making the classic Ducati Trellis frame the aesthetic hub of the bike.
