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Jehan Miskin

  • The Ducati Diavel 1260S is more than just a fast bike, it is quite intelligent as well.
  • The Diavel 1260S offers award winning looks and an engine that puts out enough power to shame superbikes.
  • But it is the Pirelli tyres and Bosch electronic brain that create some real magic.
  • But there were some false neutrals, we asked Ducati why and they explained it perfectly in a video featured in this article. 

Reviewing the new Ducati Diavel 1260S reminded me of the original 1200. It was some time back in 2011 that I found myself at the World Expo Centre in Shanghai, staring at the then brand spanking new Ducati Diavel 1200 (below).

I remember being wide eyed. Completely awe struck.

The Diavel tore apart the conventional understanding of a cruiser, and Ducati quite literally stuck it to the motorcycling world with the Diavel.

Every cruiser since then has, in one way or another, been influenced by the Diavel. Maybe in power, handling, braking power or electronics, but the Diavel set the standards pretty high as far as power cruisers are concerned.

The Ducati Diavel 1200 Diesel.

I didn’t get to ride it much, probably about 3km around a square building which served as our “test-track”.

But it was enough for me to believe that Ducati had a winner in their hands, and that the era of the “power cruiser” had arrived.

10 Things You Need To Know About The New Ducati Diavel 1260S!

Nine years later, I am at the coastal town of Malaga and staring at the almost all-new Ducati Diavel 1260S.

It is still a stunning bike as it always has been. In fact, the Diavel recently won the prestigious Red Dot Design Award, click here to read about that.

What’s new?

I say “almost all new” because despite the new 1260 looking very much like the 1200 at first glance, only three things have been carried over from the first Diavel – the headlight, the tail light and the dash.

Ducati says 90% of the bike is new!

It is still a fantastic looking bike, and that 240 section rear tyre will never go out of style. It is just a cool bike but unlike other cruisers, this one has the performance to put sports riders to shame.

Riding Modes

I found this out after switching from Touring to Sport mode (the other mode is the sedated Urban mode, which I very quickly got bored of and I am sure you will too).

I had been riding in Touring since leaving the hotel, over highways and part of the coastal mountains. The roads ahead were wide with fast flowing corners, perfect!

Switching modes requires just two clicks of a switch with your left thumb, and about 3 seconds later and a quick roll off the throttle and the bikes goes from mile munching cruiser to F-15 fighter jet mode.

Power is instantaneous and the new 1262cc Testastretta DVT engine responds to the throttle at millimeter precision.

The engine features the Desmodromic Variable Timing (DVT) technology which made its debut on the XDiavel (click here to read more about DVT technology).

It offers a more direct response to your right hand and you feel it immediately.

Couple this to the new Ducati Quick Shifter and you have a bike that accelerates so hard that it takes your brain some seconds to register the onslaught, at which point you would already be traveling at over 200km/h.

Speaking of the DQS system though, there were a couple of time where the gear didn’t kick in, resulting in a false neutral. We did ask Ducati why this happened though and their reply is in the video above.

In Sport mode, the new Diavel needs your fullest attention. But it is not just the riding mode that makes it quick, in fact the Diavel 1260S represents the perfect harmony of superbike performance and cruiser like coolness.

Suspension

The suspension is supplied by Ohlins all round, though not electronically controlled but fully adjustable 48mm upside down front fork and a shock absorber for the rear.

Massive Braking Power

Brembo’s M50 monobloc are some of the best in the business this side of professional racing. Featuring face warping abilities, the front is managed by twin 320mm semi-floating discs with radially mounted 4-piston calipers, while the rear is kept in check by a 265mm single dish with a dual-piston Brembo floating caliper.

Of course, there’s a sprinkle of electronic magic here as well with smart electronics working behind the scenes to keep you safe.

The Electronic Brain

Backing up the Brembo braking hardware is a Bosch 9.2MP cornering ABS control unit. It has three intervention levels with Level 1 being the most sporty with zero cornering and rear wheel lift detection. If you like backing it into a corner, this is the level you want.

The ingenious electronics package consists of – Ducati Traction Control EVO, Ducati Power Launch EVO, Ducati Wheelie Control EVO and Cornering ABS EVO.

The brains of it all is a 6-axis Bosch Inertial Measurement Unit that measures roll and pitch angles as well as speed. You can also fully control the level of interference for each parameter – the traction control and wheelie control for example have eight different interference levels.

Sticky Tyres

But despite its power and cleverness, the Diavel 1260S relies on its tyres to deliver every bit of its power. And the tyres are more than a match to the Diavel’s brain and powertrain.

Pirelli’s high-acclaimed Diablo Rosso III are tasked with grip management. And measure in at 120/70 at the front and 240/45 at the back.

This huge variation in tyre section makes the bike feel nervous to lean at first, a typical character of fat-tyre cruisers – the front always seems keener to lean than the rear.

But after a while you get to really dig deep into the tyres for some massive lean angles.

The tyres are dual compound – soft on the outside and hard on the inside.

Despite some damp patches and cold weather, I was able to get on the throttle mid-way of the corner, much earlier than you would on other cruisers.

The Diablo Rosso III is known to have one of the wildest amount of grip, and it complements the character of the bike perfectly well.

So how does it ride?

Comfort is top notch because of the suspension and the wider and perfectly contoured seat that clasps your bum perfectly. No sore bum after that long ride through the mountains and in wet and dry conditions.

The sitting position is sporty with its centre mounted controls, while the X-Diavel is and will be with the new XDiavel 1260, more reminiscent of a cruiser with its forward controls.

The engine and the tyres are really the centrepiece of the new Diavel.

The engine for its mad power and instantaneous response to the slightest input and the resulting massive explosion of power. And the tyres for their ability to keep up with the engine’s brute power.

The electronics are there for check and balance and also for safety that requires thousands of calculations at a fraction of a second. And it is this combination that makes the Diavel feel like a superbike in a cruiser’s clothing.

Our test route was about 220km long along some beautiful roads, a mix of wide, fast and winding and tight and challenging.

The Diavel made mince of it all – of the distance, of the road, of the corners, and even the sections of rain we experienced.

I was too chicken shit to go balls out in Sport mode in the rain, and that too while riding on the wrong side of the road, so it was back to Touring mode, which I find to be the best balance for the Diavel.

Criticisms? Limitatios? I don’t have anything to criticise but some say that there is one limitation you would probably face if you buy the Diavel, and that would be that massive rear tyre. Suffering a rear puncture in a remote area could be a nightmare.

Well, having some experience with touring with the Diavel 1200 during the Ducati China Strada ride in 2013 (pictured above), the tyre never gave way during the near 3000km ride (read about our trip with Ducati in China by clicking here).

In fact, the only problem we faced with the Diavel during that ride was it bottoming out around the off-road section. But that’s to be expected though.

The first-generation Diavel was already fantastic to begin with. A good combination of everything, and the new Diavel 1260S just takes it to an all new level of awesomeness.

Sure it may have taken eight long years for Ducati to improve it, but it is so good, that I actually believe that Diavel 1200 owners may not recognise its riding character.

The new Ducati Diavel 1260S is due to be launched in Malaysia at some point in April or early May of 2019.

Naza Prestige Bikes Sdn Bhd introduces three new 2016 Harley-Davidson models.

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Continuing on with our Most Interesting Biker (MIB) series, we caught up with Malaysia actor and entrepreneur, Jehan Miskin.

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There are lots of celebrity bikers in Malaysia, both male and female, and we hope to be able to write about them all as we go along, but Jehan is a dear friend to us so all it took was a Whatsapp message explaining the MIB series and a reply saying, “sure, want me to bring my bike?”

How could this guy not make this list?

When Jehan first got the bike
When Jehan first got the bike

It is also funny to think that someone who never learned to ride a bicycle would eventually end up riding Harley-Davidsons to places most people don’t ever visit, what more on a Harley-Davidson.

Jehan with his brother Sean on a Kawasaki Z750
Jehan with his brother Sean on a Kawasaki Z750

“I never learned to ride a bicycle as a kid,” he said over coffee in Empire Damansara.

“My brothers and sisters all learned but not me. I remember being 11 or 12 and crashing my brothers bicycle at the backroad of my terrace house in SS2. I fell in the drain and the bicycle looked like it had been crashed, but I learned to ride a bicycle on my own eventually.”

Testing the electric Harley-Davidson Livewire
Testing the electric Harley-Davidson Livewire

The big switch to motorcycles came at 14, an era Jehan describes as “zaman mat moto.” That was the period of the Kawasaki Victors, Yamaha TZMs, RX-Z and the Kawasaki KIPS. But his first bike was the tiny but fun 125cc, two-stroke Cagiva Mito. After that and for many years he didn’t have a bike as he focused on developing his video production business.

At the dam leading up to Betong
At the dam leading up to Betong

But the calling came eventually, just as it always does. Jehan was invited to attend a Harley-Davidson event which required some riding. Being more of a sports bike kind of person, he says he didn’t think much of the Harleys, until he saw a Nightrod.

Video: The ride to Shangri La in China

 

The bike belonged to a customer who agreed to let Jehan ride it to a movie premiere, up north and eventually sold the bike him.

“I have a lot to thank Awie* for in that decision to eventually buy the Nightrod. The owner had let me ride the bike to an event in Perak, so when I met Awie I told him about my experience and showed the bike to him. Awie told me to change the handle bars and gave me a piece of advise I didn’t forget, and so I went and bought the Nightrod,” says Jehan.

*Yes, that Awie

Krabi, Thailand
Krabi, Thailand

He rode it around town for a few years first, hung around with the Harley Owners Group, and never really went on long distance rides. Until the Asia Harley Days in Thailand came along, and that was it. The tour riding bug had hit, fast forward a few years and Jehan and some mates are conquering Chinese roads in search of the real Shangri-La, not the five star hotel.

Sean, Jehan, Chunk
Sean, Jehan, Chunk

He has taken the bike where no Harley-Davidson Nightrod owners would go, and there were places where the bike wasn’t even designed to go, like the twisting mountains of Laos, and the dirt roads of Thailand. Places a BMW GS or a Kawasaki Versys would feel more at home on, not a Nightrod.

With brother Sean
With brother Sean

“I have always been a superbike kind of guy, but I had a pact with my brother to never own or ride a superbike. They are really fast bikes, and our mother and sister were completely against the idea, so to keep things cool we decided to agree on a pact to ride, but not on a superbike.”

Jehan’s brother eventually got on a superbike but not before promising his younger brother all kinds of things.

Video: Road of 1000 corners in Mae Hong Son, Thailand

 

“And so I felt that the Harley Nightrod was one of the few bikes that could give me the performance of a superbike without being a superbike. I have always appreciated a Harley but never really wanted one, but the Nightrod is cool enough, dragster enough, powerful enough, a hybrid between a cruiser and a superbike.” – Jehan.

At a Sabah road trip for a local TV show
At a Sabah road trip for a local TV show

After our meet in Empire Damansara, Jehan went on another ride to northern Thailand for Songkran and to Bangkok to hook up with Harley owners over there. Spending over two weeks on the road, the Nightrod once again was the weapon of choice.

Harley V-Rods at Songkhla Beach, Thailand
Harley V-Rods at Songkhla Beach, Thailand

“Riding has evolved to be more than just speed for me. It is about friendship and it is about getting away. There is escapism in riding, adventure you can’t get anywhere else. When you ride long distance, you are in a new town everyday. It is about being on the road and not worrying about anything else but the road, that is why I ride,” concludes Jehan.

Harley-Davidson V-Rod riders are a special bunch; they are passionate about their V-Rods and are always eager to ride as far as they can. If you own or fantasise about owning a Harley-Davidson V-Rod but feel that you cannot really take it very far, then this article is for you.

Malaysian celebrity and entrepreneur Jehan Miskin and the team at Bikes Republic were hanging out recently when Jehan told a story about how he and a group of friends beat all odds and rode their V-Rods up till Shangri-La in China.

El Diablo, Jehan's custom Nightrod Special
El Diablo, Jehan’s custom Nightrod Special

It was a triumphant ride for the bunch as everyone told them it couldn’t be done with the Harley-Davidson V-Rod. The story is exciting enough to create a short movie but since we didn’t have enough clips, Jehan wrote a short story on it to share with us, and the official magazine for the American chapter of the Harley-Davidson Owners Group (HOG). The following is what he sent us a few days ago:

— Written by Jehan Miskin —

Ever since I got my custom Harley-Davidson Nightrod Special in 2011, most riders I meet would say, “Hey, badass bike man. But you can’t go long distance on that bike for sure!”

Then I met a couple of other crazy V-Rodderz called Simon and Rambo and found out they were the first Malaysian V-Rod riders to ride from Kuala Lumpur to Vietnam and back.

(From L-R) Jehan, Simon, Rambo somewhere in the mountains of China
(From L-R) Jehan, Simon, Rambo somewhere in the mountains of China

We did a few rides in Thailand covering thousands of kilometres and still people would say ‘No way you guys can’t go further than that on a V-Rod”.

So last year, we decided to ride from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia all the way to Shangri-La in Tibet, China. A month long ride that would take us on unpredictable roads through Malaysia, Thailand, Laos and Tibet in China. Simon and Rambo rode from Kuala Lumpur up to Chiang Rai in Thailand, a seven day ride over 2,500kms.

Somewhere in Tibet
Somewhere in Tibet

Because of other commitments, I shipped my bike to Chiang Rai and we started our expedition there with some other bikers from Indonesia and Thailand.

We rode from Chiang Rai to Chiang Kong, then crossed into Laos, stopping briefly at the laid back town of Luang Namtha.

The morning sun hitting the mountains of Deqen.
The morning sun hitting the mountains of Deqen.

Next we crossed the border into China, stopping in a different town every night. Mengla, Xisuangbanna, Linchang, Dali, Shangri-La and finally the peak at 15,000 feet, Deqen. The weather got colder and the air thinner the further north we rode.

We rode through countless mountain roads, crossed rivers and lakes, rode off-road and on-road, in high altitude, even in the rain in sub zero temperature. Every chance we got we took the scenic route and skipped the highways. We lived in the moment and adapted to whatever the road or weather would throw our way. And after we reached the peak, we rode back again from Shangri-La, stopping by the ancient city of Lijiang, then back to Dali, Xisuangbanna, Mengla, Boten, crossing over to Laos and back to Chiang Rai.

A Nightrod ridden the way Harley-Davidson would have imagined it.
A Nightrod ridden the way Harley-Davidson would have imagined it.

Here the trip ended for the other riders but we were not done. We wanted to conquer the Road of a Thousand Corners, a legendary road to bikers in this part of the world otherwise known as Mae Hong Son. So we continued our journey from Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai, stayed over in scenic Pai, to Mae Hong Son where we got our official 1000 corners certificate (it actually acknowledges 1862 corners!), then down south to Mae Sariang and back to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai to complete the trip. In all, we covered a total of 8,500kms in 30 days, on V-Rods.

Rambo, Simon, Jehan riding up to the snow mountain.
Rambo, Simon, Jehan riding up to the snow mountain.

This ride was an unforgettable experience and has inspired me to seek out even longer rides on my Rod. Every moment spent riding was a joy, even in the most challenging times like riding for two days in nonstop rain and in sub zero temperatures. Thank you awesome people at Harley-Davidson for making such a fun bike for us to go on our adventures with.

Peak of the glacier.
Peak of the glacier.

I have since had a realisation. When people say “You can’t ride that far on a Rod,” they’re not actually talking about the limitations of the bike, but it is more a reflection of their own limitations as a rider. The V-Rod can be ridden far and long and hard, probably even around the world. So the question is not whether the bike can make the journey, but whether we are the right riders to dare to take the Rod on that ride.

Simon, Jehan, Rambo in Laos.
Simon, Jehan, Rambo in Laos.
Getting the 1000 corners certificate.
Getting the 1000 corners certificate.

An epic Sunday ride out with the ever-growing Harley-Davidson V-Rod Owners Group of Malaysia.

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