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Video Review of The New Ducati Diavel 1260S We Tested in Spain!

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.

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.

Indonesia Muncul Pasaran Motosikal Terbesar Di Asia Tenggara Bagi Tahun 2018

Indonesia telah menyaksikan jumlah jualan motosikal yang terbesar dalam rantau Asia Tenggara pada tahun 2018.
Keseluruhan jumlah itu adalah hampir separuh daripada jumlah jualan keseluruhan bagi seluruh rantau ini.
Populasi negara yang besar serta tahap pendapatan penduduknya menyumbang kepada jumlah tersebut.

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Indonesia was Largest Motorcycle Market in ASEAN in 2018

Indonesia saw the largest number of motorcycle sales in the ASEAN region in 2018.
The total was nearly half of the total of the entire region.
The country’s large population and income level contributed to the number.

We know for many years that Indonesia is the largest market for motorcycles in the ASEAN region, but it was a toss-up between them and Vietnam.

However, new data by the ASEAN Automotive Federation (AAF) and Federation of Asian Motorcycle Industries (FAMI) confirmed that the largest number of motorcycles sold in 2018 was in Indonesia.

In that year alone, motorcycle manufacturers and distributors in the Republic of 260 million souls moved a total of 6,383,111 units. That number represents a whopping 47% of all motorcycle sales in the ASEAN region. In terms of ratio, 1 out of 40.7 persons bought a motorcycle.

The second largest market in 2018 was Vietnam, with 3,386,097 units moved. The population of the country is 94 million. Converting that to a ratio, 1 out of 27.7 persons purchased a bike.

So, although Indonesia contributed the larger total, more Vietnamese bought motorcycles. It could also means that there’s still much space for motorcycle sales, if we know the current motorcycle population in each country.

Anyhow, in third was Thailand with 1,788,323 bikes sold. The Kingdom’s motorcycle market looks to be reaching a saturation point. The Philippines followed closely with 1,582,901 units. Malaysia contributed a distant but not entirely small 494,254. Last was Singapore with 10,377 bikes.

GB Workshop Anjurkan Sesi Bual Bicara Kedai Pertama Buat Pemilik MV Agusta

Sesi bual bicara kedai adalah peluang di mana pengurus sesuatu perniagaan menjemput para pelanggan dan bakal pelanggan bagi memperkenalkan kepada mereka program dan perkhidmatan yang disediakan oleh kedai berkenaan.
Tahun lalu, para pemilik MV Agusta dibiarkan terkapai-kapai setelah syarikat yang bertanggungjawab ke atas pengedaran jenama berkenaan di Malaysia telah menghentikan operasinya.
Pada bulan Disember 2018, GB Workshop telah menandatangani persetujuan bersama MV Agusta Motor S.p.A bagi menyediakan perkhidmatan selepas jualan buat para pemilik MV Agusta.
Sesi bual bicara kedai yang diadakan baru-baru ini adalah program pertama seumpamanya buat pemilik MV, dengan lebih daripada 30 orang pemilik menghadirkan diri.

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GB Workshop Hosts First Ever ‘Shop Talk’ Session For MV Agusta Owners

A shop talk session is where the manager of the business hosts customers and potential customers to introduce them to the services and programs the shop offers.
Last year, MV Agusta owners were left in a lurch when the company distributing the brand in Malaysia ceased operations.
In December of 2018, GB Workshop entered into a partnership with MV Agusta Motor S.p.A to provide after sales service to MV Agusta owners.
Recent shop talk session is the first such program for MV owners, with over 30 bikers showing up.

Last December, we reported that there is a new official after sales service centre for MV Agusta motorcycles in Malaysia.

Goh Brothers Motorcycles Sdn Bhd (GBMC) made an official announcement that it had entered a partnership with MV Agusta (MV) Motor S.p.A to provide after sales support to all MV Agusta motorcycles in Malaysia. Click here to read about the major announcement.

Following the announcement, GBMC today organised a “Shop Talk” session for MV Agusta owners. The session took place at GB Workshop which is located at The Gasket Alley.

The session, which was attended by about 30 MV Agusta owners, aimed to introduce the owners to the crew behind the service centre.

The session was headed by Idon Pang, Aftersales Manager of GB Workshop, who has been trained by MV Agusta in after sales service.

“This session was organised to introduce owners to the team behind the service centre as well as our standard operating procedures. We want to show MV Agusta owners that we are prepared and well equipped to service MV Agusta motorcycles,” said Pang about the session.

Topics discussed during the session included an introduction to the service centre and its machineries, warranty claims as well as parts ordering.

“We are thrilled and grateful for the unexpected show of support for this shop talk session. We are committed to maintaining MV Agusta motorcycles the way they are meant to be with all the right technical equipment as well as trained mechanics. We sent the head of our aftersales division to Italy to be trained by MV Agusta and we will continue to invest in training and technical equipment so MV Agusta owners can expect only the best service and we achieve this by first listening to our owners,” said Juan Chow Wee, General Manager of GBMC.

GB Workshop is now accepting all MV Agusta motorcycles for maintenance work as well as warranty claims.

Heaven MC: Kelab Motosikal Malaysia Dengan Tujuan Mulia

Heaven MC, sebuah kelab yang ditubuhkan pada tahun 2015 yang kebanyakannya terdiri daripada para pemilik Harley-Davidson, namun ianya terbuka untuk semua jenis motosikal janaan V-Twin.
Presidennya menyatakan yang ianya sebuah kelab motosikal nirlaba (non-profit) yang menyeronokkan.
Kelab ini kebiasaannya menganjurkan konvoi dalam negara, dan turut menunggang ke Thailand sebanyak tiga kali dalam setahun.

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Heaven MC: A Malaysian Motorcycle Club With A Cause

Heaven MC, a club founded in 2015 is made up of predominantly Harley-Davidsons but is open to riders of all types of V-Twin powered motorcycles.
The President says it is a fun, non-profit motorcycle club.
The club mostly organizes local rides, but also rides to Thailand up to three times a year.

Motorcycle clubs (MCs) have been all the rage ever since the motorcycle was first introduced to the world. Case in point, the oldest motorcycle club in the world is the Yonkers Motorcycle Club of New York, which was founded in the year 1903, the same year that Harley-Davidson tried to sell its first models.

Since then, the world has seen the rise and rise of MCs either for leisure and socialization, or for criminal activities. Hells Angels, one of the most popular MCs in the world, immediately comes to mind when you put motorcycle clubs and criminal activities together in one sentence, but fact of the matter is, such MCs are the 1% of the world’s motorcycle riding community.

Malaysia too has a huge number of MCs, how many in total is unknown as there is no governing body that monitors and sanctions the MCs, but 100 clubs is easy if you consider the mopeds and scooter clubs.

One such club is the Heaven MC, a club founded in 2015 and is made up of predominantly Harley-Davidsons but is open to riders of all types of V-Twin powered motorcycles.

The club is headed by Nick Lum (top right), who took over as President in 2016 and is in charge of keeping the club’s 125 members occupied with weekend rides and such.

I had the pleasure of having a few brewskis with Nick last week to talk about the club he actively leads.

“The club only had 20 members when I joined with about 8 to 10 active riders. There was this one time where we organised a weekend ride but only me and this guy named Alex Locke showed up on Sunday morning. I remember us looking at each other and feeling clueless, and from then on Alex and I went out to actively recruit members,” said Nick that night at The Gasket Alley.

With a background in MNC marketing and the regional direct sales industry, Nick together with Alex, set out to to build and recruit members using the law of averages. “I knew that the more people we recruited, the higher the chances were of more people coming out to ride over the weekend. If we spoke to 50 people about Heaven MC and only 20% showed up over the weekend, that would be good enough for us as that is better than just two people showing up. These days we can easily get over 100 riders out for a ride, I would say we have done well,” explained Nick.

The 53 year old Nick is an active rider himself and owns a Harley-Davidson V-Rod Muscle, Road King Classic and a Street Glide CVO, and has gone through a number of Harleys in his riding career. “For me, riding a Harley-Davidson is akin to driving a Bentley or a Rolls-Royce. Not only are the bikes a symbol of status, but I also feel safe riding a Harley as I don’t need to ride fast to get satisfaction. Cars these days are way too expensive, a Harley on the other hand is also expensive for a motorcycle, but a lot more affordable and it changes your life.”

When asked about Heaven MC, the President says it is a fun, non-profit MC. The club’s most notables rides has been the inaugural ride to open the new Harley-Davidson PJ showroom where the club’s members were a part of about 500 Harley owners who rode together to celebrate the new showroom.

The club is open to all bikers who ride any type of V-twin motorcycle. There is no membership fees and everyone is welcome to join the weekend rides. The club actively supports events and community service and actively organizes fund raisers for any charity that needs it.

The club mostly organizes local rides, but also rides to Thailand up to three times a year. The club also recently held its annual CNY gathering to celebrate with their achievement and to share their upcoming plans. Harley-Davidson of Petaling Jaya also took part as a dealer to celebrate the annual event together with HOG of PJ to foster Harley-Davidson brotherhood. Anyone interested to join the club and its rides can get more information at the Heaven MC Facebook page.

WHO: Jalan Raya Thailand Paling Merbahaya Di Asia Tenggara, India Paling Tinggi Kadar Kematian Di Seluruh Dunia

Laporan Pertubuhan Kesihatan Dunia (WHO) menunjukkan Thailand sebagai negara dengan kadar kematian kemalangan jalan raya tertinggi di kalangan negara Asia Tenggara.
India pula mempunyai kadar kematian kemalangan jalan raya tertinggi di seluruh dunia.
Kemalangan jalan raya adalah punca utama kematian bagi kanak-kanak dan orang dewasa di bawah umur 29 tahun.

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WHO: Thailand Deadliest Roads in Asia, India the Highest in the World

A World Health Organization (WHO) report highlighted that Thailand has the highest road accident death rate among Asian countries.
However, India saw the most killed in road accidents.
Road accidents is now the Number 1 cause of death for children and adults up to 29 years old.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has published their annual Global Status Report on Road Safety 2018. In the report, Thailand still has the deadliest roads in Asia while India saw the greatest number of lives lost in traffic accidents.

Although published in 2018, the report provides data collected from 175 countries in 2016.

Thailand’s status as the second deadliest roads in the world has improved to eighth with 32.7 deaths per 100,000 citizens. A whopping 74.4% (16,178) of the 21,745 killed were drivers/passengers of 2-wheeled vehicles. Traffic accidents kill an average of 21,491 persons in the country each year.

Risks of Renting a Motorcycle in Thailand and How to Insure Yourself

Eight African countries and one South American nation join Thailand in the Top 10.

In terms of pure numbers, however, the Indian subcontinent saw an almost unbelievable 150,785 reported deaths. Conversely, the WHO believes many more fatalities were probably unreported and as many as 299,091 were killed on India’s roads. The country’s population of over 1.3 billion people had the effect of lowering the rate to 22.6 per 100,000.

By comparison, China has the second highest total number of reported deaths from traffic accidents at 58,022 among her 1.4 billion citizens. Again, the WHO believes that an estimated total of 256,180 were killed in 2016. China’s road death rate was 18.2/100,000.

Malaysia’s road death rate is still high but has seen much improvements at 23.6/100,000 with a total of 7,152 reported cases. There was no official number in the report, but it is widely believed that some 60% of all traffic-related deaths involve motorcycles.

Our neighbor Indonesia reported 31,282 traffic deaths in that year. Fatalities on two-wheel vehicles contributed 73.6% to the total figure. However, they have a low rate at 12.2/100,000 due to their large 261 million population.

The WHO added that traffic accidents are now the leading cause of death among children and adults up to 29 years old, and 8^thhighest among people of all ages. At 1.35 million deaths each year, more die in road accidents than HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and diarrheal diseases. The situation is worsening and a person is killed every 24 seconds somewhere in the world.

Sobering thoughts for 2019.

Source: World Health Organization

Jerangkap Samar Di Laluan Motosikal Hampir Memenggal Kepala Penunggang

Encik Afiq Izwan telah memuat naik status ke akaun Facebooknya bahawa dia telah menjadi mangsa sebuah jerangkap samar di laluan motosikal.
Seutas tali pancing telah dipasang merentasi laluan motosikal, mencederakan lehernya dan merosakkan helmetnya.
Lokasi kejadian ini adalah berhampiran dengan susur keluar Lebuhraya DUKE ke Taman Rowther dan Taman Koperasi Polis 1, Gombak.

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Moto Guzzi Malaysia Perkenalkan V7 III Carbon Edisi Terhad – RM74,900

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Moto Guzzi Malaysia introduces limited edition V7 III Carbon – Priced at RM74,900

The Moto Guzzi V7 III Carbon has just been launched in Malaysia.
The Carbon variant features carbon-fibre components, red highlights and a unique alcantara leather seat.
Only 1921 units will be produced worldwide and you can book yours now.

Moto Guzzi Malaysia today introduced the limited edition Moto Guzzi V7 III Carbon. An aesthetically racier, more performance oriented variant of the popular V7 III.

The Carbon variant, which was introduced at the Moto Guzzi showroom at The Gasket Alley in Petaling Jaya, is distinguished by its carbon fibre components such as the shortened fenders and side fairings, as well as the Matt black colour with red contrasting highlights on the engine cover, logo and front brake caliper.

The seat (above) is also unique to the Carbon model and is made of water repellent Alcantara, leather. It too features red highlight stitching as shown below. In fact, the carbon features many such unique features, such as the tank cap made of anodized black billet aluminum, headlight frame, injector covers and the rear brake master cylinder.

The Moto Guzzi V7 III Carbon is made in limited number, 1921 to be exact, a number that recalls the year Moto Guzzi was established.

The series number of the model is identified by the plate on the handlebar riders as shown above. Also shown above is the dedicated single circular display, which is typical of variants such as the V7 III Stone, Rough and the Carbon. The V7 III Special, Racer and Milano variants on the other hand, have a second circular display for the rev counter.

At the heart of this Carbon model is a transversal V-twin engine, which is now in its third iteration since the original engine was first introduced back in 1967. The 744cc engine features twin valves with light allow pushrods and rockers as well as aluminium heads, pistons and cylinders that help to generate 52hp at 6200rpm and 60Nm of torque at 4900rpm.

Power is transferred via a six-speed transmission which was first introduced in the V7 II model, but with an updated, longer first and final gear ratio that are able to fully exploit the torque and power of the engine.

On the safety front, the V7 III Carbon comes equipped with a four-pot Brembo caliper up front gripping a 320mm disc brake, ABS braking as well as an adjustable traction control system called the Moto Guzzi Traction Control system, which can be adjusted to two sensitivity levels or turned off entirely. The rear brake consists of a 260mm disc with a twin-pot caliper and a master cylinder with built-in resorvoir.

As for the handling of the bike, the sitting position is commanding which is typical of modern-retro machines. The steel frame and the completely reworked front end of the third generation variant of the V7 is said to give the bike a steady feel at high speed and in corners.

As for the the shocks, the front features basic non-adjustable forks with 5.1-inch of travel which the rear is kept in check by a set up Kayaba shocks with 3.8-inch of travel at the rear, adjustable for pre-load and travel.

The limited-edition Moto Guzzi V7 III Carbon is priced at RM74,900 and is now available for viewing at the Moto Guzzi showroom at The Gasket Alley in Petaling Jaya.